The Healthy Lifestyle Way

Here are some tips to help get you started on reducing the amount of fat in your diet, and keep you going.

Meat

Every January a multitude of people endeavour to lose weight. Many do it as part of their New Years resolution, others are driven by a forthcoming special occasion like a wedding or school reunion, and some do it for the reason that they’re unhappy with their weight and have been for more years than they care to remember - and want to change the way they look.

Unfortunately, most people who attempt to shed some weight see only a small amount of success, that doesn’t last for very long. Others see none at all. Many who set out on a weight loss strategy in January, often lose weight at the time,. But by the end of the very same year, not only have they put all their losses back on, they normally have found even more from somewhere.

The solution to losing weight lies in two special things: information and application. First you need to know exactly what to do, then you’ve got to do it. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, and no cutting corners. Then the answer to maintaining weight, once you have made the losses you require, is to follow a healthy lifestyle plan for ever.

My belief is that providing my clients with important information it gives them the power to make healthy choices. So today I want to talk to you about fat.

Many of my clients are now following my Lifestyle Plan. It will not only help them lose weight, it will teach them how to both lose weight and maintain that weight loss. One of the most important principles of this plan is to keep below 10 grams of fat per meal.

Research has shown that the most effective diets for long-term, healthy weight loss and developing a streamlined, toned body are high in complex carbohydrates and low in saturated and trans fats.

Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats

Fats should make up no more than 35% of your daily calories and preferably less (20-35% is the recommended range). Fats consumed should ideally be monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, or “good” fats, which provide numerous health benefits. These fats can be obtained by eating nuts, seeds, avocados, vegetable-based oils (olive, canola, peanut, sunflower, soybean, corn and cottonseed), soybeans, salmon, tuna and mackerel. Our lifestyle plan makes it easy for you, we suggest that you aim to have no more than 10 grams of fat with each meal.

Saturated Fats and Dietary Cholesterol

Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol are found in a number of popular foods, generally animal-based products. Aside from increasing the long-term risk for a number of health problems ranging from heart attacks and cancer to obesity and diabetes, saturated fats can sabotage your short-term fitness goals. To lower saturated fat intake, avoid foods such as steak, hamburger, lunch meats, poultry skin and fat, whole milk, egg yolks, cheese and butter.

Trans Fats

Trans fats, found in solid and semisolid margarines and other products where ingredients are “hydrogenated” should be avoided altogether. Many popular processed snacks and spreads contain hydrogenated fats, including some peanut butters. When in doubt, check the label. If you see the word “hydrogenated,” avoid the product.

Let me repeat avoid products made with hydrogenated oils (these are clearly labeled and listed in the ingredients). Cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pies, frostings and salad dressings all contain hydrogenated oils. Frozen fried foods like French fries, fried chicken, fried fish and potpies contain significant amounts of trans fat.

Decreasing Consumption of Saturated Fats

If you do eat foods with saturated fat, keep it in moderation. Trim the skin from chicken and turkey and the fat from beef. If you eat ground beef, choose extra lean and drain the fat off before consuming it.

Beware of Carbohydrates

While complex carbohydrates found in whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, other whole grains, vegetables and fruits are excellent fuel for exercise, promote fitness and help to sustain long-term weight loss, simple carbohydrates should be kept to a minimum along with saturated fats. Simple carbohydrates, found in white rice and anything containing white flour or sugar (white breads, many desserts and sodas), contribute to weight gain and a variety of health problems.

About three years ago a film called The Secret came into my life, which is based on the ‘Law of Attraction’. Having been captivated by this, I then read the book of the same title. The author is a lady named Rhonda Byrne. You can check out the Secret web site at:www.thesecret.tv.

The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest themselves into reality. The Law of Attraction is a powerful universal law. It is said that Universal Laws govern the Universe. They are the basic principles of life and have been around since Creation. They are laws of the Divine Universe. Universal Laws apply to everyone, everywhere. They cannot be changed. They cannot be broken.

The Law of Attraction is working in your life right now, whether you are aware of it or not. Once you are aware of this law and how it works, you can start to use it to deliberately attract what you want into your life.Like Aladdin’s genie, the law of attraction grants our every command. Aladdin summons the Genie from his lamp, and the Genie replies ‘Your wish is my command,’ and begins to leverage the universe through people, circumstances and events to fulfil the wish, and this is what the Law of Attraction does for you.

In the book ‘The Secret’ a simple creative process is put forward of how to use the Law of Attraction. There are three simple Steps:

1.    Ask

2.    Believe

3.    Receive

Ask - Know what you want and ask the universe for it. This is where you need to get clear on what it is you want to create and visualise what you want as being as ‘real’ as possible. When you get clear in your mind about what you want you’ll become a magnet to draw those things towards you.

Believe  - Feel and behave as if the object of your desire is on its way. Focus your thoughts and your language on what it is you want to attract. You want to feel the feeling of really ‘knowing’ that what you desire is on its way to you, even if you have to trick yourself into believing it – do it. Get yourself to the point of believing by  make believing See it clearly in your mind, feel it with all your might, and everything you need will come to you. You must act, think and speak as though you are receiving it now. Act as if you have it already.  

