Saturday 27 December 2008

Affirmations

"To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don't be."

Krishnamurti: Belief only creates resistance, isolation, and where there is isolation, there is no possibility of tranquility. Tranquility comes only when I understand the whole process of myself - the various entities in conflict with each other which compose the 'me'. As that is an arduous task, we turn to others to learn various tricks, which we call meditation. The tricks of the mind are not meditation. Meditation is the beginning of self-knowledge, and without meditation, there is no self-knowledge.

Think & Dream BIG Things

Precision Nutrition sends me info, some of which i adhere to and some of which i take the principles from. I like this:

10 nutrition rules for a better body.

Do you know, specifically, what types of things you have to do to look better, feel better and live healthy? And do you know what types of things you have to avoid?

Seriously, take a moment and think about it.

What do you think it means to “eat well” or “eat healthy” – that is, to eat in a way that will improve the way your body looks, feels and performs.

Come up with that list in your mind right now. I’m serious here, just jot down a few notes on what you think it means to eat healthy.

Now I want you to take a second and think about your list. Specifically, think about where you learned these rules.

Certainly your rules have been influenced by how you were raised, no? What you were told, what "comfort foods" you ate, right?

Of course, no one is immune to media influences – you can’t help but be bombarded by those ads! Your rules have probably also been influenced by what you’ve heard others say.

And, no doubt, your nutrition rules have probably been influenced by your own past attempts at changing your body – whether you’ve been successful or unsuccessful.

I could sit here all day and list potential nutritional influences. But since there are probably hundreds of ‘em, I’ll just go ahead and make my point.

And the point is this: very few of your “Good Nutrition Rules” have been influenced by those who know anything about good nutrition!
And worse yet, most of those rules have been hammered home without you even knowing it.

It’s time to change the rules.

Changing the rules, just like changing your habits, is difficult. Not only does it take a desire to change – the “want to” – it also takes a strategy for change – the “how to”.

Once you change these rules and habits, everything changes – the way you eat, the way you sleep, they way you look, the way you feel when you wake up in the morning, and the way you perform in day-to-day activities or during athletic events.

Three steps of evaluating a strategy for its usefulness.

  1. Simplicity: Are the rules easy to follow?
  2. Science: Are the rules based on sound scientific principles?
  3. Success: Have the rules produced success in others like you?

A system based on those three things is absolutely critical.

Think again about your nutritional rules. Are your rules based on simplicity, science, and success? Have your rules produced the desired effect – a lean, healthy body that you’re able to maintain; a body that you’re happy with when looking in the mirror?

If not, perhaps they could use a re-evaluation.

1) Eat every 2-3 hours - no matter what.

Now, you don’t need to eat a full meal every 2-3 hours, but you do need to eat 6-8 meals and snacks that conform to the other rules below.

2) Eat complete, lean protein each time you eat.

Complete, lean protein generally is food that, well, was an animal or comes from an animal. Things like chicken, beef, fish, dairy, and the like. “Lean” means low fat. So you want stuff with protein, but low fat content (e.g., leaner cuts of meat, low fat dairy, etc.). Are you getting protein in each meal? If not, make the change. Note: If you’re a vegetarian, this rule still applies – just like for the non-vegetarians.

3) Eat vegetables every time you eat.

That’s right, every time you eat (every 2-3 hours, right), in addition to a complete, lean protein source, you need to eat some vegetables. You can toss in a piece of fruit here and there as well. But don’t skip the veggies.


4) If want to eat a carbohydrate that’s not a fruit or a vegetable (this includes things like things rice, pasta, potatoes, etc), you can – but you’ll need to save it until after you’ve exercised.


Yes, these grains are dietary staples in Europe, but remember that heart disease, diabetes and cancer are medical staples in Europe – and there’s a relationship between the two!

To stop heading down the heart disease highway, reward yourself for a good workout with a good carbohydrate meal right after (your body best tolerates these carbohydrates after exercise). For the rest of the day, stick to lean protein and a delicious selection of fruits and veggies.

5) A good percentage of your diet (25-35%) must come from fat. Just be sure it’s the right kind.

There are 3 types of fat – saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve your health, and even help you lose fat.

Your saturated fat should come from your animal products and you can even toss in some butter or coconut oil for cooking. Your monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil. And your polyunsaturated fat should from flaxseed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.

6) Ditch the calorie containing drinks (including fruit juice).


In fact, all of your drinks should come from non-calorie containing beverages. Fruit juice, alcoholic drinks, and sodas – these are all to be removed from your daily fare. Your absolute best choices are water and green tea.

7) Focus on whole foods.

Most of your dietary intake should come from whole foods. There are a few times where supplement drinks and shakes are useful. But most of the time, you’ll do best with whole, largely unprocessed foods.

8) Have 10% foods.

I know you cringed at a few of the rules above – perhaps #6 in particular. But here’s a bit of a break. 10% of the time, you can eat whatever you want. 100% nutritional discipline is never really needed to completely change your body. (6 meals per day for 7 days of the week – that’s 42 meals. 10% of 42 meals is about 4 meals)

9) Develop food preparation strategies.

The hardest part about eating well is making sure you can follow the 8 rules above consistently. Knowing what to eat is pretty useless if you don’t have the time to make the food.

10) Balance daily food choices with healthy variety.

Let’s face it; during a busy week you’re not going to be spending a ton of time whipping up gourmet meals. So you’re going to need a set of tasty, easy to make foods that you can eat day in and day out. However, once every day or a few times a week – you need to eat something different – something unique. Search the web, ask around, watch the Food Network; come up with some healthy variety.

Its up to you.

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