David Virgo's Lifestyle Improving Blog

Go Natural this Christmas not Nuclear

2010-12-08T02:39:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful time of year Christmas and the whole festive season provides for us. Getting to spend quality time with the family and friends in a relaxed environment with an abundance of food, and drink; what more could you want? Unfortunately this is where we start to lose the plot and keep wanting more and more. Be it alcohol, food or even sleep, we just go too far. We get nuclear and not natural and take the focus off the loving (giving and receiving) and spiritual side of Christmas and place it all into having, wanting and indulging.

Nuclear influences play a huge part in our lives and as Christmas has the capacity to get very excessive, anything nuclear or unnatural can actually increases that excessiveness. Nuclear means anything that is chemical, artificial or unnatural, so heavily processed foods, alcohol, sweeteners and the likes.

Whilst you are on holidays and are experiencing the freedom of not having to turn up to work or answer to anyone. Taking that as an opportunity to let your hair down and hop into anything and everything that you perceive will give you even more freedom will only succeed to deliver the opposite effect. Sickness, tiredness, headaches, stiffness, back pain and even arguments and anger are all commonly reported in this festive period.

Your brain loves the freedom that holidays bring as well, but it doesn’t like nuclear influences and unnatural behaviors. It simply wasn’t designed to entertain them. The brain like you, needs time out and rejuvenation and if it doesn’t get it, things start to go wrong. We mistakenly associate late nights, a few drinks, lots of food, chocolates, sweets and even massive sleep ins as part of this great thing called freedom. Problem is your brain and body isn’t designed to handle them and will only succeed in causing more stress.

Instead of recovery, the brain is getting nuclear influences that give it an almighty whack of pleasure and it wants more of it. The more it gets the more it wants. The parts of the brain these influences hit are stimulated and excited greatly however this isn’t giving the brain recovery time. Whereas natural substances such as water, fruit, vegetables, meats, nuts, adequate sleep, activity, sunlight and a stress free environment is what will allow the brain and the body to recover and rejuvenate and be better after the break.

Treating the brain with nuclear substances is the most wonderful feeling for the brain however it is a stress internally that is re routing the natural systems that are set up to keep us alive, safe and healthy. This is why people report getting sick on holidays, the body puts everything on hold to deal with more stress and upheaval internally, even immunity. Your natural rhythms become confused as they don’t know when it is night or day due to the late nights and sleep ins. Excess sugar intake recruits masses of insulin which brings massive amounts of pleasure to the brain however the down side is the hormones think this is heaven and want more. All in all, stress levels go through the roof and the nuclear influences are part of the influencing factor.

Whilst this sounds like I don’t want you to eat anything or drink anything unnatural this Christmas, I know that is not realistic and would cause stress in itself. However I do recommend you create awareness around nuclear influences and limit them where possible. You are a natural being and nature is what your body and brain craves. Here are three tips to try if you want to reduce the inner turmoil of nuclear influences this Christmas and New Year.

1. Limit Nuclear power: Reduce the amount of unnatural or nuclear influences. This means alcohol, cool drinks, commercial fruit juices, sweets and chocolates to name a few. A good rule of thumb, we recommend is if it looks like it hasn’t been grown out of the ground or running around then it is unnatural or even nuclear.

2. Keep the Rhythm: Regular sleep and sunshine exposure should be maintained. Keeping the rhythms of your body in order or even improved aids recovery and rejuvenation. As soon as you start staying up later due to influences such as alcohol and unnatural light sources your rhythms begin to get confused. Our rhythms are in sync with the sun rising and sun setting. Upsetting that rhythm more than it already is decreases rejuvenation and your optimal functioning.

3. Get up off your bum: Keep moving to allow your brain and body to function. You are designed to move and if you don’t your systems that control overeating and motivation for activity start to shut down. Half an hour a day of walking will ensure these systems are still functioning but you still won’t be functioning optimally. So at a minimum get half an hour’s walk this Christmas and New Year period to keep your motivation ticking over

Enjoy this festive season and what it brings you. It is a time to savor however remember that natural influences will allow you to enjoy the moments for what they truly are and not for the more powerful and unsustainable nuclear pleasures your body and brain is receiving.

Is being busy a good measure of your success levels?

2010-10-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

As we meet and greet people in our travels what do people say when asked the question, How are you going?

A very common response is busy, haven’t got time to scratch myself or I’m flat out. Another common response is around never having enough hours in the day. But there is usually a follow up that follows and acknowledges that they like being busy.

Conditioning in our lives plays a big part of how we act and how we conduct our daily routine. How we interact with others and how we do business, accept friendship, receive reward for our services and bring up our children. How we were bought up is usually the way we act and lead our followers and siblings.

Conditioning is a powerful tool and isn’t always a good tool but it is real and a fact of life.
My point being the majority of us were conditioned to work hard and success will come to you. The harder you work, the more you do the better results you will get. Hence the busy disease we all seem to catch. In fact if we aren’t busy or seen to be busy we feel guilty. Sound familiar.

Remove yourself from the mental blueprint you have been embedded with as a child. Step outside of that if you can and look in at yourself and ask this simple question and don’t leave it until you get an answer. What are you busy doing? Is that busy-ness taking you to where you want to get to?

Getting the answer to this question will reveal that you are focusing on the little spot fires we can encounter on a daily basis that are demanding and need your attention aren’t taking you to you to the right destination. That is if you know the right destination – most people don’t. Sure you are busy but not in the right areas. You are caught up in the day to day and not thinking the bigger picture.

There is a great story the Washington Post ran on a social experiment they ran in a subway to see how many people would stop and take the time to listen to the world’s greatest musician. He played of an hour and only a handful of people stopped and listened to him and he had only $32 in his hat after that hour from passersby. The night before he packed a concert hall with people paying $200 a ticket to see him. You can read the story in full here

It was peak hour and people were on their way to work however it goes to highlight how one dimensional and blinkered we get when we perceive we are busy. Everyone is busy but is it on the right things.

Ponder this for the rest of the day or however long it takes and see what answer you come up with. When your time is up and you are laid to rest will you be remembered and acknowledged for your busy-ness? Is it what you want to be remembered for? If not what do you want people to say about you when you have gone, what mark do you want to leave on the world? If being busy is not helping you achieve this then you need to make some changes.

Being aware of it is a great start.

Ever wondered how to true Freedom would feel?

2010-09-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

As human beings we are given gifts at birth from our maker whoever you wish to believe he, she or what it may be. As children we don’t have much choice as to how we utilise these gifts, as our upbringing will play a huge role in this process.

From a very young age you have been conditioned to believe and behave in a certain way as this is the way your parents, guardians or circumstances dictated you must act. Whether this conditioning is right or wrong is not for you or me to judge, it simply is the way it is.

As young adults or even middle age you now have the ability to make your own choices and take control over your life.

Due to our conditioning this doesn’t always seem possible as we can feel like there are things in this world I have to do and choices don’t come into it. This is simply your conditioning showing up and making you feel this way. It is a documented fact that we believe as fact the first things we are taught or conditioned as is the right way or the only way, as highlighted in this study.

Research carried out by the University of Michigan states whatever information individuals first hear is what is believed. It is taken and embedded in your brain as fact. This illustrates why we must be careful not to carry around the old and out of date conditioning's that are mostly ineffective and often incorrect. As is normally the case with ideas carried around in the minds of most people.

Is work boring, non motivating and simply a means to an end? These are the questions you would be well advised to ask yourself in a bid to ascertain if you are aware of the way you think and approach life mentally.

Once you have developed and awareness of your unawareness now it’s time to start training in a bid to build up your own self awareness. The mind needs training just like the muscles in your body. Without stimulus the muscles lose strength and fail to support you physically and your metabolism slows as this muscle is seen as inactive and in no need of replenishment, recovery and rejuvenation.

A good way to start training this awareness muscle is to set out one, two or even three times a day to exercise it. Whether it be by an alarm or a diary recording to make you aware of this it doesn’t matter. What is important is you stop and think about what you are thinking about and the chatter going on inside your mind. What are you telling yourself? It may be things such as, life is hard, I hate this job, if I could just win lotto, I want a holiday but I have no money, I will never be the weight I want to be or how can she afford that? Doing this regularly for two, three and even four weeks will start creating a real solid base of the self awareness birth rite we were all given at birth.

If you want more freedom in your life I reckon from my experiences with sickness, living in scarcity and having a big worry gene inside me; not developing self awareness and realising the powers it possesses – true freedom isn’t coming to you anytime soon, if ever.

What is your Vision ?

2010-08-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Taking pride in being busy was the key to success. The more I did the more success I would have. Two jobs, 4 days a week at the gym, vegetarian, earning more money and having a great social life (probably too good at time) was ticking all the boxes and my life was on track. The only thing was, I didn’t know what track I was on and where I was going. There was no purpose to my busy schedule.

To be struck down with Leukemia was devastating however it was the red light I needed to have put in front of me. Whilst the next 18 months weren’t exciting or something I would recommend to anyone It allowed me to stop, think and hear the quiet. My life had become a constant noise full of busy-ness. But I had no purpose, definitely no long term vision, no value driven behaviours and definitely wasn’t serving anyone or anything. It was all about me, me and me.

Look at your own position in life. What is your take on success? We all have different views about what success is yet the way to get that success needs a vehicle. What is yours? Can you see the end point. Yes we all will die but what is the end result of your labours before you get to rest in peace. What is the end result you want to achieve, do you have a vision?

Taking the time to recognise this vision is a process the majority of the worlds inhabitants will never stop to do. They are too busy!! So that means thinking outside the square doesn’t it? It means being proactive and not reactive doesn’t it? It means developing some self awareness doesn’t it? Can you stop for a little while and so this. It may seem simple and it may seem trivial but I can speak from experience; it is a must do.

Life is full of choices and if you are reading this I challenge you to make one right now. Take the time to create or bring to life your vision. If you do, you begin to choose the path and direction you take in life. The universe is waiting for you to decide and help you but you need to make a decision. OR. Be prepared to work tirelessly to allow someone else’s dreams and goals to be met and achieved. Working busily to meet the requirements of the job and satisfy the boss, clients or members and having no regard or thought for why you are doing this isn’t serving you, your values and your life’s purpose. I liken this to a boat without a rudder. You will go wherever and whenever you are told.

If you have made the choice to find your vision let’s try these steps to start the process.

What is most important to you in your life it will be more than one thing and could be 6 or 8 things
What do you enjoy doing and want to do more of it
What are you good at
What are you passionate about
What are your strengths
What do close friends and family say about you and what effect do you have on them
What difference would you like to make in the world
What would you like to have said about you when you aren’t around

When you have the answers to these questions you are well on the way to identifying a purpose and a direction you can start following in your life.

Once the answers to the questions above are clear It is time to ask a few big ones that will begin to define your possible direction from this point on.

What needs do you see need satisfying in the areas of your passion, strengths and things you love to do?
What solutions can you see that would make a positive impact on the lives of others including yours as the provider of these solutions?

Luckily I had the time to sit and ponder these questions whilst undertaking treatments, recovering and entertaining thoughts of how will this all end. Whilst the records will show to this day that the Chemotherapy regime was a success on me I have no doubt I was able to get through and go into remission because I began to get some purpose and direction in my life. All of a sudden I was realizing doing what was important to me and remaining integral to my value system was more important that being aimlessly busy for the sake of being busy.

What‘s to gain from the Such is Life Documentary

2010-08-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Over two nights in Perth; “Such is Life”, a documentary was shown on television with over 2,000,000 viewers tuning in on the first night. The following day there was widespread discussions all over Australia. The impact was huge on the community and as a father of 3 young children it really smacked me in the face and made me assess what I am doing in my role as a father. It also made me think back to my days as a cricketer playing sport and associating with the elite on and off the field and realise how easy it is to go off the rails.

When documentaries like “Such is Life” are viewed, learning from them is absolutely imperative. Relating Ben’s battles with his addiction especially at the peak of the problem when he was delisted, with my battles encountering a life threatening illness actually reinforced some valuable lessons learnt, developed and actually employed in my life and now have started passing them onto my family.

What wasn’t happening in Ben Cousin’s life throughout his glory days was a lack of application to universal laws or principles or whatever you want to call them. Instead he gained strength and motivation from pleasurable experience that was quick and from external sources. He was feeding his desires by bringing in external influences. Unfortunately his was drugs and the only way to get more happiness or pleasure was more.

As soon as we rely on external influences for happiness, success or whatever we want in life, we set ourselves up for failure, because you aren’t relying on universal laws or guidelines to keep you on the right path to wherever you want to go. Ben had no self awareness or conscience for the people around him, the damage to himself as a person, the football club and the youth and impressionable people that adored him. The attributes of self awareness, having a conscience and even serving others or a greater cause are all common traits of successful people and Ben wasn’t doing and didn’t possess any of these.

Unfortunately in Ben’s and other addicts, drugs severely interfere in your brain’s functionality. In simple terms what was happening in his brain was his natural feedback mechanism for recognising and receiving pleasure was now being influenced by nuclear influences. Nuclear influences are so much stronger than natural ones so it is no fault of the brain to pull out all stops to get more and more and more. Recognising and receiving pleasure in our brain is a survival mechanism. It used to be drinking water, bursts of activity (running from things that want to kill us), sex (survival of the species) and food was what pleasure in the brain bought to us. Now the brain gets all manner of pleasures that are unnatural such as added sugar, drugs, alcohol and caffeine to name a few. Ben and any other drug addict are re programming their brains to get their next hit which is now their brains newly formed survival instinct.

The lessons learnt from the “Such is Life” documentary should be plentiful and varied as has already been highlighted by the responses in the media. I have put three of mine together to share and hopefully spark more thought on your behalf.

Develop self awareness around your emotions and how they are dictating and controlling your life. Is anger, resentment, pleasure, happiness or even sadness which are all emotions making you reactive instead of proactive? Look at food if you are trying to lose weight.
Having principles/guidelines in our own lives to guide you are important. Motivation is longer lasting and more powerful when it is related to a deep and internal value or mission dear to you. Take money for example; if that is your motivator and sense of happiness, what happens when you go broke, lose your money or are unable work for a period of time losing the capacity to earn money you are going to be unhappy, unmotivated and under the control of money.
Address all aspects of your life that are most important to you to ensure a more fulfilling life can be achieved and maintained. Most importantly link all of the important parts to your life to your mission and values because when things get testing (which they will) you are getting pleasure and fulfillment out of serving a greater good – not just satisfying desires from day to day and simply surviving.

I hope for Ben’s sake he can keep his life going forward and if the reasoning behind showing this documentary are to serve others. He can live a life to serve others and make a real difference to society, but he will need to follow principles, guidelines or universal laws (whatever you want to call them) otherwise he may just end up getting his kicks in the wrong way again. I hope he chooses the right path.

The only two sides of the equation that matter

2010-07-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

A big part of utilizing the natural powers that you possess is actually realizing that it isn’t at all about how hard you work or how many hours you study or how many sales you make in a month. But it is all about understanding the balancing act that the universe maintains.

Nature conserves perfect balance and once you realise this and base all of your efforts around harnessing these universal forces, your powerful inner forces can begin to really shine. Failing to stay physically active is a classic example. Physical inactivity is a symptom of the developed world’s utilization of technology and labour saving devices to make our lives more comfortable. However the by product of this is if it isn’t moving enough the true function of the human body is not optimized so it starts to kill it off. Look at the human race; it is beginning to self destruct with all the Obesity, Diabetes, Depression and Chronic stress to name just a few.

I remember reading an article from the great Dr John Demartini where he related this perfect universal balance to self worth and self wealth. One point that stood out more than any other was your true self worth is how well you can equalize and maximize your own giving and receiving. This is in no means just about currency either, in fact it is more to do with receiving the same proportionate amount of reward that you get from your giving. To fail in this area really is truly demeaning your own self worth. You can see how this can apply to relationships, work and even sport.