Receive  - Be open to receiving it. Pay attention to your intuitive messages, signs from the Universe to help you along the way as assurance you are on the ‘right’ path. As you align yourself with the Universe and open yourself up to receiving, the very thing you are wanting to manifest will show up. When you omit the frequency of having received it, the law of attraction moves people, events and circumstances for you to receive  So now use this knowledge to assist you in achieving your weight loss and fitness goals.The how is not your part in the creative process. It will be shown to you. You’ll attract the way. Don’t get irritated, upset, disbelieving when you don’t see the things you’ve requested. Have steadfast belief. AND KNOW ITS ON ITS WAY.

Use the Law of Attraction to make this year … 2010 …. your best ever!

Happy New Year One and all!!!As I look out of the window this morning and see the snow outside (there’s almost 2 feet of fresh snow on the ground and it still coming down heavily), I look forward to the year ahead and what it will bring to me.  As a Life Coach and Fitness Trainer, as well as Author and Speaker, I also think of all those that I will work with this year, and what their expectations are at the beginning of this new year.  

Hands down, the most common New Years resolution, year after year is the optimistic dream that this will be the year to shed that extra weight. As 2010 began, many will have vowed that this year they would drop those extra pounds, get to the gym and fit back into their skinny jeans.Are you one of these? 

How many of you in the past have made a new years resolution and by about lunch time on January 1st it has almost been forgotten about? Well why shouldn’t January this year be the year that your resolution for weight loss actually comes together. Well, do yourself a favor and commit once and for all to achieving his long yearned for result, and create the new you. 

Many of my clients will be beginning my ‘Healthy Lifestyle Plan – Steps to Healthier Living’ this New Year, to lose weight and stay healthy.  

Are you tired of dieting? Whether you’re ready to start losing weight, need to boost your metabolism, or just want to learn more about healthy eating, my blog over the next couple of months will bring you articles relating to this lifestyle plan, and I trust it will help you achieve the results you to now have only dreamed about.  Many people have a list of diets they’ve tried over the years and the one thing these diets all have in common is that they often fail. Why? They leave you hungry and deprived, and they slow your metabolism, setting you up for a never-ending cycle of yo-yo dieting. My Lifestyle Plan changes all that. Here’s how: 

It Revs Your Metabolism

This is perhaps the most significant aspect of the Plan, and it’s what allows you ultimately to be delivered from dieting for good. With a higher metabolism, you burn more calories all day long — even when you’re sitting on the couch. My Lifestyle Plan raises your metabolism through eating — yes eating — and strength training, which builds calorie-burning muscle.  

It Allows You to Eat

On the plan you eat all day long — six small meals rather than three large ones. This helps keep you from feeling hungry even during the start up phase of the plan, which lasts only one week, and it keeps your metabolism revved.  

It Offers a Wide Variety of Food

The plan recommends limiting your intake of refined carbohydrates and sweets, and limiting your fat intake to less than 10g per meal but no foods are off-limits. The meal plans are so easy to follow — no counting is necessary! You simply choose 3 healthy meals and 3 healthy fruit snack. 

It’s Healthy

Diets that deprive you of certain foods also deprive you of the nutrients contained in those foods. Because our plan not only allows, but encourages you to eat a wide variety of foods from all the food groups, your diet will be rich in the nutrients your body needs. It’s a diet you can stick with, as it satisfies your hunger, your taste buds, and even the occasional less-than-healthful craving, making it easier to stay on track. Here I offer you 8 steps to a new you: 

1. Eat several meals a day

Of course, you can’t just eat something at breakfast and expect to keep your blood sugar level in check all day long. Eat at least 3 meals spread over a whole day. Even better would be to eat up to 6 small meals per day. This way the food energy can be gradually processed, Keeping constant food cravings under control is essential when trying to learn a healthy lifestyle or on a fat loss program. your glucose or blood sugar level indicates how much energy you’ve got readily available for use. If your blood sugar is too low, a hunger signal will go to the brain initiating food cravings.Low blood glucose levels indicate you’re low on energy. Obviously, this happens when you don’t eat enough throughout the day. As a result the body will send out a message saying it needs food, which in turn will trigger the cravings. The lower your blood sugar levels, the more severe your cravings could be.So instead of eating 3 big meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), or eating all day all the time, spread your calories out over 6 smaller meals. Eat one meal every 2 and a half to 3 hours. Doing this will speed up your metabolism keeping the huge swings of the blood sugar to an absolute minimum. 

2. Eat Low glycemic foods / complex carbohydrates

We love filling up on simple carbohydrates when the cravings kick in. Simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as pizza, pancakes, spaghetti and high fructose sodas. These simple carbohydrates are very quickly absorbed by the body, causing a blood sugar rush. Simple carbohydrates quickly supply us with that much craved carb load. After the initial high simple carbohydrates give us, the blood sugar will dramatically drop. Incorporating Low Glycemic (complex carbohydrate) foods (eg. oatmeal, brown rice, whole pasta, vegetables and others) into your diet will supply you with slowly absorbed energy and keep your sugar in balance all day long. Not only will this keep cravings away, it will make fat loss a lot easier as well.Lower the bad Carbs! Limit foods high in bad carbs. These carbs will eventually turn into fat. Foods like sugar, white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. are high in simple (bad) carbs.  

3. Control the amount of fat you eat

The bad fat must go! Stay away from “bad” fat! Get rid of all the crisps and chocolate. No more fast food, nothing fried. No more biscuits, no more cake, no more of these saturated fats. Processed foods are to be avoided. There is no question about it and there is no way around it, get rid of these types of foods. Don’t get me wrong, you should not be eating 0 grams of fat every day, but the only places you should be getting your daily fat intake from are lean meats (not the fried fast food kind), chicken (again, not fried!), etc. as well as the foods that contain the “healthy” types of fat, which can be found in just about every type of fish (tuna fish, salmon, etc.), nuts, olive oil and flaxseed oil. My recommendations are to aim below 10 grams of fat per main meal. 

4. Include Protein in Your Meals

Eating more protein will make you feel satisfied and full faster. Foods that contain protein are needed by the body to grow and repair body cells and fight off disease. The body usually needs more protein during times of sickness and stress.High Protein Foods are:·         Meat and Seafood·         Milk and Milk Products·         Eggs·         Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds·         Dried Beans and Peas·         Soy Products, Tofu·         Commercial Nutrition Products High in ProteinMake every effort to include high protein foods in your diet. Getting good, high quality protein will not only increase your lean mass (non fatty tissue) but it will increase your metabolism, and burn away fat. You know how sugar makes you fat? Well Protein makes you lean. Whether you want to be buff, lean, or just thin, meat is what’s goning to give you the body you want. And, you can get what you want out of fish and poultry too. When it comes to meat, the leaner the better. 

5. Never Eat Carbohydrates By Themselves 

Each meal needs to provide your body with a balance of lean (low fat) protein, low Gi (based on the Glycaemic Index), high fibre Carbohydrates and essential oils.This balance will keep your blood sugar and insulin level stable which is necessary to get your body into a fat burning mode. This balance also helps control your appetite, so you are less tempted by unhealthy foods. One way to make sure you store less food away as fat is to mix up your nutrients. That means mixing carbs, protein and fat. We get much more nutrients and efficiency out of our meals when those three nutrients are eaten together instead of separately. The oils in the fats and proteins will act a lot like the fibre does, inso far as making the carbs take a longe time to break down in the stomach., thereby reducing the effect on your blood sugar.

6. Water!

Drink water! Get rid of the soda, get rid of the beer, and get rid of the sports drinks and the cordials. Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Spread it out throughout the day, just like your 6 meals. Yes that’s a lot of water, but it’s that water that will give you energy and speed your weight loss. Water is essential in a healthy lifestyle and it’s probably the cheapest and easiest way to stop cravings. Anytime you feel puckish drink water, and I promise you that craving will disappear. Keeping a bottle of water by your side is a must do in my book. Water is ‘the oil that keeps our body running smoothly all day long’. 

7. Strength Training!

Yes! Lifting Weights isn’t just great for muscles, it’s great for losing weight. Muscles burn calories. In an earlier article I referred to a book ‘Body for Life’ by Bill Phillips, he describes a simple, but very effective strength training programme. You can get details of this here http://bodyforlife.com/.Weight train, three times per week on alternating days with aerobic exercise three times per week is what I suggest you do. 

8. • Develop an Exercise Routine
Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.  Fitness takes hard work and dedication but the results can include lengthening your lifespan and creating a body that you are proud to show off. Stop making excuses. Now is a great time to commit to a new you in the New Year. My clients will be aiming to do 50 minutes of exercise daily. Three or Four of those will be workouts in the gym where they will be combining their strength training with aerobics activities. The other three  or four days will include a very easy activity, namely walking. A fast brisk walk is as good a fat burning activity than most others. I do suggest at this time of year, with the snow thicker on the ground than I remember before, you wrap up warm, wear a hat, and purchase a pair of wellies.

9. Sleep! Yes! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Trust me, you need it!  

When making resolutions regarding your fitness and health, remember that making changes to your body and lifestyle take time. You can’t do it all in one day. Stick with it, believe that this year you will achieve your goals …to  Get Fit, Stay Healthy, and Be Happy! 

With January fast approaching many of you will once again turn your attention to exercising. Many of you will have purchased home use cardiovascular equipment while others will be joining a gym. Well I really hope that you can stay committed, and that you will achieve those results you seek.  

So if it’s time to get your body in shape I would like to give you some information about the best way to do it. Having worked in the fitness industry for many years, I know that seeing improvements is essential to you staying with your fitness programme. 