What’s my point? If you aren’t as happy, healthy, wealthy or fulfilled in your present life, it isn’t going to be found in working more hours to get more overtime, exercising harder and longer to get fitter or stronger or going out and forcing yourself to assist people in need and charities. You have to look deep inside and investigate where your imbalances are.

Are you giving to others more than you are taking from these relationships, are you not allowing the spending or using currency enough to allow the floodgates to open and allow more to come back to you. After all currency or money is only really an IOU for things in your life and will always come back to you if you truly have an abundance mentality.

Same with your thoughts; dwelling on the past or projecting into the future will only serve to create anxiety, worry or anger rather than being receptive and open to the myriad of opportunities that exist in the universe all around you right now.

Pretty deep stuff I know but it needs to be told and my tip to you; start working with the universe and not against it. Are you ever going to defeat gravity? Of course not so why try? The universal laws are the same. You only have to think back to when you bought a new car or even thought of buying one and then almost immediately started seeing them everywhere.

What you can do to start the journey is put it out there to the universe and ask for what it is you desire, but be prepared for the bombardment of opportunities that will follow because they will come. You can then choose to receive these opportunities and give them the appropriate attention they demand to make them a success for you or let them pass by and battle the universe for another day.

Is your motivation sedentary?

2010-06-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

No one can make you partake in physical activity (PA) and if they do manage to force you in some way it won’t last long. There is no doubting the benefits of PA and I’m sure both you are fully aware of a lot of them. So why don’t you do more?

The reason I ask is because the average steps taken in a normal day only 20 years ago was 20.000. Today the amount of steps in our day is averaging out at around 3000. Add that up over a week and the difference is 119,000 steps and then taking that to monthly it equates to 476,000 steps less per month. Taking that to a yearly amount of lost steps then you are taking over 5.5 million steps less every year.

Given this bit of basic maths which is about my limit as far as math goes, it is quite evident that a lot of your energy requirements are now not required. So this would mean we should be eating the equivalent of over 5 million worth of steps less every year – right? Something tells me this isn’t happening if the share prices of Woolworths and Coles are anything to go by.

Hence the obesity epidemic and the diabetes epidemic that is strangling our communities are not going to be heading south any time soon. Not to mention the depression issue. In 1993–94, $521m was spent in health system in costs associated with depression (Mathers 1998). However, the true burden is impossible to quantify as there is family, work and relationship costs that are immeasurable.

As stated earlier you can’t be forced to move more it has to be a self motivated thing. And given the above statistics it is fairly obvious we aren’t self motivating ourselves are we? So my plea to you would be find your own major motivation to live a fuller more enjoyable existence. If you require more intrinsic happiness and fulfillment in your life PA is one of the most sure fire way nature will provide this for you.

To be blunt; without PA you aren’t going to get true happiness, wellness, wellbeing and fulfillment. I call it Lifesperity.

You need to be aware that happiness, fulfillment, wellness, wonderful relationships, continuing self growth and all of the associated benefits of living a full, inspiring and vibrant life won’t occur unless you are physically active. It isn’t possible to enjoy that type of life without having PA as a major part of your life because the brain needs this activity.

To spark the body’s natural responses which are responsible for weight reduction, feel good hormone regulation (the body’s natural and true way of recognising pleasure), energy usage by the muscles which then promotes occurrences such as improved sleep, digestion and moods to name just a few, the brain needs to be stimulated by the PA we aren’t getting enough of.

My plea to you is find your own inspiration and happiness through doing the activities you want to do in your life. It may mean making some changes to your way of living at present but given the statistics on the way we are heading I know the changes are going to be worth the effort.

Don't take the easy road out of here

2010-06-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

I as reading something from a person that inspires me recently and it started with the following statement. "Are you comfortable and if not would you like to be"? He then moves on to say if you answer No to the first question and Yes to the second part, you are most likely broke. As you can guess he was talking about wealth. Not my place to talk wealth but Lifestyle I want to run with.

From that first question I want to use the same answering system and see where you are at the moment. If you answered No to the first part of the question, "Are you comfortable", and apply this to your lifestyle, wellness and general fulfillment. Then if you answered YES to the, "Do you want to be comfortable" part of the question then you are headed towards an uninspiring, uneventful and lifeless existence that will culminate with a very comfortable ending to your days. After all that is what you asked for wasn't it?

You can only be doing one of two things in this life and one of them is growing and learning new things and experiences by journeying into uncharted territories. Or you are getting prepared to be comfortable which is retreating from life and dying.

Don't get me wrong we are all going to die but how do you choose to get there. Do you choose an existence of taking whatever is handed to you and not ever wanting, asking and achieving much. After all you have to get up, go to work every day and after all of that there isn't much else to do is there? Or do you choose to get that dream job, take those adventurous holidays and invest wisely to create an existence of absolute exhilaration?

It sounds easy when I put it like that doesn't it? But it really is that easy. The hard part is getting uncomfortable every day and committing to making this dream come true. Step by step you have the power to make this a reality. Enter yours truly; I was the most boring and uneventful person you would ever want to meet. In fact I didn't want to meet myself half the time. So if I can do this so can you.

These are the steps to take to make the journey begin.

Start seeing yourself enjoying and laughing regularly in your dreams. See yourself screaming with joy, scared out of your wits and crying with unbridled emotion at the adventures, wins and losses you will be experiencing. You are beginning to ask the universe for what you want.
Change your mindset and get ready to become tested and uncomfortable everyday. There are going to be things you do that you would rather not because they will scare you and you will have no idea how things are going to turn out. You have courageous decisions to make here.
Invest in your self by committing time, energy and money into making these dreams coming to life. All the best laid plans are never going to come to fruition without an investment of some kind.

Take these steps over and over again and who knows you may even start getting up a head of steam called momentum. And then all you have to do is, as another inspirational acquaintance of mine once told me, "Get out of your own way".

Going backwards to leap frog mountains

2010-05-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

How has the year gone for you so far? Are you killing it in terms of how much weight you have lost, how many kilometres you are now running, how many houses you have bought or how much your relationships have blossomed?

No matter who you talk to we all have dreams, goals and outcomes we want in our lives and you are no different are you? I label that dream or outcome as the WHAT. The next logical step is work out the HOW and whammo that goal or outcome will happen. Good in theory isn't it, so why isn't everyone achieving outcomes and goals every day of their lives. After all we have already determined that everyone has them.

Firstly I will say the majority don't plan to succeed which no matter how much you dream it won't happen. But most importantly you probably haven't bought the real reason WHY we want to achieve that goal to the surface and recognised it. If the driving force and the result of what you are going to have in your life as a result of achieving this goal isn't front of mind regularly the WHAT and the HOW become meaningless.

So my advice is don't worry about the WHAT and the HOW you are going to achieve these goals but more importantly unearth the WHY and see how powerful your desire becomes. Then the what and the how are not an issue any more because if the WHY is really from the soul the energy created from this will drive you to find any solution and motivation you need.

It isn't reverse engineering this concept but it is definitely going against what is normal everyday thinking in the world of setting goals. Get the goal, find out the steps to take to get it and you are there. I say go the other way and start at why you want a goal and don't stop asking till you get a compelling answer that takes your breath away. If you are having difficulty get support in this area.

Now you are living.

How are you pleasuring the G spot in your brain?

2010-05-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

It all sounds a little bit X rated doesn’t it? Unfortunately after what I have to say here is far from it. In fact this is frightening stuff but I feel you need to be informed of this information and then you can choose your own course of action.

The brain – body link is becoming more evident but now and the evidence put forward by Paul Taylor a guru in the Fitness industry is highlighting just how closely linked that relationship between brain and body really is.

The G spot in our brain gets its reward or pleasure via serotonin and dopamine (hormones) which are also hugely responsible for motivation and behaviors. In past years when we were far more active our brains G spot was stimulated by this activity and nutrient dense high fibre foods that were consumed. What we are doing now is re routing these reward pathways by following the mob and moving less, eating more processed foods and introducing a lot more nuclear influences into our lives. By nuclear I mean food additives, added sugars, radiation, chronic stresses and stimulants to name a few.

In the process we are stressing ourselves more which introduces the stress hormone cortisol into our brain which coincidentally thrives on fatty and sugary foods. To highlight this how many times do you see highly stressed individuals eating celery and carrot sticks? It is always the chocolate, cakes, chips, ice-cream or even alcohol that is the choice for these people isn’t it.

Taking all of this into account it has been bought to our attention that we are creating addictive behaviors by behaving this way. In simple terms this occurs because now the brain gets its pleasure from sugar and fat which instigate great rushes of dopamine and serotonin instead of the way we are designed to regulate this hormonal response naturally. We are hard wiring obesity, depression and diabetes into our existence. Now here comes the scary part. If you think our generation is bad, our kids don’t stand much of a chance unless you make some wholesale changes.

You need to start eating a more natural, unprocessed diet for a start. You then would be well advised to double or triple the movement you are currently undertaking in your daily routine. We used to average 20,000 steps a day just 20 years ago but we now are lucky if we take 3000. And lastly remove chronic stress form your life. Stress is wonderful in small bursts but if left unmanaged it becomes dangerous.

I am sorry to sound so negative but this is information our Government needs to be putting out to the public. We are in trouble and unless we slow down and go back to basics in some areas of our lives we won’t have much of a life. Get your lifestyle in shape now and start inspiring your friends and family to follow.

Stand up straight and get some backbone

2010-03-07T04:15:00.000-08:00

Injuries are extremely frustrating and using good posture will decrease your risk of experiencing a frustrating back injury since all the body parts will be in proper alignment. Once your posture is compromised and the spine is out of alignment the percentages of injury are increased dramatically. Why does everyone have back issues? Posture is such an X factor here that people are oblivious to.

Lifting, exercising and even bending becomes a dangerous act when good posture isn’t maintained. Enter another major player in this whole posture and back health saga called the Bum, Butt or Gluteal musculature. Learning to utilize your hips and knees effectively whilst bending and lifting and activating those bum or butt muscles and still maintaining good spinal alignment or neutral spine will take a lot of the strain and stress of the lower back. Have you ever seen or heard of someone hurting their back in the middle of picking up an object such as a piece of paper, towel or even the dog's excretion in the park. This is simply the backs way of saying enough is enough, get your posture right or else your spine is in serious trouble.

As you can see, the benefits to using good posture are numerous. It would be silly for you to overlook these facts and continue to adopt improper posture, so make extra sure you are devoting the time necessary to get a grasp on good posture once again.

Using the following steps will help your spine stay in better health and avert long term health issues from appearing later on in life.

Get in the habit of keeping your spine in what is called neutral alignment when ever possible
Move it or lose it, your spine that is. Taking your spine through a range of movement stretches daily is advisable.
Go to a spine specialist for a check up regularly. Same as you get your teeth, blood pressure and have your cholesterol checked you need to get your spine checked.

If you aren't sure about how to go about maintaining or fixing your posture get in touch and we can definitely advise you on what action to take.

Does it matter if it's mind over matter?

2010-02-18T19:28:00.000-08:00

Previous alternative and complimentary therapies have been the ones to embrace the mind and body link and its importance. Use Reiki as an example. Reiki hones in on the natural force that speeds up or quickens everything such as the vibrational frequency of the recipient and un- blocks the energy flow, allowing healing to begin at a cellular level. The energy supply then becomes endless and limitless.

Using the digestion process as an example to highlight the direct link between how the bodies act of digesting food is controlled solely by the internal processes of the body which all stem from the messages from the brain and nervous system. The process of digestion starts as soon as we place food in our mouth and then begin to chew our food. Saliva's produced and then food is then propelled down our esophagus. Our stomach senses that food has entered, and then a cocktail of hormones and digestive acids are released and work together to break down the food and get it to the small intestine

Now that the food has been processed, it needs to be absorbed by the body, so it can provide us with the energy and nutrients that we need. All nutrients are then distributed where they are used to assist in the millions of chemical processes and reactions that occur every second within our cells. We have around 50-70 TRILLION cells in our bodies, and every one of them needs a steady supply of nutrients to stay alive, reproduce and communicate with each other. Disrupt this by not getting enough nutrients you upset your own little internal natural ecosystem and the processes of digestion and absorption require energy, vitamins and minerals to take place. By eating nutrient poor foods you are actually using up your reserves of nutrients without replacing them.

Getting back on track with the mind body link after reading the above so you really think we can afford to neglect our mental health and state and expect to stay healthy. And turning that around just focusing on the mental, spiritual and emotional side won't keep your health optimal either.

If you are seriously looking to improve the quality of your lifestyle overall why not request a Risk Analysis Health Check Diagnostic

Does seperation have a PLACE or NO?

2010-02-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

Come over here ladies and gentleman and see how smelling this toxic substance affects you. Just be careful you may get a sudden burst of dizziness, headache and even get nauseous. This was similar to some instructions handed out to a group of undergraduates studying psychology and the Connecticut University. They unknowingly took part in a study on how they would respond to negative suggestions. The results were crystal clear as everyone sniffing the supposed toxic smell which was a puff of fresh air reported reactions. What’s more the females that were also shown a vision of an actor having an adverse reaction at the time of inhaling the puff of air experienced more symptoms than those that didn’t.

This study is just one of many in the growing body of evidence bringing to our attention the role negative thoughts can have on our health. The reaction being studied in this instance was in relation to what they call Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPI) and this is what researchers believe triggers such happenings like mass fainting and the like.

We are all aware of the placebo effect as you have been hearing about these for years. But there sounds like there is a new kid on the block and based on the results of the study in Connecticut amongst many others it is becoming more apparent. Its name is Nocebo rather than Placebo. The Nocebo effect occurs when someone’s health deteriorates if they think they are or have been exposed to any harmful or dangerous situation.

Now you are clear on nocebo and placebo you can get a greater appreciation what sort of conundrum the medical world may be facing when more scientific proof of this comes out. On the one hand a medical patient must be informed of the possible side effects of a drug or treatment but will this information trigger the nocebo effect. It may very well be a case of damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

So taking all of this information on board, should we be separating the mind and the body in terms of health or do they go hand in hand. Again the growing number of reports and studies are telling us more and more that they are linked. Links to emotional change and physical changes such as blood pressure and heart rates plus even instances of blood clotting factors in times of grief and despair. This mind body health linkage we are talking about becomes even more relevant when you take into consideration the increasing rates of diagnosed depression in our communities today.

If you are seriously looking to improve the quality of your lifestyle overall why not request a Risk Analysis Health Check Diagnostic

Artificial and nature don't go well together

2010-01-23T02:03:00.000-08:00

It really does make me wonder where is it all going to end up? I refer to Artificial Sweeteners after recently discussing its cousin, processed or added sugar. Artificial Sweeteners have been linked to problems such as cancer, migraines, depression, birth defects, seizures, behavior changes, anemia, sexual dysfunction, thyroid dysfunction, and more. Not that I'm here to defend Artificial Sweeteners but there would be other factors here as well when linking products to health problems.

Splenda, NutraSweet, Sweet'N'Low and Equal have all taken supermarket aisles and even café sugar bowls by storm. The low calorie options are very difficult for the human body to metabolize and what can't be metabolized can't be absorbed, used by the body for energy, or stored as fat. Since they are intended to pass right through your digestive tract without any impact, the calories of these artificial sugars don't "count" in terms of your diet - making them low-cal or zero-cal.

Artificial sweeteners are a non-nutritive substance meaning your body can only partially metabolize if at all. The theory is that such substances pass harmlessly through your system with no effect, either good or bad. Hence, if you can find a substance that tastes like sugar but does not metabolize or release its calories then you can literally have your cake and eat it too without fear of weight gain or other undesirable bodily reactions such as high blood pressure or high blood sugar.

The problem is that most sugar substitutes are unnatural due to being synthesized in laboratories. The problem is our bodies are designed to deal with the molecules nature made, but our bodies were not made to handle the strange synthetic molecules of engineered drugs and non-nutritive sweeteners. The risk may not be obvious at first and can take time for the damage to become apparent. No matter what research is proven or dis proven the answers will never truly be realized without doubt. This is why you would be well advised to trust your own inner intelligence and team up with nature as best you can.