Let me introduce you to High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT Training) which provides a quick explosive way to burn fat without losing muscle. It’s an aerobic training programme. Rather than waste time exercising at a slow pace, praying the fat melts off before you die of boredom or turn grey, you alternate intervals of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise with periods of near-maximum effort, achieving unbelievable results. 

Three or four HIIT sessions a week should produce significant fat-burning effects.  HIIT is performing a cardio exercise such as running at a very high intensity then at a lower intensity and repeating the cycle again and again. It can be very hard and to all beginners to training I advise you to take it slowly until you build up better stamina and your fitness levels. You can perform it on a stationary bike, StairMaster, mountain bike, treadmill etc. But the most efficient for fat burning and stamina building is running.    A HIIT session consists of a warm up period of exercise, followed by six to ten repetitions of high intensity exercise, separated by medium intensity exercise, and ending with a period of cool down exercise. The high intensity exercise should be done at near maximum intensity. The medium exercise should be about half-maximum intensity. The goal is to do at least six cycles, and to have the entire HIIT session last at least fifteen minutes and not more than twenty minutes. The major benefit of HITT or high intensity interval training is the fact that on a normal exercise routine your body gets accustomed to the pace and exertion and thus does not lose the amount of calories you wished for. So when working with alternate and intense level of exercise, your body is not able to go into a steady or stable state and thus keeps on losing or burning fat and calories without getting a chance to store them. 

In addition, HIIT training creates a demand for more oxygen in your body, known as EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. What it means is for your body to return to a resting state after HIIT training, it uses excess oxygen over the next few hours. EPOC will take place in your body once you have performed intense exercise  This means you can still be burning calories hours after your workout.  The amount of intensity that you put into your intervals directly affects the volume and duration of EPOC. For instance, EPOC will be effective for a few minutes after doing aerobic exercise, but may last up to forty hours with HIIT Training done correctly. Therefore, when you are in a sprint interval, go full steam ahead.   A common interval training program is the slow jog-fast sprint interval training. Warm up and stretch thoroughly before you commence HIIT. I will repeat don’t forget, it is very important to warm up and cool down for 5 minutes, every time, before and after each HIIT session. Then start out with a 1 minute jog / 1 minute sprint as fast as you can. For beginners, you can try 2 min jog then 1 minute sprint or adjust the cycle to suit your stamina. For more challenge, try to sprint up hills or inclines and slow jog down. Or use the 30sec/30sec cycle instead of 1 min each.  Perform HIIT 4 to 5 times a week for 20-30 minutes and watch your fats melt away fast.  Remember, it has to be intense during the sprint phase for it to be very effective. Otherwise, it will just be another cardio exercise you see people doing day in and day out without any real results. You should be extremely tired, sweating profusely, huffing and puffing when you are done. If you are not, you have not been performing HIIT correctly.  

So you’re a beginner. Let’s assume you’re going to apply HIIT training. You’ll jog for a set amount of time, sprint for a set amount of time, followed by more jogging, more sprinting, and so on, until you’ve trained for a certain amount of time. Every other workout, you’ll add another minute to your HIIT session. For instance, your first two HIIT sessions during week one will each take only four minutes. On the third workout of week 1, you’ll add another 30-second sprint followed by a 30-second jog. Every other workout thereafter, you’ll add another minute’s worth of HIIT training until finally, by the end of week 8, you’ll be doing a 15-minute HIIT session.  Keep building till you get to 20 minutes.  Intensity is measured on a scale from 1 to 10. 1 is pretty much standing still, 5 is a light jog and 10’s running as if a lion was chasing you for dinner. Hiit training is about hitting 10 as many times you can.    If the point at which you’re starting finds you in a very bad physical state, then here is another alternative. Following the guidelines as above, but add another 30 second period of walking in between each  So you’ll walk for a set amount of time, then jog for a set amount of time, sprint for a set amount of time, followed by more waling, more jogging, more sprinting, and so on.  The bottom line is that HIIT training burns a greater number of total calories than low-intensity training, and more calories burned equals more fat lost. The majority of calories burned will come after your workout!  Try it! You can already visualise the fat melting away right before your very own eyes.

Christmas is approaching FAST. It’s a time when you deserve to let your hair down’, A time to look forward to enjoying all those extra special, mouth watering seasonal treats with family, friends and work colleagues. A time to go to every party and finger lickin’ buffet that’s going – without that nagging conscience!  

So go for it, life has to be fun. At times we have to spoil ourselves, even with something’s that may not be what’s best for us. In my case, December is my month for letting go. Where everything I follow the rest of the year is put on the back burner. I eat foods that I wouldn’t normally, like chocolate, cake, crisps … and I love every mouthful. I overdo the alcohol consumption about four times in the month, and increase my portion sizes dramatically. Hey, I’m only human. 

When the clocks strikes twelve and New Years day commences, I wave goodbye to not only the year just gone, but also to my excesses of the previous month. I am straight back into focus. My goals are back, and so am I.  

Your passion, drive and determination can be dramatically increased when directed towards a focused goal. They provide you the direction needed to channel your energy to achieve your “personal best” in any aspect of your life. 

95% of the people who set New Year’s resolutions never follow through. The reason is that most people don’t understand the process of how to produce lasting results—and they never take the first steps. There is a process they need to follow  to get started and create the momentum that will drive you to follow through. By following through this procedure, you will gain clarity about where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you want to go. It will also help you create a simple plan to set up your new year so that it truly compels, excites, and drives you. 

Here I provide you a great process, that if you follow it through you will come out with the goals that will drive you through the year ahead. This was a process I was fortunate to learn many years ago at an Anthony Robbins Seminar. 

STEP1: GET CLEAR. 

To begin, you must first gain clarity about where you really are now… 

1. What did you love in 2009?A. What were some of your Magic Moments?B. What did you accomplish in 2009?C. What are some of the things from 2009 that you want to duplicate in 2010? 

2. What did you hate in 2009?A. What was challenging this past year?B. What do you not want to have happen again?C. What did you learn by going through these experiences? 

3. What decisions did you make in 2009 that were empowering for you?A. What were some of the most important decisions of this year for you?B. What decisions might you make next year as a result? 

STEP2: GET CERTAIN. 

Once you know where you are, you need to create certainty about your capacity to take anything you can dream about and make it real. 

1. Write down anything in your life that was once merely just a goal, dream, or desire. What are some of the big and little things that at one time seemed extremely difficult or impossible to achieve or acquire?2. Circle the two or three items on your list that seemed the most difficult or impossible to achieve.3. For the two or three items you circled, write down the steps you went through to turn each one of them into reality. You may not have done it consciously, but it’s likely something stimulated you to want them — so much so that it may have become a magnificent obsession for you. Then, did you focus on it continuously? Put a lot of emotional charge into it? Then what? Did you actually create a plan? What were the steps you went through? 

STEP3: GET EXCITED. 

Now that you are clear about where you’ve been, and you have certainty about your ability to make your goals and dreams real, it’s time to decide where you want to go… 

1. In a peak state, write down every goal you think you’d like to accomplish in the next 20 years. Be sure to include ANYTHING you want to do, be, share, create, have, give. Include financial goals, personal development goals, physical goals, relationship goals, contribution goals—anything you’d like to learn, enjoy, or do. No matter how silly or outrageous it may seem, this is your chance to dream without limits. Be sure to keep your pen moving as fast as possible! 

2. When you are finished, go through your list and next to each item, write down the number of years you want it to take (or believe it will take) to achieve your goal (write 1 year, 2-3 years, 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years). 

STEP4: GET FOCUSED. 

1. Out of your list of goals (from step 3), circle your top four one year goals. Out of your entire list, what do you want most? What are the top four goals that, if you could achieve them this year, would get you up early and keep you up late with excitement? 

STEP5: GET COMMITTED. 

1. For each of your top four one-year goals, write a paragraph about why they are ‘musts’ for you to achieve them. What are the reasons you absolutely will achieve this no matter what?Remember, reasons come first, answers come second! Why do you want to do this? 

2. What are some of the things that you may need to do that you don’t want to do in order to achieve these goals? If you have enough passion, you can get yourself to do anything, but first you must be certain about what “anything” might entail. Let’s look the tiger in the eye! 

STEP6: GET MOMENTUM. 

Never leave the site of setting a goal without taking some action toward its attainment. You must take immediate action. 

1. Decide now: What is one small thing that you will do immediately toward achieving one of your top goals (e.g., making a phone call, booking a meeting, researching on the internet, signing up for a seminar, getting a coach, etc.)? 

2. What is one big thing that you resolve to do immediately to achieve this goal (e.g., making a decision, throwing out all the unhealthy food in your house right now, giving something away, etc.)? 

STEP7: GET SMART. 

To make sure you follow through, you have to get smart and measure yourself consistently. Remember, most people set some New Year’s goals, have no plan or direction, take no action, and then measure again next New Year’s! The more you measure something the better it gets. You must resolve now to measure your specific progress daily, or at least weekly. 

Goal setting is an essential skill that everyone needs to have. Very few people however take the time to think about their goals for the future. Those that live their life by design experience greater success, fulfilment, happiness and joy. There is a magic in goal setting that is unleashed when you start to live your life with a sense of purpose guided by a well-planned future. 

Something happens the minute you set goals. You become a creator and something clicks. Immediately you change because immediately your expectations of yourself and your life changes. You acknowledge to both your conscious and subconscious minds that you are not satisfied with where you are. One of the major motivating factors in human action is that sense of dissatisfaction. In order to direct our lives we need to use both the positive and the negative consequences of goals. Ask yourself what will I gain by attaining my goals? Also ask yourself what will it cost me eventually if I do not achieve my goal? 

It is critically important to have goals to direct our thoughts and minds and help us focus on what we desire most for ourselves and our lives. Thoughts are things. As you think so you are and so you will become. 

Make this coming year, 2010, your best ever yet! 