My advice for what it's worth, don't interfere with nature as it can't be beaten.

It's all in the name or at least it should be?

2010-01-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

It is usually a good tell tale sign that something isn't great for you when things get hidden away in a name or a title. Foods such as bread, cereals, mayonnaise, peanut butter, tomato sauce, pasta sauces and all those microwave instant heat and eat meals appealing to the majority of us time poor humans.

One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it causes insulin to be introduced to the system, which stops the production of growth hormone immediately, which in turn causes the body’s immunity system to be stifled. Not ideal if you are looking to remove restrictions from your life, especially excess body fat storage, and strive for optimal health.

In general, excess consumption of sugar can produce undesirable changes in risks associated with heart disease, cholesterol and insulin levels.

To find more facts and figures on this topic please head on over to http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com

Breaking the mould

2009-12-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

The 10 foods to avoid this Christmas, Top tips to avoid massive weight gain this Christmas make for common reading this time of year. So I am sorry to disappoint but I am going to change tack a little and come at Christmas from a completely different angle. I want to play around with the concept of taking the emotions out of Christmas. Stay with me, I’ll explain.

I don't mean to sound heartless and cold but I feel a lot of over indulging and excessive behavior occurring over Christmas and the festive season may be due to the huge emotional highs caused by the sense of freedom this time of year brings. This sense of freedom leads to huge doses of happiness, no thoughts for tomorrow and the desire to keep that big high on overdrive is fueled by excessive behaviors such as alcohol, food, sugar and even drugs which all effect the states of our brain and hormones in some capacity. Any time your happy hormone is sparked into action the brain gets a little high. So mix the freedom of the festive season with the little highs received from rich, delicious yet naughty foods, alcohol and whatever else is going you can start to see where the excessive behavior fueled by our emotions can start to take hold. What's my solution?

Don’t get too happy!!! Get grateful. Instead of chasing the highest of highs why not look for all the reasons to be grateful for what we have this Christmas. If that means comparing your life to others so be it. But I am thinking being grateful for the quality of life you have, the people around you and the love and admiration they have for you and you for them, your health, your financial status, the opportunities you are regularly presented with in this lucky country and the luxury we are afforded to be able to stop, relax and enjoy this time of year without the constant threat of disease, war, crime or wondering where your next meal is coming from.

Stay in Balance!!! Life has an uncanny way of bringing you back into balance. You only have to look at nature and how balance always seems to occur eventually. Bush fires bring new growth; the extinction of a species brings life to another and the list goes on. Same with us this time of year, excessive behavior will be matched with a balancing action such as a hangover, energy loss due to the body trying to cope with too much food and what is commonly reported is festive season or holiday blues caused by the high associated with freedom and time off routine then good old life bringing you back into balance and into a routine. See you can't go too far past neutral or the balance point (equilibrium) without getting drawn back, it's nature’s way. So don't go too far either way is my advice.

So in summary what I think, for what it's worth, is you would be well served this Christmas and New Year period to get excessively grateful and enjoy the period for what it is and not for the emotional roller coaster that it often is and can be. Sorry to be boring but I have a sneaky feeling your memories and recollections of this Christmas will be held in higher regard than all of the others if you treat it this way.

Which way will you fall this season?

2009-11-29T16:07:00.000-08:00

Today's discussion is all about balance. Especially relevant as the festive season is less than a month ago. What is the most worrying aspect from my point of view from a balance and festive season perspective is the way that balance after this period rarely seems to be recaptured.

The damning evidence that swayed me to get this message out, is every festive season an average of 3 kilograms of weight is put on. That doesn't surprise me as it is an over indulgent time of the year and if there was ever an excuse to over indulge this may slip in as one of them. The problem is the majority of us never balance up the scales and lose the added baggage accumulated at these times of the year. So adding it up over 5 or 10 years you can see why someone you haven't seen for 10 years is now 30 - 40 kilos heavier can't you? Scary stuff but relatively simple to fix. Just get a little unbalanced in the activity and nutrition stakes immediately after the festive season and equilibrium should create the necessary correction needed.

As an example of how to increase the activity scales over Christmas or New Year check out this seemingly innocuous and fun half hour or hour activity and the benefits it can produce. 36 healthy untrained men were randomised into a soccer group, a running group and a control group.Training was performed for 1 hour two or three times per week for 12 weeks; at an average heart rate of 82% of HRmax for both training groups.During the 12 week program, the soccer group improved fitness 62% more than the running group. The soccer group also lost an average of 50% more fat than the running group. The soccer group had an increase in lean body mass of 3.75lbs, an increase in lower extremity bone mass, a greater decrease in LDL-cholesterol and an increase in fat oxidation during running at 9.5 km/h. The running group saw none of these changes.The number of capillaries per muscle fibre was also almost 50% higher in the soccer training group than in running. Both groups reduced blood pressure equally.The researchers concluded that participation in recreational soccer training, has significant beneficial effects on health profile and physical capacity and in some aspects it is superior to frequent moderate-intensity running

So what this is saying is a simple run around the soccer, football or even rugby field with stop start activity or high intensity interval training is a very effective and efficient way of losing weight and getting healthier plus having fun with your mates. Sounds easy eh, well the reality is losing weight and getting back into balance isn't hard to do but it is a commitment. Are you ready to commit?

Make Christmas healthier by including basil

2009-11-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

Now that summer is on the way and the days are heating up. I am excited to report I can smell Basil in the air. There is something about Basil that really excites me. Says a lot about my life doesn’t it. But just to justify my exuberance about the health properties of the humble herb basil I am going to let you in on a few of the many health benefits of the essential oils found in basil.

It turns out its qualities play a huge part in reducing inflammation. This is important when we are fighting or trying to reduce the chances of developing cancers and cardio vascular disease. Basil helps stop inflammation by blocking the cells excretion of proteins called cytokines and also a chemical called nitric oxide which when cells are able to exchange these two components, inflammation results.

Also essential oils found in basil can effectively inhibit bacterial growth especially disease causing bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Shigella species, Salmonella species, Mycobacterium species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pathogenic strains of these bacteria can cause illnesses like food poisoning, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and dysentery. Just the names themselves sound bad enough don’t they?

Anyway you get my point and if you don’t I will spell it out. Basil is good for you and you should be making the most of it right now and all through summer. In fact researchers say it is worth noting that herbs and spices contribute significantly to the total antioxidants obtained from the diet. Basil is virtually calorie-free and, in addition to antioxidant vitamins and phenolics, is a rich source of vitamin K, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium and dietary fibre. It adds a lot of flavour in a way that’s waistline-friendly.

I can see it now on your Christmas lunch table in a pesto dip, maybe a tomato salad or even in the marinara or Neapolitan pasta sauce.

Take a leaf out of a cow's habitSSS.

2009-10-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Don't worry I aren't saying you should follow a cow to the letter, or you are a cow. What I do like about a cow is it chews it's food up so well and then re chews again and again. The irony is all they are eating is grass compared to us meat eaters (most of us). We need to look at what they are doing and reap the health benefits of their actions.

Next time you eat just take note of how quickly the meal has gone. Unfortunately the majority are time poor individuals so eating is fast and furious, just like your lives. The only problem is by the time any food has touched the sides it has gone and you are still hungry aren't you? So you feel like you need more but make it quick. Sound familiar? Then about 20 minutes later you are full, bloated and feeling lethargic. Still sounding familiar? Well let's look at ways to fix this.

You need to get conscious and follow this formula to allow the digestion process to start in your mouth rather than in your stomach with half eaten foods.

Sit down to eat away from computers, papers or books. Just have your food and eating utensils. Mine is usually my hands - typical bloke.
Slow down and chew your food to smithereens. Try chewing every bite of food 30 times and see how the food ends up before you swallow. It is harder than it sounds to count 30 chews when you are used to bite, chew a couple of times and then swallow.
Stop eating when you are slightly full. Because in ten minutes or so you will be satisfied and ready to go. The energy saved listening to your stomach will astound you. Plus you will actually enjoy the taste, texture and flavours your food offers. As long as it is natural and unprocessed.

So following the SSS model will be very hard to follow, trust me I struggled and continue to do so but like everything if it was easy everyone would be doing it. But the rewards will be remarkable. Energy, amount eaten, regularity, stomach bloating and yes the main one everyone is concerned with; fat loss due to calorie restriction and a metabolism kickstart.

Size does matter, even for the ladies

2009-09-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

We have all heard of the term thunder thighs right. And some of you unfortunately would of been ridiculed by others by being called thunder thighs. Well I am here to tell you the size of your thighs could help determine how long you live. It seems that small thighs under a certain size are linked to heart disease and premature death.

A study found on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) website has revealed having thighs around the 60cm measurement mark means you are less susceptible to disease and premature death. Providing you are carrying out a healthy lifestyle of course. The Copenhagen Uni Hospital revealed that after twelve years of research thigh size is an even bigger risk factor than waist circumference. In measures if you have thighs less than 55cm you may be at risk.

What does this mean for you? Most people equate big thighs to fat but this study may highlight the bigger the thighs the more muscle content which in turn means better metabolism. More lean muscle stores we have the more blood supply needed and nutrition to feed it. So why not take the studies advice, it can't do you any harm. Focus on doing more lower body activity such as walk, ride, resistance training focusing on lower body (squats, lunges and so on).

This may help if you are such for ideas to increase lower body activity.

Increase steps taken in a day . In essence get your legs moving and carrying your body weight around
Bend your knees more when you are standing up. This may mean focusing on correctly bending to pick things up or sitting down. Stop falling into the lounge, picking objects up with a straight back.
Use your hips more by whenever bending or lifting occurs learn to activate your gluteals (butt muscles) to save you loading up your back and increasing the weight taken by your legs.

Hopefully these tips can start you off. If you require any more assistance lease feel free to contact me anytime, it may lengthen your life.

Busy? You need some EPA in your life

2009-09-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Placing extra and inflexible fitness regimes on already busy people is setting everyone concerned up for failure. In my experience you need to resist a one size fits all approach and try the individualised approach. The only way to do this is empower the busy and often out of balanced individual to look for a way that he can employ into his routine and then offer professional fitness advice from there. It flips the thinking but has massive results in terms of you the busy person’s conformance. Use EPA to get you to this point.

1. Get Emotional. Empower yourself to see why it is you need or want to fit in or keep a fitness regime into your already busy lifestyle. What is most important to you, health, six pack abs, performance in your career, family (if you don’t keep fit and overwork, sickness and disease may take you away from your family). Also find out what it is you enjoy in an activity sense. Again what are your values; do you like adventure, weights, running etc

2. Prioritise fitness. If you are already busy you will perceive there is no time for exercise or activity. Once you feel you want to do it for the right reasons (Point 1) then you would be well advised to book it into your weekly schedule or make a date with yourself. Just like a meeting, book in another meeting only this time it is to invest in yourself. Put it in a diary; tell your Personal assistant that you will be busy for these times in the week.

3. Be Accountable. Now you are emotionally charged and want to keep fit and healthy for all the right reasons and you have booked it in your diary. All that is missing is accountability. It is too easy to say when the time comes I am too busy. So getting accountable means getting a personal trainer, a fellow worker or a mate to meet you and even do the run or the training session with you. You will feel less inclined to let someone else down than yourself. And don’t think paying for a gym membership will solve the problem – you only have to look at the drop out rates for gyms.

We are all time poor which make us all time poor so the last thing we need to do is force ourselves to do something that is going to make us busier. But if you associate the benefits of an activity to your deep inner core values then you may stand half a chance of making it a priority and factoring it into your weekly routine.

What's up with this alcohol thing?

2009-09-04T03:02:00.000-07:00

In my local neighbourhood recently I saw a hotel building that had been revamped ready for business again but there was no indication as to what the new venture would be. There was shopping trolleys out the front so I automatically presumed it would be a mini super market or something to that effect. 2 weeks later I saw it had opened as a discount liquor store outlet. The car park was full and a steady trickle of people coming in and out with purchases.

What is my point? Why can a new shop instantly create a mild sense of hysteria selling alcohol and yet a gym which is a mini version of a discount liquor store except the product is health, fitness and wellness not have that mini hysteria effect? The only reasoning I can put it down to is the sensation and release alcohol gives the user. But exercise and activity can offer the same effects just not as quickly. Maybe it is the huge marketing dollars the alcohol industry spends but again the Government, the media and the fitness industry itself also spends big dollars on marketing and actually gets lots of free publicity. So I can only put it down to the fact that alcohol is a quick fix release that people perceive will take them away from their troubles and create happiness for them.

Now please don't judge me as a wowser as I enjoy a drink, in moderation of course, as much as anyone. But it was just something that made my little brain start working overtime. And I also don't begrudge operators from making money out of selling alcohol. But what is the attraction?

I want to leave you with a pitch and a plea for your health and wellbeing. Please try and get as passionate about your health and wellbeing as the masses and maybe you get about alcohol. Remember these important points.

Physical activity stimulates your feel good hormones and can give you the feeling of euphoria afterwards without the hangover
Physical activity will improve your performance and will be cheaper in the long run. If you add up health compared to medical complications, accident costs etc as a result of excess alcohol consumption.
You will look and feel better in the real world rather than looking and feeling invincible in an alcohol fueled haze.

Something to think about and I would love to hear your views. Maybe I am way off the mark here and don't mind being told so.

Counting calories isn't as cut and dry as it sounds

2009-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

The common misconception for anyone trying to lose body fat is that exercise is the key and will do it all for them. They join a gym which is a great step but commonly this only serves in giving a false sense of security as far as calorie or energy expenditure goes. A lot of the time visiting the gym even 5 hours a week by itself will not be enough activity for most people who are otherwise sedentary. In this day and age a minimum of 7 hours a week physical activity should be undertaken in a week for good health and to help the fat loss process.

There are usually four main problems associated with the way we think of achieving fat loss in my experience.

They count calories but don’t realise that anything that is heavily processed and unnatural is not an equal to a fresh and natural calorie packed full of nutrients. They aren’t getting the food value their bodies require. This is especially relevant today with low fat, diet and heavily sugared or artificially sweetened foods.
They commonly skimp on breakfast to save calories. This is the easiest way to stop fat loss in its tracks. Metabolism doesn’t function optimally and again quality nutrient dense foods are sacrificed for less valuable foods nutrients wise.
The portion sizes of their food can usually cut by ¼ to ½ . Even eating bad food options with a reduced size serving will still increase their capacity for fat loss. Unfortunately anything that gets binged on is usually heavily processed and sweetened so reducing the size down to half can save a lot of excess calories being consumed.
Move more in any way you can. Physical activity is needed for energy expenditure.

In summary quality should always take precedence over quality or lack of it in a weight loss campaign. The more nutrient value a food has the better effect that food will have on fat loss.

Warning: You need to start building up your immunity.

2009-08-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

If you were fortunate enough to hear our 'Back up a Little' interview with Dr Steve Wilson you would know how badly out of shape our health is getting. As a race we are becoming more reliant on medication and neglecting to address our own lack of natural barriers to disease and sickness. If you are serious about removing restrictions from your life then you need to start building up your own defence barriers to illness. Get your immunity muscles bulging so to speak.

To highlight to me how well we are going, we had to take Tyrone (our son) to the Doctor recently to get him checked as he had a cold and his ears were starting to hurt. turns out he had an ear infection and was prescribed an ear drop form of antibiotic. We tried every chemist in the vicinity but no stock of the drug for 2 weeks. Another prescription fared no better except one outlet had one batch left. running out of drugs isn't uncommon these days but you don't hear of nature letting you down in this way do you. The Laws of Nature don't run out - they keep on keeping on.

That's my rant here we need to keep getting back to nature to stay healthy. Don't fight it join it because it can't be beaten. Fire won't beat a forest it just makes it come back stronger. Buildings can't stand in the way of water for too long before they get reduced to ruin. Our bodies can't sustain constant poisoning with unnatural substances for long before warning signs start appearing. As an Australian the first inhabitants of our land lived with nature and introducing unnatural substances into their lives didn't do their cause and health too well did it? So why not start getting back to nature? I have given 4 great starting points if you want to start your own natural journey.

Remove added sugars from your diet. Sugar, artificial sweeteners can be taken out of the diet in so many ways. Cool drinks, fruit juices (commercial), most commercial cereals, cakes, pastries and so on. replacing any drinks you may purchase with natural substitutes will be a great help. Water, freshly squeezed juices and herb teas are great liquid replacements
Consume fruit and vegetables at every meal. Make this a ritual and you will be getting such a great natural boost of nutrients at every meal.
Lose the low fat mentality. Our bodies need fat for survival and energy and replacing good fats and oils with low fat alternatives deprives your body of a vital ingredient for health and well being.
Think quality not quantity. By sticking to the 3 tips above this will be easier but just remember we aren't moving as much as we used to so we don't need as much energy. As an example for most of us an entree size meal is big enough and sometimes even too big. Put in the nutrient dense foods and take out the heavily processed unnatural options.

These simple steps will do wonders for your immunity and stop you relying on a staggering health system due to our inability to take responsibility for our own health.

So you feel like it can't be done?

2009-07-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite past times is spending time with my family and it is something I plan into my week. What I want to pass on today is the reinforcement of the need to set goals but more importantly the need to break them down into a step by step process. It may sound like an extra job but taking the time to do this will be a vital part of your success. My daughter is going to be used to highlight my point.

Sabina (eldest daughter) was casually remarking to me how it would be so hard to count over 100 and how she couldn't do it. I calmly took her to the number chart on the wall and highlighted to her how easy it was to count to 1000 if she could count to 100; and how easy it was to count to 100 if she could count to ten - which she can do. From that point on she started counting and made it right up to 200. This was monumental for her, small for you I know, but there is a lesson to learn from this.

Are you trying to lose weight, get fitter, strengthen your back, prevent disease, stop illness or make a million dollars on the stock market?

Where ever you are in life the big dreams can seem too big and out of reach. In reality it is only a matter of breaking the dream down into achievable segments that will take you to your destination. The power is in the process as Sabina found out. Once she new counting in blocks of ten could lead to making it to 100 she worked on counting to ten, then 20, then 30 and so on. Same with you, break it down and you have the motivation to go and achieve because you can see a path to take you there. The key is making your path clear and visible.

Try it get your goal and follow these steps.

Think big - get your goal out in the open of your mindset and don't disbelieve it. When your thinking says it can't be done, correct it to be, "it is possible and I will find the way"
Break it down - what is it that you need to address that will allow you to get that dream or outcome. There is always three or four things if not more you need to attend to.
Get a strategy- Four each area of challenge or concern put together 4 or 5 (or more) strategies that will help you improve the areas needed to be addressed that will drive you to your end point.
Commit to you and honour it - by following the strategies to the letter and all of a sudden the points to come out of the 'Break it down' phase are being improved and addressed. Then sticking to the strategies consistently will drive you to your dream.

There you have a simplistic and broken down approach to getting your desired outcomes. Constant attention to the process and details will ensure massive results, guaranteed.

What is the attraction with sin?

2009-07-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Las Vegas I saw things from a totally different perspective. As I have been fortunate enough to have been there a few times before I could look at things from a different perspective this time and ponder a question that the answer still alludes me. But after reading a book titled 'As a man thinketh" and then visiting Vegas I feel the answer to my question is nearer. The question by the way is, 'Why do we continue to indulge in practices that we know aren't good for us'?

Witnessing Las Vegas from a parental perspective, plus being in a completely different place in the self development phase forced me to view things differently. Seeing gamblers in action at all hours of the day and night, drinking, smoking, violence, stealing as well as sex, drugs and homelesness openly displayed really made me ask why is this place so appealing? Not to mention the cheap and nasty food options on tap. My findings are that the majority of us (humans) are fixated with satisfying our desires by indulging in what is perceived to be pleasurable and satisfying past times. Unfortunately the satisfaction is short lived so we go back again and again for more in a bid to feed our desires and try and find happiness. Only to find that feeding desires makes us more unhappy and unsatisfied. I feel the only form of happiness can ever come from within and when this occurs we will never have to rely on external sources and indulgences to satisfy us.

Learning to control our mindsets, to be one of complete abundance and to serve, rather than to desire, want and indulge ourselves and promote our importance in front of others, only serves us to continuously keep seeking external sources of satisfaction that will never fill the missing void of internal happiness. Do you constantly feel like there must be more to life? Well I reckon there is but it isn't external; it's internal. I won't go on too much but I feel if you can follow a few guidelines to start with you may start to see what a difference changing your mindset can make and sinful desires will slowly lose their appeal.

Become a servant to a cause or others
Don't get angry learn to forgive instead
Drop the opinions - who says you are right all the time
Learn to be happy inside before looking for happiness externally

If you begin to implement these four principles into your line of thought your actions will follow suit just as the fruit follows the seed.

What a Waste of Energy

2009-06-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Holidays, travel, adventure, I love them all and even getting up at two in the morning didn't bother me to get to the airport in time. I'm off to America for three weeks to stay in San Diego - California with my sister in law. But it's not all about me, in fact I am here to tell you about a situation I witnessed at the airport that was so petty and avoidable yet it consumed 7 people directly and others indirectly and started a day off horribly wrong for those involved.

Whilst lining up to check baggage in a mother and daughter were patiently waiting in front of a mother and son. All was quiet as you would expect until another young girl rushed up to the mother and daughter combo to embrace and get ready for their voyage together. Then the issue arose whereby the father (not in line) of the mother and son combo waiting behind the girls rushed up to confront and take the lady to task for pushing in. Well as you can imagine emotions were out of control and all were left scowling, shaking heads and in general emotionally disrupted. What was worst the father then walked off to leave all involved to feel very uncomfortable with each other.

What's my point? I'm big on living your life according to principles and guidelines and one very important one to me is 'first things first'. Well this was first thing in the morning and if this was the way they all kicked off their day and no one was prepared to see the others point of view, admit wrong doing, apologise or even agree to disagree, the rest of the day for each and everyone involved would of been filled with resentment and anger which may well eventuate in angry or resentful actions at some stage. Outcome being a wasted day and by constantly repeating this pattern of emotional unconsciousness lives will be marred by blaming others, resentment, revenge and the notion that the world revolves around them and their situation.

To avert the problem I feel they would of been better off

Understanding each others point of view before putting their own case forward.
Look for a win/win solution rather than just a win for themselves.
Then apologise or at least move on and forget about the issue as no more could be done. If nothing else forgive the other and feel sorry for them for being so arrogant and ignorant to others and their situations.

If conflict is a constant in your life please think about this. Your thoughts control your actions and until you control your thoughts you will never control your actions.

Are you digging deep enough?

2009-06-14T02:26:00.000-07:00

Waking up today I was a little hazier that usual and then reality hit me. My family has deserted me or I have deserted them maybe more to the point. As I write, Adriana (wife), Sabina, Tyrone and Daniella (kids) are all on board a Qantas flight to Los Angeles and will be ushered down to San Diego to spend a month with Adriana's sister's family. I decided to stay a week longer at home to get some business dealings all sorted and then I will meet them there in a weeks time. Now that I've explained myself I'll get to the point. My greatest and deepest core value is my family and I already miss them but there is an upside; as we must always find in times of adversity.

I have some deadlines that others want me to meet for my own business interests and I can now devote the next week to solely satisfying my business/hobby needs and the other parties. If the family was here with me now I wouldn't be dedicating the time required to meet the deadlines others are requiring of me. Notice I didn't say couldn't. Because I work for myself this may seem strange but I have committed to an agreement that requires me to produce a product that someone else will sell for me!!!

The point being I was prepared to miss their required deadline because I was satisfying my family values and in turn keeping my passion for life as high as a kite. At the end of the day if I wasn't happy with my life (by not satisfying my deepest and dearest values) my output will be substandard, my relationship with my family substandard and my drive and purpose would lose its sting pretty quickly. Opportunities to make money will always be there but you and your values may not be so make the most of them.

What's my point? Are you aware of your deepest inner core values and if you are; are you satisfying them on a daily or weekly basis? If the answer is no to any of the questions above you are probably not as satisfied and as passionate about your life as you could be. You do have a choice and it's about time you started making the right ones for you - not for others or to satisfy others needs. Ask yourself theses 3 questions to start digging deep to find your own deepest core values.

If you were guaranteed success in anything you did what would you like to be doing right now in your life - and what emotions does the thought of you living this life stir up for you?
Do you hop into bed at the end of each day knowing your actions during the day have scratched the itch your values create and do you wake up in the morning looking forward to attacking your day passionately driving your satisfaction levels for living to an all time high.
What would you like said about you when you retire or as we all will; move to another life -what would you like to be remembered for most in your life?

Answering these questions is not a 5 minute exercise but if you are serious about living a life with passion and fulfilment I suggest you ask them and take the time to record your answers. It will start you on the way to getting your own personal mission statement. Answer the questions in order otherwise the exercise will not be as effective. Leave a comment so I can see how you went.

Have you ever heard of mood proofing yourself?

2009-06-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

Wow I have just finished listening to an unbelievable interview via a podcast I subscribe to and boy was it good. So good I want to share the message I took out of it. Basically my take on it is, no matter where you are in life; at the top of the success ladder, the bottom or somewhere in between, the same battles and challenges are still going to appear. The interview in question was between a mentor of mine Scott and a pracademic (practical academic) William Sukala who is just about to complete his PHD. His studies and research involve special at risk populations and empowering them to use exercise to counter and stop these conditions.

But the two big factors I took out of the interview to share with you is to do with your mindset and how your actions are ruled by it. Anyone involved in our wellness coaching program will know the importance I place on our mindset and William reinforces this. He has consciously mood proofed himself which simply put, means he is totally aware of his mind when things get tough. And in these tough times he makes sure his processes are right and reassures himself he is on the right path and to keep persisting. He also has Emergency Standing Orders (ESO) which he follows when his outlook and positivity is tested. Again his process is checking his personal mission statement (PMS) and making sure the path he is taking, when the struggle mentally begins, is in line with his PMS. Combining these ritualised tools in his armoury safe guard him against anxiety and worry. To quote him, "the future isn't here yet so why worry about that and the past has gone, so there's nothing you can do about that now".

I took so much out of this interview and I hope my message gets through to you in the same way. But to assist you to mood proof your mind and start making your own Emergency Standing Orders try following these steps when anxiety and worry starts to toxify your mindset.

Stop and listen to the messages you are broadcasting to your subconscious mind
Qualify those thoughts and ask yourself are the thoughts which will control my actions helping me achieve my desired outcome in life
Make a choice whether you entertain that thought further or disregard it totally and put a consequence to the choice you make
Take absolute responsibility for the choice you make and don't deviate from this responsibility. Don't become a victim.

I'll leave you with a famous Einstein quote that William the great repeated. The definition of insanity is seeking a different outcome yet taking the same course of action over and over again. Is that you?

William Sukala's website can be found at http://www.williamsukala.com/

Is scarcity making you unwell?

2009-05-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

Let's face it not many of us really enjoys getting mad, angry or upset. And from a wellness perspective being in these far from harmonious states is not going to help you achieve wellness and well being. I've mentioned it before but scarcity can be a huge factor in allowing these negative emotions to enter your world. So to set the scene for where I am headed I want you to open up your mind and recall how any conflict, difference of opinion or how someone's actions has upset you and what caused the negative outcome. Then I will get you to back up a little and investigate.

Let me give you a couple of examples to highlight what I'm getting at. Say the poor old mother in law has come over and whilst you were out or busy on some other task she has put draino or bleach in the washing machine and washed your favourite clothes. Obviously they will be damaged and apart from being favourites you will have to go spend more money replacing them when it wasn't even your fault. Another one is you may not have left instructions to someone who is assisting you on a task in fear of sounding directive or forceful and then finding out the job hasn't been done right. Anger and resentment may kick in. Both highlight scarcity as fear has dictated how you approached the situation and how you felt about the outcome.

These outcomes and feelings could of been avoided by simply changing your mindset from scarcity to abundance. We know scarcity is living in fear of or a lack mindset and abundance is a mindset of plenty, opportunity and empowerment don't we? Back to the mother in law the situation is not going to change and holding onto the anger and resentment over the result stems from the fear of spending money then you are thinking subconsciously that there is a lack of money. This thinking will block any opportunity of earning, winning or attracting more money to come to you. With the job example, your fear of losing friends or sounding bossy stops you making your position known. You can't ever be in a leadership or entrepreneurial role as your scarcity mindset will block these opportunities from appearing to you and hence your ability to grow and develop yourself. These are just two of millions of examples I could of used but the underlying factor is - it is your choice as to whether you live in scarcity or abundance.

Here is a guide to get you to change over and start thinking abundantly.

Monitor when you shy away from situations or when you feel negative emotions invading your head space.
Identify what the underlying factor is that is doing this to you. Is it money, belief, ability or just that it is different and uncomfortable.
Challenge the identified factor that is causing all the fear. Ask yourself or even better write it down and get the logical part of your mind disputing your thought patterns that take you into scarcity.
Flip your mindset and get uncomfortable. Now you have identified and challenged the scarcity causer turn it around and you have the abundant mentality causer. Push through this part as it takes courage and persistence to change.

Find out why oppostite is great.

2009-05-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

Be different is what I am saying. And what's more be proud about it. My reasoning for saying this is the world would be a really boring place to be in if we were all the same. And on reflection and generally surmising my circle of influence too many individuals are conforming to the mentality of it's the way things are done, it's how it is or it's what everyone else is doing so it must be OK. I'm here to encourage you to branch out and discover you and what it is that you can turn around in your lifestyle that will make a world of difference to your fulfillment, performance, enjoyment, success and wellness. Back up a little and start smelling more roses.

How many times do you hear someone say I don't have time do do that or I can't fit it in I already do to much. It is very common isn't it. Well let me say one thing - If you haven't got the time to do it, you need to do it more so. Meaning if you haven't got time to play with the kids, do some activity, go and meet a friend for coffee, have a massage or anything else that you would like to do just for you and your mindset is telling you you haven't got time. You need to make time and realise what is more important in this very short lifetime of yours.

A great example of thinking differently or outside the box is something I recently read about Donald Trump. His father discouraged him to build and develop real estate in Michigan (USA). He had the odds stacked against him and everyone told him he was nuts. He thought the opposite to them and the difference is he acted differently to them also. Look at the success he has had since and you would say his decisions were justified. His quote to illustrate his attitude which he calls going against the tide is, "Great minds have purposes, others have wishes".

My point being; everyone is busy. Everyone can justify not making better lifestyle choices by quoting work or other commitments that aren't as important as you and your wellness creation efforts. But at the end of the day is that reason going to make you happier, more fulfilled and give you the total freedom you would like? If not make some changes today that will take you closer to a more fulfilling and better quality existence.

Are you a happiness bounty hunter?

2009-05-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd slip in a quick thought that has been with me for a while. And If I am completely up front about it what I am about to talk about here is something that has caused me a great deal of uncertainty in my short but eventful life. It is the materialism conundrum and where you sit with it all and more importantly why do you feel like you do about it. Lets explore it more and then I will let you explore it more in your own head space.

In today's society it is not uncommon for people to shift around in their jobs, houses, girlfriends, wives and cars. It would be fair to say a lot of the toing and froing is in order to get something bigger, better that will in perception make your life more complete or better. My thoughts are this causes undue stress and creates the never happy syndrome (if there is one). Because buying the better car, the better house, the designer label sunnies and so on will only keep you happy for so long until the next big thing in your eyes hits your world. Where as if you look at constantly investing in your internal happiness and fulfillment the perception that you need materials to keep you satisfied will quickly dissipate. Not to mention the money and stress it will save you.