I am an auditory learner. I learn best through hearing things. My learning is enhanced by verbal explanations, dialogue, talking things through and listening attentively. I think in words, not in pictures. I am very aware of audible signals, tone, pitch and speed of voice. They very much influence the way I interpret what I hear. So words have always been important to me, even before I understood why. 

Whether spoken or written, words have the power to influence your thoughts, and they have the power to transform your life. Words can inspire you to find the best within you. Words create a psychological connection within your mind, and can inspire you or demotivate you. The right words can produce inspiring thought, and get you to take massive action. The wrong words can totally deflate you.  So, words can be uplifting or damaging. ‘Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill’. Buddha.  When words are used against us in a negative way, whether by somebody else or our own self talk, they can cause great damage. Negative words can kill enthusiasm, reduce self-esteem, lower expectations, they can even make you cry. When someone says something negative to us, a sarcastic remark, a discouraging word, or something that puts us down, it hurts so bad, and forms a hidden wound that is hard to heal. You are hurt by what a loved one says in a fit of fury. When we hear somebody say something about us that is discouraging or sarcastic we take it to heart. Hurtful words can make us lose our common sense, twist our thinking and change our behaviour.

Positive and encouraging words lift you up, raise your spirits, motivate you, awaken your expectations, create dynamic visions, feed your mind, inspire thinking and make you feel great. Words have a massive influence over your thoughts and actions. They impact and affect everything you do. 

One of my personal methods of coping with daily stress is reading and then thinking about an inspirational quote. Of course just reading a quote won’t make stressful situations just disappear, but by letting their insight absorb your mind, you will feel more relaxed, more positive, and you will find your ability to handle pressure vastly improved. 

When you are down in the dumps, struggling with situations in your life, what do you do to lift your emotional state? At these times, what is it that you use to bring you inspiration, understanding, or solutions? By just reading an inspirational quote and then pondering it, you will create positive thoughts, encouraging you to find solutions.

Inspirational quotes have massive power through their capacity to inspire and motivate you to take action. When we are troubled, facing difficult circumstances, instead of focusing on solutions, we let our mind wander through the debris of life, seeing the worst case scenarios, expecting doom and gloom. Your mind spinning out of control building things up to an exaggerated state. You imagine all kinds of terrible outcomes.More often than not, we find the worst case scenario that we think about for so long don’t actually turn out as bad as we have been imagining. Most of the terrible outcomes you think about don’t come to fruition. In reality, the worst that happens is usually not that hard to handle. In fact the worst part of it is the time you have wasted fretting, troubling yourself with the fears of what may come to pass.It is a fact that our ability to handle pressure is determined by our attitude toward it.

Getting our thinking right will help us to deal far better with things at difficult times. Find yourself an inspirational quote which you can use to get your thinking into perspective, that will also bring you inner calm. A great quote can instantly transform your thoughts, putting you into a better frame of mind. Use quotes as the off switch to your inner chatter. Turn off your fears and stress, and focus on the words and their meaning instead. Let them inspire you. Let them bring your mind to a peak state, full of positivity, and excitement about what you can to, be or have. 

Weekly, I plan to put forward, my quote of the day. I will share the words that I will ponder each morning, the words that will inspire me to positive thinking. I ask you, to use the comments section in my blog, to leave your favourite and most inspiring quotes. Let motivational quotes inspire you, motivate you, get you to take action creating results. Expose your mind with positive energy, offsetting the negative and weakening barrage of stress. Fuel yourself with positive, upbeat words and start taking massive, immediate, and consistent action.

For most of my adult life I had an interest, maybe even a fascination with personal development. As I’ve already said I read many a fantastic book, and a few pretty pathetic ones too if I’m honest. 

My car was a library on wheels. More often than not, every journey I took, I would listen to personal development audios. Anthony Robbins ‘Get the Edge’, ‘The Secret’ were the two that I think had the biggest impact.   

The most memorable seminar event I went to was Anthony Robbins Unleash the power within in London 2001. That’s where I completed the fire walk. All of this taught me something, instlilling in me a bit more positivity, motivation, excitement. But how long did it last. For someone that had absorbed all that knowledge could I say that I was leading the perfect life … the very honest answer is no, not at all the time.  

Life will always be a learning curve. The most important thing to learn, for us all, is knowledge isn’t enough. Hey, for now, until I’m a best selling author, don’t just take my word for it. Read what a few others have to say on the subject:  

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action. ~ Herbert Spencer  

The knowledge that we consider knowledge proves itself in action. What we now mean by knowledge is information in action, information focused on results. ~ Peter F. Drucker   

Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited while imagination embraces the entire world. ~ Albert Einstein   

The truth is that even in the information age, information is not enough. if all we needed were ideas and positive thinking, then we all would have had all the toys in the world when we were kids and we would all be living our “dream life” now. Action is what unites every great success. Action is what produces results.