As an example you can go on a trip to the other side of your country or another country and get so much joy and fulfillment from the mere fact that you are there seeing another way of life and experiencing the culture. Or you can go out and look at the material things in your vicinity or go chasing them in a bid to satisfy yourself. I call it internal versus external happiness hunting and I am not saying one is right or wrong but I want you to think which category you fall into and beware of the alternative. Open up your mind to the possibility that you can have your cake and share it yet still be fulfilled and then don't feel the need to go looking for a bigger or better one to show the world how good or successful you are.

Do you want to break free?

2009-05-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

I may be showing my age here but the title brings memories of Queen (rock band) flooding back however that isn't what I'm here to talk about sorry. Maybe another day.

Self limiting beliefs and thoughts hold you back whether it be in a physical, mental or even spiritual sense. The more we repeat an action or a thought the more the body or mind learns and remembers how to carry it out. So taking that on board if you are continuously thinking negative, lack or scarcity then this is what your mindset is always going to replay. And unfortunately this is always going to be replayed as it’s already been played so many times it’s going to be on auto pilot in your mind.

So whenever you get put under pressure and you could either take the positive route or the negative route autopilot will kick in and negativity is back without you even knowing about it. Dr Howard Cameron an a natural health scientist and chiropractor says try brushing teeth with your non dominant hand and see how foreign and difficult the task feels. Same goes with the mind, try thinking positive or upbeat about a particular situation and see how hard it is to maintain (if you have negative tendencies already). But as stated earlier the more you can reinforce and stick to positive and upbeat thinking then the more it becomes part of your normal thought processes.

A great way to start the process is by

Dreaming about a real life situation that you would like to be a positive experience for you.
Imagine accurate images of this situation.
Extract the feeling or emotion from this image and
Act on this feeling strongly and remember the stronger the image and the emotion the stronger the action

Reinforcing why energy management is superior

2009-05-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie as my energy is about to run out. Does that sound funny to you? You would usually expect me to say I am rushed for time wouldn't you. Well I am here to reinforce to you why time management is quickly becoming redundant in my world. I know through my own experiences as an entrepreneur, wellness coach, fitness professional, father, mentor and soon to be online youth athletic development coach if I was to time manage solely I wouldn't be as efficient as I am now that I manage my workload according to energy rather than time. I still work in time slots but I now manage my energy to make sure I am at my best for the times I need to be. Clear as mud?

The inspiration for my little reinforcement quickie is after just returning home from my regular Saturday morning hangout with my 3 kids. Sabina my eldest was the lucky or unlucky one whichever way you look at it who got to walk home with Dad while Tyrone and Sabina rode in the pram. Sabina as expected was tiring (physical energy) so we stopped at every bus stop on the way home. Once we began walking again we powered on to the next stop. We arrived home and the result was as follows. The time it took was actually less than our normal walk and Sabina was ready for the adventures our wonderful family home life offers our kids.

The wonderful Sabina

What's my point; if I had been fixated on time management I would of pushed Sabina to keep going or even carry her on my back or something ridiculous like that. It would of taken me longer and worn me out. But because I applied energy management my time management actually improved as well as my energy levels and Sabina's. Everyone was a winner.

What's with White Carbs?

2009-05-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether you have heard but lately I have been hearing a lot about white carbs and how you should be avoiding them. Firstly I will state categorically blanket statements in nutrition don't work. Making blanket statements such as the white carbohydrates are bad for you just don't apply. It is like saying there is a right and a wrong way to do something and no in between. This kind of thinking is for people who live in a world where there aren't any opportunities, the rich are all crooks and lotto is the only ticket to freedom. Now I've got that off my chest i'll move on with white carbs - sorry.

Carbohydrates are a necessity in your diet and that includes white ones. Foods such as onions, oats, cauliflower, spring onions, mushrooms and even chick peas are all white carbs and they are definitely good for you. What I feel the white carb scare campaign is aimed at is heavily processed items such as white breads, donuts, sugar, breakfast cereals and even ice cream. But i'm sure all of you knew this already. Carbohydrates are vital in your diet and I don't think people realise that fruit and vegetables are classed as carbs.

To be sure you are eating the good carbs in future follow these guidelines and you can't go wrong.

Buy foods in their natural form. Fruit and vegetables have their own packet (their outer skin) so resist carbohydrates that need unpacking or unwrapping from a packet or a box.
Include a natural and unprocessed carbohydrate source at every meal.
Eat at regular intervals to ensure the goodness from these natural and unprocessed carbohydrates is put into your body throughout the day.

Please put the carbohydrate myth to bed and maybe reply to all of your friends and associates that it isn't the carbohydrates we need to reduce in your diet it is the processed foods that are making us horrible unhealthy. Two great quotes I've heard are - If your ancestors didn't eat it 1000 years ago neither should you and If it doesn't rot don't eat it. I would advise consumption before the rotting phase!!!!!

What's so good about getting corrected by a 5 year old?

2009-04-27T03:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been held to account? There is a good chance you have been and if so there is a fair chance next time you were much more conscious of doing the job or activity right. The point of my message is accountability and how you and I need it to become better and achieve success. I don't care who you are this is one thing we all have in common - we need to be held accountable.

To prove my point by using a very simplistic story; my daughter who is only 5 years old and in pre school is learning the alphabet, sounding out words and so forth. All very exciting for her and she's doing very well. She is doing so well I am constantly being corrected in my grammar. I have fallen into the horrible habit of saying yeah and she without fail stops me and makes me repeat the word properly. "You said Yeah Dad say it properly". Of course I follow orders. Same goes with the word what instead of pardon. At first it was a little bit of fun but she aint stopping and guess what? I am improving my speaking especially around her. True accountability isn't it.

What's my point? Well just think if you had someone you were accountable to as far as your lifestyle, business or anything really. You can't hide or fudge it and you have to answer to someone when you aren't pulling your weight. You then are forced to make serious choices as to whether you conform, make sacrifices and succeed or realise you aren't ready to take the task seriously enough. Either way you get a result or a realisation and you stop beating around the bush.

For me I have just been told my coffee is ready by Sabina and of course I replied with a, "yes thank you sweety". Only 5 but she's got me wrapped around her little finger.

Do you make your bed?

2009-04-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Why on earth would I be asking you this question especially as I am putting myself out to the world as a Lifestyle / Performance Enhancement coach? Glad you asked because I believe the answer is pivotal in making and maintaining long term behavioural changes vital if you are looking to improve not just in your lifestyle but any area of your life. If you don't already know, I am driven to find the solution to why so many of us humans don't take every step possible to ensure our own health and well being. We all profess to know that exercise and activity is good for us and eating the right foods will keep us healthier but we still struggle to follow through on this. Why?

Look familiar

Well I am a long way off getting that answer yet but I will explain why I asked the question put to you in the title. And that is because so many people have the greatest intentions to improve themselves in numerous ways and take off at a hundred miles an hour only to end up back at square one within a month or two. What's even worst their motivation levels are probably even lower due to the fact that they have only succeeded in reinforcing that improving yourself is hard work and near on impossible. Well all of this type of thinking is floored and totally unfounded. Because you haven't taken the time to do the first things first. Hence making your bed. If you follow the principle or guideline of doing the first things first, this will be your first duty every day.

So basically whatever self improvement vision or goal you have you need to start at the beginning. You only have to see the amount of gym memberships that are left unused. The amount of treadmills left idle in the lounge. The proper foundation hasn't been laid before action has begun. Sounds easy enough and you may think you know this but do you do it? So develop your self awareness and question if you do complete the first things first. Would you build a house without laying a solid concrete slab foundation to lay the bricks on. Definitely not so why start a lifestyle improving plan without laying the foundations.

Maybe the builder here didn't apply the first things first principle

Here's some tips to help you start with the first things first. Apply this formula to every task you undertake and success will be heading your way more often than not.

Take responsibility for your actions and realise you are the only one who makes change work or fail - stop making excuses
Have a vision or a dream so strong that you can almost touch it or smell it. If it isn't this strong you don't want it enough yet.
Plan and execute it to achieve your vision. Construct a plan that is solid and exercise self discipline and self regulation to help carry it out. Be true to yourself and do what you said you would.

Now go and make your bed!!!!

Have you been on a date lately?

2009-04-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

The dating game can be a frustrating, exciting and even extremely rewarding. And even though I am very happily married with 3 wonderful kids I still go on dates. How about you? When was the last time you went on a date - with yourself!!!! That's right with yourself. As part of my mission as a Lifestyle coach and a performance enhancement coach I am not surprised to hear that this is one thing that is sadly missing from the lives of the majority.

By making a date with yourself you are reinforcing to your subconscious mind that you are special and important. Why do you think singles are so proud and eager to let out to their friends and associates that they are out on a date tonight or on the weekend. Whether it is because their ego has been stroked I don't know but it signifies that they are important enough for someone to give up time to be with them. and this what you should do for yourself. Give up time to be with yourself completely and without distraction. This may be a cafe date where you read the paper and enjoy a flat white. Or it may be a massage, a pedicure, a shoe shine, a pedicure, a foot spa or just a plain old sit in the mall and watch the world go by. Whatever the date is you would be well served to make it fun, mentally relaxing and soothing so it takes you away from your usual routine. Spoil yourself for once and start training your mindset to believe you are important.

If this concept sounds corny or totally wrong to you, try it and see what you think. Here's some tips to get it happening.

Book it: Confirm it by putting in your diary the twenty minutes, hour or two hours you need to have a great date with yourself. Write in the time the date, the place and prioritise it.
Prepare for it: If you need to book in for your date do it immediately you have booked your own time. If you are leaving work prepare anyone around you that you are unavailable at the time you will be away. You don't have to tell them what you are doing, just tell them i am unavailable for an hour. You will be surprised how empowering that action is.
Honour yourself: Make sure you follow through and do it. If you are like most people you already put yourself at least second and possibly last, this stops here and you prioritise your date time. If you are looking for an excuse to get out of it you will find it on the other hand if you look for ways to ensure you keep the date you will find it.
Love it: Live completely in the moment, turn off the phone, and totally engage in yourself. If you are reading a book or paper get fully engaged in it. If it's a massage go to sleep, a foot spa go to sleep or zone out. You get the picture - this is your time use it for you only.

If you are still finding this concept hard to embrace, try this on for size. If you don't take the time and rate yourself importantly enough to structure in time for yourself someone else definitely will. But it won't be for you it will be so they can have more dates with themselves. Make this a priority today and take the first step now. It won't get any easier the longer you leave it.

Are you easily inflamed?

2009-03-31T03:25:00.000-07:00

Inflammation is a much maligned term just the same as cholesterol is. The reality is both are vital for survival. However too much of either of them can be a recipe for disaster. Focusing on inflammation there are diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, joint health, cancer, Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, and much more related to excess inflammation. Another important factor is it may be playing a role in you holding onto that stubborn hard to remove body fat.

There are two types of inflammation.

Acute: Vital in the recovery from illness, injury and healing wounds

Chronic: This is the dangerous one type that is the underlying issue in a lot of the conditions mentioned earlier and holding onto excess body fat stores. To reduce Chronic Inflammation you should be focusing on removing white flour products from your diet. Increasing the quality of your calories not just focusing on the number of calories consumed. Eat a wide range of coloured natural foods and consume good quality fats (that's right research tells us good oils can make us leaner and healthier).

Good oils aren't found in any of these items and will definitely contribute to chronic inflammation

In a nutshell cleaning up your diet will not only reduce dangerous inflammation but also improve your physique. Follow these steps to stave off chronic inflammation.

Eat a coloured diet: Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables will increase the colour and quality of your diet. Not to mention the fibre quantity.
Eat more omega 3 fats: As a reminder, omega 3 fats are found in fish, tuna, anchovies, nuts, seeds and others. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least regular servings of cold water fish each week. And consider a high quality, pure fish oil supplement. The healthy fats in fish oil act like Draino for your blood vessels; they keep your blood flowing smoothly and don’t allow them to become sticky, like other unhealthy fats do.
Eat less omega 6 fats: Decrease your unhealthy fats, like those found in fried foods, pastries, French fries and the like…but also decrease the vegetable oils in your diet. Adding omega-3’s without decreasing inflammatory omega-6’s is like simply putting a band aid on the problem. The fats found in these foods can be compared to putting sludge in your gas tank; probably not something that would be too wise.
Keep moving: You would of heard the term move it or lose it. Same applies here if you aren't keeping active there is no chance you can keep joints lubricated, metabolism firing and removing metabolic wastes from your system. Staying inactive is a great way to attract inflammation and in turn disease and sickness.

We all have some level of inflammation regardless of how well we eat; the key is to control it to the best of your ability, which comes from living a clean lifestyle, exercising regularly, and simply taking care of your body in every way possible

Bridge the gap anywhere, anytime.

2009-03-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Bridging the gap is something you may hear more commonly used in sporting circles where a team has the advantage over another the term bridging the gap may be mentioned in conversation. Bridging can also be commonly heard to describe an exercise that is used to increase core strength. Not a commonly used method of bridging at Lifestyle Improvers training sessions and please don't try this at home.

The context bridging is used in this article has nothing to do with any of those references at all but does refer to a useful tool you can utilise to increase the quality of choices and decisions you make everyday in your life. However achieving this outcome will need conscious effort, it won't just happen automatically.

To become a more effective and adaptable human being you would be well advised to look for ways to counter any inefficiencies you may have that cause you to make choices and decisions that aren't pulling you closer to your dreams or desires. Things like looking for excuses or someone to blame every time something goes wrong (as they will) or reaching for that can of heavily sugared cool drink when you are thirsty. Those scenarios are very basic but for the purpose of this article they will serve a purpose. In both scenarios there is an occurrence (something going wrong and getting thirsty) also a response (blaming someone or making an excuse and drinking a heavily sugared cool drink) but the most important point I want to highlight is the gap between the two. This gap always presents; sometimes it's shorter than others but it always presents. Once you start developing an awareness of the occurrences that constantly pop up in your life, you can then start the important process of bridging that gap and hopefully reducing the impact of the occurrence by internally systematising a response.

Follow this process to see if we can bridge the gap between occurrence and response.

Identify Occurrences: This is fundamental, because not being aware of the occurrences that present the most challenge to you and your goals means you will never have the ability to change any destructive actions that you may be unconsciously participating in that are undermining your desires to achieve outcomes.

Wait, Listen to and then Trust your Instincts: Learning this action in itself will teach you to start slowing down and listening to the dialogue that is going on inside your cranium. It will also show you that not making decisions immediately won't mean the difference between life or death - in the majority of cases!!!

Choose responses based on consequence and intuition: Attach a consequence to every choice you make due to an occurrence. If you listen to your intuition and then place consequences to your choices then you become fully aware of the direction you are deciding to head because of those decisions you are making.

Own Your Response: If the outcome turns foul or golden, be true to yourself and claim responsibility. This way if the outcome wasn't ideal you will learn from it and do it differently next time and move on. And if the result was good reward yourself so you keep acting in this manner and aspiring for a reward.

This is the way you can bridge the gap between occurrence and response whether it be work, relationships or lifestyle. It doesn't matter where you apply it the formula still stays the same.

Why Do I Keep Falling Off the Cart.

2009-03-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

Are you a person that has tried everything and anything to lose weight, keep healthy and get into shape but never sticks with it? Well I've compiled a list of reasons why you have done and will continue to keep on doing what you have done unless you address some of these factors.

Another common factor in why people fail to plan and execute health creation plans effectively and for the long term is they get all caught up in what the right type of carbs to eat are or which exercises should I be doing? Instead of worrying about the bigger issues such as the ones below. You would be well served to start looking at the bigger picture than trivial little details that in reality will change all the time anyway. Look at the following 7 reasons and see why you may be failing to adhere to a long term health creation exercise regime.

1. NO MINDSET CHANGE: you may have set a goal, but you didn't put it on or near the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal is six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend is higher on your priorities list than having a flat stomach.
2. NO SUPPORT SYSTEM: you tried to go at it alone; no training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going gets tough.
3. NO PERSISTENCE: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 kilos a month or 5 kilos a week or 3 kilos a week, so the first week you lost "only" 1 kilo or hit a plateau so you gave up.
4. NO PLANNING: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you didn't plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn't have a menu on paper, you didn't make time (so instead you made excuses, like "I'm too busy")
5. NO ACCOUNTABILITY - you didn't keep score for your own accountability - with a progress chart, weight record, measurements, food journal, training journal, and you didn't set up external accountability (ie, report to someone else or show your results to someone else)
6. NO BALANCE: your diet or training program was too extreme. You went the all or nothing, "I want it now" route instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.
7. NO PERSONALIZATION: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn't suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, situation or body type.

If these are the reasons why you aren't succeeding in losing kilos or getting healthier then get some focus, prioritise your health and think long term and see what difference it makes.

Are you sending mixed messages?

2009-03-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

I recently took a train ride with my youngest daughter and my son to Fremantle, a harbour side suburb in Perth. This isn't rare for us as the kids love the train and any outdoor excursions we take them on. What happened on the train reinforced something I am becoming more and more aware of. It is the perception others get from your body language and the way you conduct yourself in the public arena.

The instance that captured my attention was on the way home in the afternoon when the train was picking up passengers on the way back to Perth. Things became a little crowded but nothing too dramatic and one young fella hopped on and made an impression immediately. His phone was radiating offensive music and he was draped in an Aussie flag from the waist down. Hair cut extremely short but had a little rats tail at the back of his head, wore a shearers type tank top and track suit pants and would of been all of 19 or 20 years old. Immediately he started looking at people with intent if they touched him or got to close to him. He wasn't aggressive or rude but the perception was, this kid's trouble. Purely from the visual signals and the body language and also hearing his choice of music. But I have no idea if he was a bad kid or not. Yet I began to form an impression based on what I saw, heard and perceived.

My point being this kid was going to attract a certain type of person, action or behaviour into his life. We all do, but his actions, body language and other cues put out the signal to start attracting negativity of some sort. It wasn't anyone on the train but later on it may have been.

Are you aware of what you are attracting into your life? Do your actions and your behaviours match the sort of life you want to be living. For example are you hoping to be trim, taught and terrific in a bid to stay healthy and maybe attract friends with similar interests. But on reflection you are possibly eating the wrong kind of foods to stay healthy and thinking extremely negatively about your body image which may be manifesting your current state of poor health and negative body image. Hence are you having difficulty attracting the kind of friends you want into your life.

Pretty deep huh but worth thinking about. Just begin to exercise the self awareness muscles you already possess by writing down a few thoughts you have every day. By introducing this action into your daily routine you can start to become aware of how you are talking to yourself. If you find your self dialogue is destructive may pay you to address it. Your choice.

To Choose or not to Choose

2009-02-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you can recall a certain time when you have regretted an outcome that has occurred as a consequence of your actions or your slightest involvement in the event. And I'm sure you would love to turn back the hands of time and change a few of those end results. Well what if I tell you you could stop a lot of these bad outcomes happening to you. I always remember a TV show called 'Yesterdays News' or something to that effect and was in awe of the power that gift could give you. Now I'm pretty sure you will never get magical powers to see events before they happen but I do think you can control events that happen to you.

The reasoning behind this thinking may not sit comfortably with you at this moment in time but I would be a very happy man if in 6 months or a years time you could see what I am getting at. Because if that is the case you will have made the choice to grow, develop and change your mindset in some degree and taken total responsibility for the direction and outcomes that occur in your life.

You can start by altering your thoughts and instead of thinking in terms of your way or no way. Choice needs to become a huge part of your life. Everyone you speak to acknowledges that life is full of choices but if you seriously sat down and looked at the situation you find yourself in at the moment ask this question. Are you completely satisfied with the way your life is heading at this point in time? The answer to this question will vary but I can guarantee if you are completely honest with yourself there will be some part of your existence that could be more satisfying or rewarding for you.

Here is the most fundamental and most important choice you will ever make. Do you stay the same and accept the consequences of this choice or do you take the courageous option and choose to implement changes that will take you towards a more desirable existence in your opinion. I say courageous because this choice will make you feel like you are losing control which is a very uncomfortable feeling. Something us as humans don't like is being out of control.

If this process is something you would like to start sooner than later then take these steps.

Choose to Analyse: As stated above making this fundamental change is the hardest yet most vital step in the process of personal growth and development. Developing a sense of self awareness and analysing yourself is not an easy process to undertake.
Choose to Change: Actually putting steps into play to implement change is also an uncomfortable and courageous step. You will need help and assistance so reach out and seek it. It will appear if you want it enough.
Choose to take Responsibility: As soon as you make a promise to yourself that you are responsible for every outcome that happens in your life you become a more valuable individual and a leader. You proactively seek positive outcomes and learning from negative outcomes as you see your actions as the reason for one or the other occurring. This is where I think you can almost predict tomorrows news in your life because by proactively taking responsibility you unknowingly stop negative occurrences from ever getting off the ground.

What do you choose, better health, better relationships or an improved relationship with your children or to find a more rewarding job or career. You really do have a choice even if you don't believe me right now hopefully in the future you will agree with me.

Sleeping and Working can have similarities if you wish!

2009-02-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

Finding similarities between your working day and your sleeping patterns can be difficult. But I love a challenge and in fact I think there is a glaring similarity between the two. However after speaking to different people I know now why this isn't glaringly obvious to the majority and I possibly should rephrase my last statement to sound more like, I think there could be an obvious link between your sleep patterns and your work.

Apart from the smart cracks of my work sends me to sleep which I quickly reply, get another job. If you look at your sleeping patterns a little closer you will find that you slip in and out of different phases of sleep. They usually run in periods of around 90 minutes in duration and then another phase will start. Here is where I feel the similarity should occur. Our work day would become a lot more productive if we worked in periods or waves of time but more importantly, energy. Instead of working solidly from start to lunch, eat on the run and then work non stop till whenever the work is done, you are flat lining. You would be better served to think of waves in the ocean and base your working times on that. Work hard till you start to lose concentration or motivation and have a break then repeat this throughout the day.

Granted it works well in theory and we can't all just stop and have breaks whenever the mind starts to wonder but if you can do this in some way your productivity may just increase more than you thought possible in less actual working time. Interested? try these steps and see how your performances go. Even as a mum this is applicable so don't think when you hear the word performance this isn't for you. It applies even more so to you.

Become aware - Spend a day or two analysing your current methods. See how long you go without a break, how your moods alter, does concentration suffer, how much work really gets done and how much time is wasted. This may take one day or you may need a week but it will make you completely aware of how you currently operate and determine your baseline.
Map your day - As best as possible predict how your day will run as per usual. As a general rule try putting a marker in at every 90 minutes (just like your sleeping patterns). Then precede to organise your work tasks into those periods and if possible have a different task for each period.
Increase intensity - Go hard for the time you are working and get your task done. Create a sense of urgency and stick to your deadline. Usually most people by creating deadlines make sure they meet it. You will be no different. And yes you will make mistakes but that's life and you will survive and learn from them.
Increase enjoyment - Now at the 90 minutes or 120 minutes switch off completely. Take 20 minutes to participate in a completely non related work task. Things that spring to mind are read the paper, walk the stairs, eat, cafe, shoe shine, table tennis, walk the block, ring someone and talk about stuff. You get the picture but it's best to make it fun and non work related so at the end of the release you are ready to go hard again and churn out some great work.

End result; you can expect a more enjoyable and productive work day/life, more energy at work and after work because you have replenished your energy stores all throughout the day. It sounds great doesn't it. It is different to the norm but hell who wants to be normal.

Do you always look at the fruit without regard for the seeds?

2009-01-20T15:29:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen an orange tree in winter that hasn't produced many oranges? Further more the oranges that have been produced aren't very good anyway. It doesn't have to be oranges, it can be any type of fruit or any type of flower. Chances are you and the majority of the population would of made the comment," this tree is no good it doesn't produce good fruit". Fair enough comment on face value, after all there hasn't been any produce to get excited about has there?

Have you given any thought to the seeds that are in the ground? What about the seeds and the attention they received? Or the soil that surrounds those seeds and the goodness contained within? Is the plant or tree getting enough water or is it getting too much? What about sunlight and is it getting enough or too much? There is a lot of variables involved and influencing the quality and quantity of fruit produced isn't there? To say the tree isn't any good is simply viewing the end result and not giving any thought to the process.

My point being we view ourselves and others the same way. If you are lacking energy, repeatedly sick or have a back that at least twice a year plays up and forces you to stay in bed for a week at a time (common complaints) how do you perceive these occurrences? If I'm correct you will find ways to justify what is happening to you as not your fault or out of your control. Rather than investigating within to discover why it is you don't have the energy needed or the pain free back and so on. In essence you aren't spending time on your seeds and the soil but expecting big, juicy and bountiful produce that is never ending. Unrealistic and look out in the years to come, the risks are punching you in the face warning you and it's time to tend yourself.

Try these outlining steps to start looking after the process of being healthy than just waiting, hoping or whatever else it is you are doing.

Check up: Get to a doctor or some one you are confident can accurately assess what it is in your life you are doing that is causing restriction or illth (ill health)in your life.
Take responsibility: Make a point based on what you have been told to go away and improve your health creation efforts. Procrastination is a curse in this case so get a mentor, coach or someone to hold you to account if you aren't sure how to go about it.
Make a plan: Know what you want to achieve and put it to paper and follow through on these plans on a daily basis. Without a plan you are planning to fail.
Two steps at a time: By reducing your health depleting activities two steps at a time you will not feel overwhelmed by the task at hand and you will feel the benefits quite quickly. Don't move on until these steps are committed to habit. They become a ritual for you.

Ever tried swapping identities to manage stress?

2009-01-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

In coming back from a short but enjoyable break over the Christmas and New year period I was commenting days ago how free I feel in my overall demeanour. I then pondered how many other people out there in the big wide world feel the same way? It also made me realise it isn't a feeling that someone can just switch on by saying a few positive affirmations in front of the mirror and then it happens.

Stress management is obviously a vital key to mental and emotional health and freedom. A recent aha moment had me realising that incorporating this newly understood stress management technique into my mindset would dramatically improve the way I relate with others. You and I both need to start understanding others before we even contemplate trying to get what we want or getting angry because we have been restricted in our actions by someone else. Examples of this are getting stuck behind a car at a green light momentarily, not getting to go to a shop because your significant other hasn't arrived home on time to take care of the kids and so on. The list is endless. But to try and understand why they may be late or why they haven't responded to the green light will instantly stop you getting angry (an emotional health vampire) and immediately save you a potential stressful period. It also has the potential to stop you speaking and acting angrily to others who have had no involvement or control over your unfortunate situation.

So to incorporate this new mentality into your life try these 3 steps when you feel the urge to yell, scream, swear or even get verbally and maybe even physically violent. Mind you if you get to the almost physically violent stage the last thing on your mind will be these 3 steps!!! Here they are:

Become aware: Develop your self awareness and listen to the tell tale signs in your own mind that warn you the angry emotion is starting to surface. This will allow you to identify the stimulus of the stress and then make a conscious decision to manage the way you perceive the problem
Swap positions: Put yourself into their shoes and try to understand what could be going on in their world at this time that would cause them to do something that upsets you in this way. They could have lost their keys, hurt themselves, been stuck in traffic, had to attend to an emergency or had a situation that needed their full attention right then and there. Absolutely anything could of happened so give them the benefit of the doubt and move on.
Empathise: Whatever their reason for the bad situation you and them were involved in endeavour to understand their views and the position they were in. Forgive them in your mind even if it means you forgiving them for being so unreliable and they are doomed for a life of unreliability. This may mean you never rely on them again or if they are important to you; giving them honest, constructive feedback may be all they need. Then they can start understanding you and not just thinking of themselves.

This will take effort and persistence so stick with it. Taking this disciplined approach will improve your emotional health massively. Improving your physical energy will help to as this will fuel the emotional energy needed to help you here.

Are you in control of technology or does technology control you?

2008-12-25T23:20:00.000-08:00

Love it or hate it, technology is going to keep moving forward faster than you or I can comprehend. And with the passing of another Christmas and the onset of Christmas sales electrical gadgets and goods will be big on the agenda. Computers, TVs, Blackberries, Ipods, Nintendo and X-box are just a few that will be snapped up at the sales around this time of the year. My question is how are they going to benefit you and your lifestyle?

It is great to have the latest stuff but do you stop and think how this affects you? Is it helping you to advance in the game of life or is it holding you back. I would never dare tell anyone that they shouldn't have that video game or the latest in Television technology. But I would definitely question how their latest acquisition will benefit them. Lifestyle experts and commentators are commonly quoted as saying the obesity crisis is due to our reliance on technology and its constant advancements causing our lives to become more sedentary. But I disagree as gadgets, cars and computers are simply emotionally void tools. How we decide to use these tools is the key.

If you decide to use the newest TV for quality relaxation time then it is a good acquisition. However if you use it as your major source of entertainment it won't serve your lifestyle well. Same goes for all of these mobile phones and gadgets that allow you to check your emails anywhere, anytime. Great tool if you are in control of it and it isn't in control of you. The problem arises when you allow yourself to be controlled by technology.

My simple advise to all and sundry is only use technology to make you more efficient not just for entertainment and happiness. Because it will be hollow and the regular updating of it will mean you are never satisfied. Yet if the technology utilised in your life is making your life more efficient and productive then it is worth every cent. Here's a guide to use when thinking of updating or buying new technologically advanced goods or gadgets.

Why am I getting it?: Will this acquisition improve the quality of your existence or decrease it? Will your health creation efforts be affected because of it? Will having the latest in technology remove or create more stress for me? Would I be better off spending the money on something more beneficial for my development or health. Will it unbalance my health creation efforts. Such as sleep, activity levels, time I have completely to myself.
Am I in control?: Is my subconscious mind ritualised adequately to stop this new acquisition from negatively affecting my health creation efforts? If not maybe you would be better off investing in bringing your lifestyle habits up to speed.
Sleep on it?: Is the reason for wanting this new gadget or piece of equipment to keep up with everyone else, to be trendy and for show. Or is it to improve your lifestyle by allowing you more freedom to stay in control of your health and harmony creation. Don't think you have to have it today unless you have ticked all of the right boxes and you are sure this is right for you. Price should not be a reason to buy, your wellbeing should be.

Being set in your ways has its good points

2008-12-16T04:11:00.000-08:00

Following on from the the last article on the creation of rituals I am going to reinforce what I think is an added bonus of creating positive rituals. Whilst it is all fine and dandy for me to rave on about how you should be doing all of these things, I am sure you know this already. Whether you do it or not is another thing. But I want to explore the setting of positive rituals even further because I feel this is such an important issue. If this turns a few lights on and really highlights the benefits of this type of action for you then I will be a happy man.

High achievers all adhere to positive rituals, principles or guidelines whatever you want to call them. But why? Because it saves mental and emotional energy and enhances spiritual energy naturally. It also leaves you energised with more energy to burn when you want to spend time with the family, partner or what ever other hobbies or interests you may have. Even better you don't even have to think about doing them because they are already committed to habit.

The reality is if you don't follow guidelines or rituals at the moment they will sound like hard work, time consuming and inflexible. To follow them you will have to consciously make the effort to implement them into your lifestyle. Conscious efforts take lots of energy to maintain. That is why if you don't view a ritual as positive because your perception of it is, it isn't enjoyable or it's hard work and will take lots of discipline and will power. There is a fair chance you won't maintain it because you will view the effort to be too great and subsequently won't keep at it long enough to commit it to memory. How many times have you heard of a fitness regime dropped after 2, 3 or 4 weeks. Because it wasn't committed to their subconscious mind (habit) to become part of their daily ritual or routine. The energy used in the effort was too great to maintain because it wasn't a habit yet and the effort outweighed the reward at the time.