Knowledge is only potential power until it comes into the hands of someone who knows how to get himself to take effective action. In fact, the literal definition of the word “power” is “the ability to act.” ~ Tony Robbins. Power is the ability to act.  The key to life, the key to making a success is taking ACTION! I’m not saying, that there’s no point in picking up a book or listening to an audio cd. I want you to take in as much good information as you can. But from this knowledge, i want you to follow through, immediately put into action what you’ve learned. 

Our Healthy Lifestyle plan starts with the steps to creating a successful day right from the start of each and every brand new day. I am sure we all want to be more productive and achieve success, and set out every morning to make the best of the day ahead. But isn’t it also true that sometimes we find it difficult to motivate ourselves to take action–especially first thing in the morning.  

Getting started on something like a healthy lifestyle plan has less to do with whether you have the energy and more to do with your desire and willingness to make the changes. So how is it that some people can get started on the healthy lifestyle plan and others don’t. Well the ones who do, dig in, make the start and soon begin to see results, and then they become more motivated to continue. The difference is they took action.  

“A thousand mile journey begins with the first step.” – Chinese Proverb.

In everything in life, if you want to achieve something, take the initiative and do it now! The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll get where you want to go. BECOME A PERSON OF ACTION.  Only through doing will you accomplish! 

One of the biggest weaknesses of human behaviour is procrastination. Each time you procrastinate or avoid taking action, you reinforce a negative and demonstrate to yourself that you don’t follow through. The longer you procrastinate about something, the more likely that you never will get started.. Procrastinating for many is a life habit.   But, like all habits, it can be broken.

To do so, you must establish and reinforce a new, get up and go action response to replace your habit of “putting it off.” This is your call to action.  In time, this drive to take action will become your norm. And, you’ll then find yourself making personal life progress beyond what you may have ever thought possible!  

So what’s going to get you to start taking action? Firstly find what excites and drives you in life? What are you passionate about? It is these things that drive you in life that will compel you to take action, to make a difference, or to follow through.

You can achieve anything, you can create, have, do, share, become, anything you want, once you start to take action. So what is it that will keep you up late at night and get you up early in the morning?   What results are you committed to? What are the results you must achieve? What is it that you really want – personally or professionally (health, finances, relationships, emotions, material possessions, experiences, etc.) ?

Now if you truly want these things, you know you have to step up and make them happen. They won’t land in your lap while you sit and procrastinate. You have to get up, get going, take action. 

‘In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently’.  Tony Robbins  

How do you get started?

Develop a plan of attack– a “massive action plan”. List every outcome you want and any possible action you can take that may help you achieve your goal.

Brainstorm.

Even if the idea sounds crazy, write it down. Then just do it.  In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says the surest way to grow rich is to have faith. But, he says, faith by itself will yield nothing. The secret is to have “…faith backed by action. Action, action, action.”    

Every Journey Begins with a Single Step So just take action. Don’t be one of those people that make up excuses, or give excellent reasons of why sitting around and doing nothing is the right thing to do. Things seldom happen when nothing is done. Rarely has somebody achieved anything by sitting around pitying themselves, because nothing is happening, so, feel free, to take action now. Massive action = powerful results. 

Body for Life by Bill Philips 

Bill Phillips has studied the transformations of tens of thousands of people, and it’s clear that he knows what works. Bill Phillips’ Body for Life programme is one of the most popular diets on the market today. 

The Book 

Bill Phillips’ Body for Life is an inspiring book that outlines a comprehensive diet and fitness programme. The Body-for-LIFE book is a simple and easy to understand step-by-step fitness guide. The principles are easy to understand, but powerfully insightful. If you’re looking for life changing results it’s certainly worth reading, and following.   Success stories designed to motivate and encourage people can be found in the book. It is intended to be a lifestyle change, the key to achieving and maintaining the perfect body. 

Body For Life Basics 

Body for Life is an intense exercise and nutrition programme based on the goal to achieve quick results in order to keep you motivated to continue in the long-term. The programme lasts 12 weeks. It involves weight training for 3 days/week and aerobic exercise for 3 days/week. The diet consists of six small meals/day, six days/week, consuming foods such as vegetables, brown rice, poultry, and fish. You may eat as you like and do no exercise on the last day.

It offers an intense 12-week diet and exercise programme  incorporating weight training exercises and aerobic exercises to people’s regular schedules.

It teaches you to eat healthier while eating smaller portions of food throughout the day.  5-6 meals per day. A fist sized portion size is emphasized A typical meal might consist of one portion of protein, and one portion of carbohydrate. You add a vegetable to two of the meals.

For one day each week you are allowed to ‘cheat’ and eat your favorite foods.  

Aerobic Exercise 20 minutes 3 times per week Lift weight 3 times a week (45 minutes per session).Weight training can elevate the metabolism for up to 48 hours post workout — a benefit not provided by cardio.You must be willing to exercise regularly in order to use the Body For Life plan. When people diet without exercising, their bodies burn muscle in addition to fat. This results in a lower metabolism, which is exactly what you want to avoid if you are having difficulty with your weight.  