I'll leave it there for this one as I want you to ponder this for a while. I would even encourage you to investigate people you view as successful and see whether there was a ritual or pattern they followed religiously. Fair chance there is. Positive rituals can come in any shape or form from dietary habits to exercise routines to complete daily work routines. There is no limit and the more positive ones you commit to habit the more joy you will have in your chosen field and the less restrictions you will have to hold you back.

To set goals or create positive rituals.

2008-12-09T22:57:00.001-08:00

Do you set yourself goals? And if so do you write them down? If you answered yes to both questions you are in the top 3 percent of the population. It would be great if after reading this information you were to take the time to write down your goals. But will that do you any good? It will be better than not writing your goals down, but for the majority it will be a token gesture that will have a short lived effect. The passion won't be there and within a couple of weeks you probably won't even feel motivated enough to even read the goals you have written down.

The solution is to get some passion in your life. Visualising a desired outcome will start this off. Once you know what outcome you really want to produce work your way back from that outcome and create a regular positive ritual that will take you towards your special place. By employing a positive ritual you are creating an empowering reason to follow certain processes on a regular basis that will take you to successful and fulfilling outcomes.

So you are still setting goals but by creating a positive ritual and including them as part of your daily routine you will be motivating yourself internally and pretty much guaranteeing self development and progression. Say losing 10 kilograms was your goal. Sounds fine but to most it sounds like hard work so the motivation level may be lacking. Where as visualising yourself in a bikini or bathers looking slim and tanned would have more appeal to most and by describing that in words will motivate you more when reading the goal. Then creating a positive daily ritual to assist achieving that goal will ensure you lose those 10 kilos. In your daily ritual may be eating at certain times, exercising at a certain time and drinking so much water. Associating this ritual to your success will motivate you to achieve your goal.

Follow these steps when you find a goal or desired outcome you really would like to achieve.

Dream of your desired outcome: Find a result that you really want to achieve and aligns with your value system and would give you a real sense pride and happiness.
Create a regular positive ritual: Factor in a daily process that will take you towards your outcome and associate this with your end result. This will give you the intrinsic motivation that is desired because you are completing a ritual that you associate with a positive result.
Measure your progress: Having this measure will allow you to adjust your routine or carry on as you are. It will ensure progress and success.
Reward yourself: When you have achieved part of or half of your outcome and your end result then celebrate this fact. You will quickly associate achieving goals with rewards and happiness.

So do both set goals and create positive rituals then you are destined for more positive outcomes.

Investigate energy management instead of time management.

2008-12-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Energy management may sound a little broad but I feel time management is even broader. And frankly, the more I witness and learn from mentors and influencing figures in my life, time management is a floored concept. What's more it seems to create a society fitting more and more into a day, a week, a month and a year but getting less done and more unbalanced in a lifestyle sense. We are loosing direction in the quest for time management but all we are succeeding in doing is creating a condition I have termed Lifestytis.

I feel we need to focus on energy management to obtain better performance, increased productivity and lifestyle balance. Look at top level athletes be it Aussie rules football, Hockey, Soccer, Rugby, Cricket, Netball or Athletics they all manage their energy levels. If resting pulse rates are too high steps are taken to rejuvenate the athlete. Off seasons must be taken otherwise injury, burnout and motivation will occur without doubt. So why do we as the general population work 40, 50 or 60 hours a week consistently and expect to stay motivated and productive. One great description that describes this type of living is flatlining. Work from 7 till 7 then go home eat, check emails, watch TV and then fit in some sleep. Get up and do it again.

Try this for a suggestion to increase the enjoyment, productivity, motivation, health and well being you experience. Start living your life like you are on a roller coaster ride. Say you work for 8 hours, let the first 90 - 120 minutes be the downward descent - go hard and fast. Then take 15 -20 minutes to go slow and replenish your energy levels. Stretch, walk up and down stairs, play cards, juggle or have a power snack. But it must be fun. Then get back to work because the downhill descent is coming up again. Go hard, get urgent for the next 90 minutes or so and capitalise on the downhill momentum. Keep this up all day and see how much more work you get done, how much extra energy you have left over and how much more enjoyable your work becomes.

See how focusing on energy level usage and replenishment can assist rather than focusing on managing time. We are only human and if we focus on time management we naturally focus on fitting more in to that time. Something has to give and our health usually draws the short straw because it is immeasurable until you lose it. So to manage energy try this and see how you go.

Stress energy levels - work, exercise, learn or whatever it is you do to a point where it is stressing you and you are out of your comfort zone. But do it relatively quickly.
Replenish energy levels - Stop the activity causing stress and do something totally enjoyable yet relaxing. Clear your mind totally.
Repeat, repeat and grow - Listen to your body and when you are tired, mentally, emotionally or physically, your energy is all used up so you need to replenish it. Sleep, eat, massage or whatever works for you. But rest and recovery will not only replenish energy levels but make you stronger, fitter, more productive and more motivated because you will adapt to the stresses you continually place on yourself (get out of your comfort zone)

Let me know how you go but most importantly enjoy yourself.

Nutrition vital for brain health

2008-11-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

All the trend in brain health lately has been to do with what's going on up top. Crosswords, jigsaw puzzles and everything possible that stretches your brain capacity was being touted as brain training that would potentially keep you cognitively sound.

One recent UK study has shown what appears to be a strong link between the intake of certain vitamins and the improvement and prevention of illnesses such as ADHD, depression and bipolar disorders, prompting the medical profession to reassess the importance of diet in mental health.
The great thing about these sort of studies is that all of these vitamins can be found in good old natural foods. Beef is a superb source of B12, wholegrain cereal, pulses, fruit and vegetables are great for upping your B1 intake, and naturally, fish is a fantastic source of Omega 3’. ‘Omega 3 – a fatty acid found in fish oil – has been clinically shown to reduce the risk and severity of depression, including bipolar disorders.

So I've compiled a tip list that will allow you to keep your brain healthy through your stomach while you do your crosswords. They are as follows.

Balance your intake of nutrients. Eat a wide range of natural, wholefood options that will allow the intake of essential vitamins for your brain to stay healthy.
Regularly spaced out meals to keep the energy constantly flowing to the brain. By eating sporadically you flood with the brain with energy and then starve it for the next 6 or 7 hours causing it to stress and not perform optimally. This sort of behaviour is what causes irritability and mood swings which is undesirable for good brain health.
Resist the temptation to stuff hydrogenated, fried, cheap and nasty processed foods into your body. This will tip the balance of Omega's in your body in favour of Omega 6's which will only succeed in producing inflammation at the cellular level which will increase the chances of artery and brain damage.

The studies and processes undertaken to find out these very beneficial conclusions are carried out by scientists but the way you can stop your brain deteriorating isn't rocket science. As you can see the tips mapped out above are simple enough to follow it's just a matter of getting accountable and following through.

What is it that people love about Easter and Christmas?

2008-11-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

Just recently I was thinking about the Christmas and New Year period coming up. It is no secret I and many others look forward to this time of the year. But it really hit home to me recently why the holiday season is so widely anticipated. In fact people actually do some pretty silly things over this period.

While I'm not here to rant about what you eat, drink and how much activity you carry out over the festive season holiday period or Easter it will all tie in nicely together. See I was discussing the holiday plans with a mate over Christmas and he was so excited he could hardly contain himself. So I tried it with a few other friends and the same response was noted. And they all came up with the same reason for this excitement. They didn't have to do anything, be anywhere or answer to anyone. In other words totally switch off. This may not sound like anything new to you but answer me this. Why do you wait till the end of the year to switch off completely.

If it is so enjoyable as everyone reports wouldn't more regular short breaks/timeouts be beneficial. I know they are but the majority of us don't do it. Here's a great way for you in 2009 to ensure your whole year is littered with complete switch off periods on top of Christmas and Easter.

Plan your 2009 breaks now and record them in a diary or on the calender. Commit to them and let someone know so you will be held accountable. There should be 2 0r 3 on top of Easter and Christmas. Book the time off now and more importantly book your accommodation so you have no excuse to get out of it
Go hard and work to achieve outcomes in these time frames. Have a plan so you are totally focused on achieving outcomes in this period and will use the break as a celebration for your success. Get that must do attitude that will ensure you fulfill your desired outcomes or goals so you will learn that achievement is followed by a reward, so you start to become an achiever not just a plodder.
Have fun. No work, personal development or anything related to work should be contemplated in this 2, 3 or 4 day period. This is a total switch off period where you do whatever you like but it must excite you in a way that encourages you to keep having these mini breaks.

Not that I have this mastered yet either but I keep coming back to this time and time again. It's not the quantity it's the quality. Your lifestyle needs to be top quality with intense ups (switched ons) and more intense downs (switched offs). Again quality not quantity.

Don't let anyone take your breath away this festive season.

2008-11-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

Oxygen is so abundant we never worry about where it's coming from do we? Like anything you truly appreciate it when you are in danger of losing it. This is why I felt it very relevant to put out the warning about lung disease just before the festive or as I like to call it, the silly season. The time when we let down our guard and put whatever we can whenever we like into our bodies just because it's the party time of the year. We drink more, smoke more and conduct ourselves in reckless behaviour.

Back to oxygen and our lungs. COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) affects 2.1 million and is predicted to reach levels of 4.5 million by the year 2050 if we don't take action now to start controlling this escalating problem. The scary part of this equation is past evidence indicates that one in three Australians with COPD were not aware that they even had the disease which means they are not taking the important steps to manage and keep the condition in check.

It is all fine and dandy for me to go quoting these figures and expecting everyone to take matters into their own hands and ensure they are lung disease proofed. My advice along with every other lifestyle influenced condition is to keep living a natural and unprocessed existence as much as you possibly can. It is the more hands on option but if hands on means healthier long term, that will be the option I will choose every time. And if this is your philosophy then I salute you wholeheartedly. If you want to start directing your life in this direction follow this simple, formula.

Slow down. this alleviates the need to cut every corner and utilise harmful health sapping options to assist you on your quest to save a minute here and there. At sometime in your life you will have to slow down, why not do it on your terms? Stop and smell the roses!!!
Move more. Live by this mantra and you won't go wrong. In every task we do there is a more time efficient way of doing it. Mowing lawn, going to the shop, sending messages, getting upstairs, socialising, preparing food, losing weight and the list could go on for ever. That's why the more time consuming option when feasible will be a healthy option.
Go natural. Food, shampoo, deodorant, fly repellent, toothpaste and so on are all examples of products that can be produced naturally or severely processed or chemicalised. Especially the chemical options are not only damaging to you and your lungs but in general your health and the environment. Options are out there if you are prepared to look for them.

Stay in control of your body and what it does and what goes into it. Become the gatekeeper from hell and only allow beneficial lifestyle choices into your life.

How should you approach the festive season?

2008-11-05T22:44:00.000-08:00

It's a very mixed message that I hear every festive season. Some are looking forward to it. Some are not looking forward to the over eating (but they will still do it!!!). And some are looking forward to time off from work more than anything. So how should you approach the festive season this year.

You know as well as I do there is never a one size fits all answer to a question like this. But I feel there can be a definite successful approach to the way you attack and go about enjoying the festive season period. I think a dangerous way to approach Christmas and New Year is thinking life is suddenly going to be all bells and whistles and for two weeks all of life's hassles are going to just drift away with the over indulgent mist that this period produces. I suggest you start preparing for the last two weeks of the year and the first week of the new year now. If nothing else it will make the transition back into the next year smoother and not such a big bump.

Here's how to attack it.

Tie up all loose ends. Realise that the business world goes into hibernation over this period so loans, insurances and all of those evil necessities if not all fully organised will be a hassle to sort out over this period. Have all of these able to look after themselves for the next month. This action is a proactive way to reduce stress in advance.
Keep active and watered. Just move and don't be a sloth. It is so common to see people go from being flat out and getting as much done as possible to stopping everything and parking themselves in one spot and stuffing everything and anything in their mouths that is available. Moving and drinking enough water if nothing else is going to keep your focus off the choices that will be in front of you and not mistake thirst for hunger which is a common occurrence.
Keep your rhythm. Dancing is good for the activity levels but it's not what I mean here. I am talking about your circadian rhythms. Do this by going to bed and getting up the same time as normal. By going to bed later and getting up later you are throwing your bodies natural rhythms into chaos and you end up feeling even more lethargic and unmotivated. If you must, have an afternoon kip for an hour.

These three actions will keep you stress free, active and normal. How many people do you know possess those traits over the festive season?

Hopefully this is the effect this years Victoria Derby horse race will have on all women

2008-10-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

To introduce you to the world of horse racing and the Victoria Derby it is a very prestigious race run right in the middle of the Melbourne Cup spring racing cup carnival. It has been run for something like 153 years and today was the first time in the races history a female jockey piloted the winner over the finish line. A truly historic event that will etch Clare Lindop's name in the history books.

It is very rare for female jockeys to compete at the top level of competitive horse racing. It is a very cut throat industry where money isn't scarce. Jockeys have the opportunity to earn the sort of money that can guarantee a life of abundance for them and their families. On the other side of the coin one mistake can be fatal for them and for their counterparts.

Clare Lindop's historic win is significant for women in more than one way. Firstly it proves that the girls can mix it with the boys. What I predict is the increased prevalence of winning female jockeys in big Group races. Efforts like the one from Clare breaks the ice and shows other females that they can achieve these types of successes. It was the same as when the one minute mile was achieved, the 10 second 100m and so on. Women now have evidence that winning top group 1 horse races can be done. Women no longer have to manufacture vision that the feat is achievable, they will read about it and watch it everywhere.

Take away point of all this is how powerful our minds are. Removing restrictions can come in all forms. It isn't the fact that it is too hard for women to ride horses as well as the men but it is the fact that their mindsets and the racing population tells them this is so. The top owners only use the girls at last resort and punters don't make women driven race horses favourites do they? Hopefully women start winning more and more big horse races and show us all that we can do anything if our minds believe it so. If you can't concieve you'll never achieve. If you have dreams and passion mix persistence with it and you will have a winning formula.

Investing isn't for the faint hearted.

2008-10-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote about value and how once you have started to change your mindset and start removing restrictions from your life you would be well served to realise your true value first. Now that you place a greater value on yourself and are more aware of what is most important to you and your world. I reckon it's time to start initiating some investment action. Not the financial type but the mindset type. It will be more valuable than any other investment you've ever had.

For example a mate of mine was looking at becoming a better businessman and was tired of making do with what he had. So he changed his mindset as much as he could but he needed to invest in himself. In terms of time, money, effort and persistence to name just a few. We chatted and it was easy to see from an outsider looking in he needed help to raise the level of his own self valuation. He read and took courses and sucked up all of the information he could possibly find. Then he took a giant leap and contacted a business coach. After chatting briefly he was told to book in for two workshops and he would get a free hour with this guru coach. The catch was it was in Sydney and on a Friday we are on the other side of Australia). Instantly he replied that he couldn't lose a days income as Friday was an alright day for him monetary wise. Expecting to hear sympathy and understanding he was met by a short but sharp reply of, 'do you want to stay where you are, earning what you earn for the rest of your life'? Needless to say he went to Sydney but was almost physically sick that night as he had been pushed way out of his comfort zone mentally, financially and routine wise.

Getting to the point he initiated some investment in himself. Although forced he did it. He is now doing well and looks destined for good things. Most importantly he's loving the new him. If you want betterment in any area of your life, not just business, try these 3 simple steps to set you on your way.

Question yourself and if you are happy with who you are and where you are headed in your area of concern. If not move on, if you are happy stop here.
Ask for assistance from an expert. Save yourself time and effort because your time is valuable right? The quicker you initiate and conquer this investment the quicker you can move on to another restriction busting investment.
Trade something you are currently doing for something you feel you need to do and will help you get what you desire. It may be trading sitting on the couch after work for going for a walk or a run. You won't feel entirely comfortable about it but that's the trade off. Your trustworthy expert will guide you, you will have to follow through.

What are you waiting for get investing in you. If you won't invest in yourself you are a bad investment right?

You have the choice - responsibility or excuses.