The Programme

There are two keys to the Body-for-LIFE programme:  1. Daily, brief, progressive workouts. Alternating 20 minute aerobic workouts using intervals, and 45 minute weight training workouts using a “high-point” technique. They are designed in a way that periodically drives you to reach higher highs.  The 20-minute aerobics workout is a  “High Intensity Interval Training” (HIIT). You start with two minutes of warm up at a level 5, then move to level 6 for a minute, then 7. This portion of your workout is aerobic. You should be able to carry on a broken conversation, breathing deeply but not out of breath. Your level 8 should have more effort and drive to it, taking you slightly out of your comfort range. Your level 9 effort is a “high point” and should be somewhat anaerobic. After your level 9, you drop back down to a level 6 aiming for active recovery. Then you repeat the cycle again. The fourth time through this cycle, you add a “high point” - a level 10, after your 9. After your 10, you’ll get the most benefit from your 10 if you get your breath back to a fully conversational level before stopping.

Your weight training workouts are also geared to achieve the same kind of high point. The 45-minute weight-training workouts focus on hitting intense high points.  The first set of 12 reps is an essential stretch and warm-up. You then move to a higher weight for 10 repetitions, higher again for 8 reps, maximal weight for 6 reps, then dropping to lower weight for a “compound set” - 12 reps followed immediately by another 12 reps using a different exercise for the same part. The last couple of reps in your final 12 should require everything you’ve got.  

2. Frequent, limited, high-quality meals: Six meals a day, consisting of a portion of protein, and a portion of carbohydrates, and since you’ll be building muscle and burning fat, about a gallon of water daily to support these metabolic processes. You judge your portion size by the size of your open palm or closed fist. Add  water containing vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, celery, green beans and cucumbers, among others, are excellent, and have very low caloric content. One day a week you take a Free Day, an opportunity to choose “unauthorized” foods. The free day may help counter the risk that your body senses a fasting state, you’re trying to convince your body that it doesn’t have to lower its metabolism, shed muscle, or defend its fat stores in response to the change in its “environment”. 

Conclusion

I think that Body For life is an excellent programme for people who want to lose weight, or people who are already at their ideal weight but want to lead a healthier lifestyle. The diet is remarkably sensible compared to most other diets on the market today. The workouts are effective and do not take excessive amounts of time. If you’re interested in this book find it here …http://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Life-Mental-Physical-Strength/dp/0007149670/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262091290&sr=1-1

The Greatest Salesman in the World by  Og Mandino

The Greatest Salesman in the World was one of the first personal development books I read and it will always be one of the catalysts to my growth. So there is no better place for me to begin a regular book review section of my blog to include those  books that inspired me in all the areas of personal development that I have studied.

The Author

Og Mandino. wrote one of the most popular personal development books in publishing history: The Greatest Salesman in the World. The book was first published in 1968 and has sold over 13 million copies in the 30 years since.

The Book

When one hears the title of this book one feels that this must be just another book teaching you how to sell things. I too thought the same, until I read the book. In fact I think this book is a must read for anybody that is looking for inspiration.

The Story

The  story recounts the legend of Hafid, a camel boy who lived two thousand years ago and came into the possession of ten ancient scrolls that contain the wisdom for achieving all of his ambitions in life. He became a master salesman and a trader; a very wealthy man. He lives in an elegant palace equipped with every possible comfort. “All the success, happiness, love , peace of mind, and wealth that I have enjoyed is directly traceable to what is contained in these few scrolls. My debt to them, and to the wise one who entrusted them to my care, can never be repaid.” Hafid explains that each of the ten scrolls contains a principle, or law, that together will enable their possessor to accumulate all the wealth he desires.

The Scrolls

1. Today, I begin a new life. ( contains instructions for forming the habit that will lead to the successful adoption of the principles contained in the following scrolls)

2. I will greet this day with love in my heart.

3. I will persist until I succeed.

4. I am nature’s greatest miracle.

5. I will live this day as if it is my last.

6. Today, I will be the master of my emotions.

7. I will laugh at the world.

8. Today, I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

9. I will act now.

10. I will pray, but my cry for help is only a cry for guidance.

The book is written in a really interesting way. The story is captivating. You will read it in a matter of hours. These 10 scrolls when fully explained, will help you restart your life.

Conclusion

Repeating these scrolls  to yourself every day for 30 days is guaranteed to have some effect on your thinking, and thus your actions. If you really think you can change your life, and that your success depends on your habits and your attitudes, this book could start some very powerful changes. “I will not fail as the others, for in my hands I now hold the charts (the Ten Scrolls) which will guide me through perilous waters to shores which only yesterday seemed but a dream.”Mandino’s recognized that all successful people take on their own lives by “charting” or consciously choosing both the desired destination and the path to reach it. He encourages you to build good habits, to live according to the laws that govern abundance and to find a vigor and joy in life as we learn to stand at the helm of our ship charting its course into the safety of the harbor instead of just waiting for someone else to bring it in.If you’re interested in this book find it here …

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/055327757X/ref=sib_rdr_dp