2008-10-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

We all have these really bad days or really bad weeks where everything goes pear shaped. Stress takes over and before you know it your mind is a bubbling inferno of anger, resentment and bitterness. Loved ones who come in contact with you are on edge because your body language tells them to beware. Not to mention all of the other big rocks that are important to you in your life get neglected if not forgotten completely. You are living in what I call a stress halo. Because you are the angel who is never wrong but is always stressed!!!

What is even worst, when these times are with us we look for excuses or someone to blame. It's human nature as we are never wrong. Someone else must have made the mistake that caused my dilemma. I am here to tell you everything that happens to you in life is a direct result of your actions. This may be hard to take but the more I grow and develop I am finding this to be a real truism. Don't judge me as Mr Perfect either because I am far from it. The difference is when things go wrong for me excuses aren't sought. Responsibility is taken as hard as it is sometimes.

Only this week my families life was thrown into turmoil and although not directly responsible My wife and I took responsibility and remedied the stressful circumstance. We didn't get to go grocery shopping, have a day off together as a family, work on my business enough, keep our cool with the kids and there was even the thought of missing out on a training session because of this turmoil. Luckily the exercise was done, the kids were fed and we are now making it up to them in the attention stakes and shopping will be done as soon as this is finished.

My point is we have choices in our lives and we can take responsibility for any negative outcomes that will come our way or we can make an excuse and justify to others why it wasn't our fault. To become a creature of choice and take the weight yourself you need to follow these simple but powerful guidelines.

Identify the stressful stimulant and take responsibility for it. What didn't I do that put me in this position. Even if it wasn't your fault you have been affected, do you want it to happen again?
Learn from the mistake or the occurrence and take steps to ensure it won't happen again. Remember the definition of a slow learner is someone who doesn't learn from their mistakes.
Choose to live your life this way from now on. Vow never to make another excuse again in your life and go the extra step and get a loved one or a significant other to hold you accountable. Whenever you make an excuse ask them to politely inform you. They will be helping you become aware of this stress building restrictive practice of making excuses and helping you improve your health and well being as you will be managing stress not stress managing you.

Now it's up to you; choose to change and take full responsibility for your life or make excuses why life is conspiring against you.

When is Back Pain More Than Just Back Pain

2008-10-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

As previously reported back pain is a very serious issue that we have somewhat become immune to. I'm sure the attitude to many is, 'back pain won't kill me'. You're right to a degree but there can be more to just what seems to be a sore back.

Firstly before we go on if you are experiencing back pain the problems that caused it have been building for a fair period of time. Micro trauma after micro trauma have been building up and eventually your abused spine has had enough. Now when is back pain more than just back pain? When other issues become a problem in conjunction with your back pain. Such as psychosocial issues related to their constant chronic lower back pain. This can turn your life into a state of disharmony and poor self esteem. There is also the issue of oxygenation. As a consequence of your constant back ache your posture suffers and your breathing technique can become floored. Leading to poor oxygenation reducing cell metabolism and your bodies natural healing powers.

These are just two of the many problems that can be associated with back pain. It is one of the most common and prevalent lifestyle restrictors around. A 2001 Australian study puts the cost of back pain at $9.1 billion dollars of which $8.1 billion dollars comes from lost productivity at work. Whilst it may not be a life threatening disease; if your life is of any value to you, take these steps to prevent it and if too late alleviate back related disability.

Glute up: Learn to activate your butt muscles. Imagine you have a hundred dollar bill between your butt cheeks and you aint letting it out for anyone.
Trap up: Learn to activate your mid to lower trapezium muscles so these muscles found between the shoulder blades get stronger and take the weight of anything you lift.
Rest up: Turn your lower back muscles off. They shouldn't be used at all when bending or lifting.

Life is too short to have a sore back.

How Will Climate Change Affect Your Health?

2008-10-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Unless you have been in a coma for the last 6 months to a year you would have heard all of the climate change commentary. We can't escape it and what is becoming more evident is it will affect you directly. It will place restrictions on your lifestyle and the generations to follow. It is alright to talk about it but how can you do your bit to help?

That is up to you and I'm not going to rant about how you should be helping. But I am going to illustrate the consequences of yours and my actions in relation to climate change. Firstly if you don't think climate change has already done much damage look at these major occurrences.

European heat wave, 2003: Estimates suggest that approximately 70 000 more people died in that summer than would have been expected.
Rift Valley fever in Africa: Major outbreaks are usually associated with rains, which are expected to become more frequent as the climate changes.
Hurricane Katrina, 2005: More than 1 800 people died and thousands more were displaced. Additionally, health facilities throughout the region were destroyed critically affecting health infrastructure.
Malaria in the East African highlands: In the last 30 years, warmer temperatures have also created more favourable conditions for mosquito populations in the region and therefore for transmission of malaria.
Epidemics of cholera in Bangladesh: They are closely linked to flooding and unsafe water

Although not solely attributed to climate change the World Health Org predicts that these types of changes and occurrences are expected to occur more frequently due to climatic changes and pressures.

For us here in Australia the Doctors for the Environment Australia have released a Climate Change Health Check 2020 that states by 2020 doctors will be seeing increased cases of heat stress, infectious and allergic diseases, respiratory problems and mental illness associated with prolonged drought and other natural disasters. So next time you hear someone say climate change won't affect them; explain it to them will you - please!!

Eggs are Back!!

2008-10-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Does anyone really know what is good for us or what isn't good for us? I say that because now new research and finding are telling us eggs are good for us. I'm not saying I told you so but if you were sticking to our guidelines that we put out on nutrition you would have been eating eggs anyway. It's food provided by nature in an unprocessed state, something I feel really passionate about. Nature has unbridled forces that we should be utilising more.

These couple of studies erase the info that medico's have been scaring the general population with for years. They cause high cholesterol and they are fattening!!! The reality is most foods fall into this category. Eat too much of something and it's fattening. Anyway here's one of the studies from the Journal of Nutrition. Dr. Robert Nicolosi at the University of Massachusetts said, "Our data show that eating an egg a day isn't a factor for raising cholesterol." And here's another study from San Francisco. A study reported in 2006 that when people ate three or more eggs per day, the amount of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in their bloodstream did in fact increase as previously reported. However they also found that the subjects actually made bigger LDL particles which were less likely to enter artery walls and build up as artery-clogging plaque.
Head researcher Christine Green said that a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that eggs shouldn't be considered a "dietary evil."

So in concluding this egg round up, if you like eggs and enjoy them for breakfast or in omelette's get into them because they are not going to harm you. In fact they will be good for you. They are one of natures best little snacks already packed in a protective wrapping waiting for you to crack them open.

Emabracing Nature Isn't Just for Tree Hugging Hippies

2008-10-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

If you are truly serious about losing restrictive practices to improve the quality of your existence, you must embrace nature. That doesn't mean growing dreadlocks, stop showering and move into the forest to live. I'm talking along the lines of aligning yourself and your functioning to take advantage of the natural forces we all possess. To be truly healthy and restriction free nature has to be left to it's own devices. Unfortunately in today's society we have to plan to be natural. Our ancestors would probably laugh at that comment if they were to hear this.

Just think; we have technology to keep us up all night when the natural rejuvenatory and recovery agent sleep should be occurring. Preservatives, colours and who knows what else are put into our food to make it appealing, tastier and last longer!! Activity is undertaken on machines and equipment designed to keep us safe and injury free. Cars take us every where because we don't have time to walk anywhere. And we must utilise every waking hour effectively or you are labeled as a bludger, lazy or an under achiever. High fat content natural foods are seen as a sure fire way to bring on heart disease and other lifestyle related conditions. Now sit back and see how we are travelling in the lifestyle stakes.

We are up sized, depressionalised, chemicalised, heart diseased, diabetisised, cancerised, Maccatized, coca colarised, caffeineitised, materialised and recently creditised and unclimatised. How well are we going? All of the value nature offers us is going to waste. Sunshine, fresh air, natural wholefoods, water to drink, 8 -10 hours of sleep, face to face communication and relationship building, physical activity as a way of life - (transport, gathering food, stress relief and socialising) and using your body as a functional unit not as a shell as most people are doing today.

It is never too late to get natural forces back into your mindset and in turn rejuvenate your whole existence. But it has reached the stage where you have to plan to be natural. Plan to increase more simplicity into your life. Don't fight it, plan it. The beauty of our society now is the abundance of options available to you. In fact if you plan it correctly and you may need assistance initially life can become so much more rewarding because happiness and wellness becomes a constant in your world not just a fantasy. You then start to view all of the superficial forces in our universe as a treat or a bonus.

Building Foundations by a process of Removal

2008-09-16T17:17:00.001-07:00

It has always been a dream of mine to find the missing piece in the puzzle that connects actions to the desired outcomes. So in my field of influence it would be how to encourage people to act on their wishes to lead healthier and more rewarding lifestyles. Take you for example, you know that you would like to be better in some aspects of your life. What stops you from simply going out and doing it? I'm going to look at obstacles today and two different types that stop us all from tackling certain tasks.

Psychological and logistical obstacles are the two types on the radar. To me if you don't eradicate your psychological obstacles then the logistical obstacles will definitely never be tackled. As an example a recent member has committed to an exercise regime to lose weight in a bid to increase motivation to stay active. But this member's activity levels had been nil for two years. Knowing the history behind the case I know that certain psychological obstacles were being worked through and when light was visible at the end of the tunnel the lifestyle then became an issue to be addressed. I was then called in to help with finishing off the psychological obstacles and then taking care of the logistical obstacles. The member in question then had to take care of the logistics at his end to allow him to fit in with the program. Now we have a totally committed individual that is totally embracing the principles and guidelines of the program and the results are far better than was expected I'm sure.

Breaking this down simply I am going to give you something concrete to work with so you can actually start the process of removing obstacles from your life and experience the growth and development you desire. There are 4 steps and they are as follows:
1. Identify Limiting Thoughts: And write them down so you are clear as to what they are.
2. Dispute Limiting Thoughts: Think of motivating thoughts that will highlight how your initial thoughts are floored or wrong and write them next to your limiting thoughts.
3. Identify Logistical Problems: Again write them down so you are under no illusion what is stopping you.
4. Remove Logistical Problems: Now create a strategy that will help you overcome any logistical barriers and write them next to your identified problems.
Now you have something visual that you can work through to remove any obstacles that will restrict you from achieving personal goals.

My point is once the time has been taken to remove obstacles you are free to develop and grow rapidly as an individual. Rushing in and not taking time on this process will bring you unstuck time and time again. You only have to look at how many diets there are out there and how many actually work long term. How many times people just go out and buy a gym membership and stop using it after a short period of time. The obstacles haven't been removed they were just overlooked temporarily.

3 Reasons Why Skipping Meals is Dangerous

2008-09-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

All of the experts agree, fat loss basically boils down to the negative balance between energy in versus energy out. So to cut out meals especially dinner in theory seems like it has merit. After all the energy in has been cut by a fair amount so the scales should balance up more in favour of energy expenditure. I don't like the concept of missing meals and I don't think it's beneficial to long term health let alone losing body fat which is why most people skip meals.

Firstly we struggle to get enough nutrients in our diets as it is, so skipping meals is a sure way to ensure we become more nutrient deficient. In turn this will cause hunger pangs and sugar cravings leading to eventual food and sugar binges. Secondly by not constantly feeding your metabolism it will start to slow down. The slower your metabolism the less excess body fat your body will eat as a fuel source. In fact the slower your metabolism the more body fat will get stored as an emergency fuel source. And thirdly if you are skipping meals and especially dinners your body is going to be without fuel for anything up to 12 to 14 hours. The body will start to feed on itself as it is storing body fat for emergencies. What is getting eaten is your lean muscle stores which is your greatest weapon in the fat loss fight and for maintaining a healthy metabolism, vital for homeostasis (the internal systems maintain internal health by itself).

So as you can see by supposedly doing what is in theory correct you may be doing some pretty serious damage to your system. To summarise the damage you could be doing in my sought of language - simple. You will be restricting your intake of minerals and vitamins, storing body fat and destroying your most valuable asset in your quest for longevity; your muscle. You are virtually telling your body to start shutting down the system. We don't need to make so much energy any more. Please don't follow the pack and if you need advice ask, it could add years to your life and greatly increase the quality of it.

I'll be Back, But I Can Only Take so Much.

2008-09-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

Becoming more aware of your general posture while sitting, standing and even driving must occur first. Once you have developed an awareness you can then start the process of addressing poor posture. Bending is an every day occurrence however it is rarely done properly. To think you can hurt your back when simply bending over to pick up a piece of paper to most is not possible. Yet it's common to hear of this happening. The reason has nothing to do with weight but more to do with the spine having enough of the abuse you are handing out to it; unconsciously of course.

Changing the way you think about bending will go along way to helping you change the actual way you bend. In all the positions we put ourselves into, the spine should always stay neutral or in it's natural position. By rounding your back to get down and pick up a piece of paper is putting a lot of load on your spine. Due to the fact the spine is out of it's natural position which is it's strongest. If you think of your hip region as a hinge and not just a part of your body that differentiates upper from lower this will help.

Not Ideal, yet common practice

Ideal Hip Hinge / Neutral Spine

By maintaining neutral spine as highlighted above you save your spine from excessive loading which you may get away with for years. But as we get older and if we increase our body fat content and allow our muscle strength to decrease those supposed incidental activities such as picking up a weightless object from the floor exert huge loads on your spine. Keeping your spine in neutral alignment takes practice and effort but the effort invested now will save you a life marred by back pain and restriction later on in life. All of our programs ensure you are aware of the correct back positioning and assisted to correct deficiencies if desired.

Under Arms Out of Mind

2008-09-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in a social situation and someone was a bit on the nose. They had a body odour issue and not many people wanted to get too close. We all have our own unique odour and anti-perspirants is the normal way to mask our BO. But is it the only way to stop BO? Most anti-perspirants contain aluminium and with conditions such as Alzheimer's on the rise we need to reduce the amount we put in or on our bodies. Aluminium is also unhealthy for our bones.

Not to mention that by using anti-perspirants you stop the natural process of toxin removal from the armpit via sweat. I know sweating from the armpit feels wet and uncomfortable but just remember it's a natural process and it's healthy. For your healths sake you would be better off wiping your armpit with a damp cloth or rag and then drying the area. Not ideal but that is your choice. Changing shirts is another option also if you are worried about people seeing your wet spots!! There is also evidence that support anti-perspirants are influencing breast cancers supposedly through the lack of toxin removal from the armpit.

The best advice I can give for keeping the BO at bay, reducing you aluminium exposure and allowing your sweat glands to work naturally. Use organic deodorants, natural crystals (similar to roll on anti-perspirant minus the aluminium and perfume) and I have even heard of bicarb soda being used(not for me). This is another example of how changing small parts of your lifestyle incrementally will increase your long term health and well being, this is another example of how Lifestyle coaching can increase the quality of your life.

Get in the Game

2008-08-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

If you have been around sport or even watched a little bit of sport in your time you would be very familiar with the saying, 'get in the game'. If you aren't familiar with the saying just think of it as prompting you to get involved; do something or in true Aussie slang, have a go mate. I'm going to use the term a little differently but with the end result hopefully being that you start getting involved in your own game of life. Now life can be serious and we can take life pretty serious at times but I think to achieve more from our efforts we need to lighten up.

If you are having difficulty getting into the exercise/activity thing well don't fret you're not alone. But it doesn't mean it's OK, you need activity I'm sorry. Without it you play Russian roulette with your health and well being. What I suggest is, make up games or scenarios that juice you to take action. Create a game that compels you to try and win. This will motivate you to take consistent action to win the game. It may be a few of you having a distance running comp. It may be a weight loss game. It could be a race or a competitive shoot out at a certain date. It doesn't matter what it is just as long as you are keen to win or at least have a damn good shot at it.

A recent conversation with a body builder highlighted this point to me. He has a body fat percentage of 8% which is phenomenal. But for his competitions he gets down to a body fat percentage level of 2 or 3%. But he even admits he could never ever possibly get down that low except for competitions. That is his game, his motivating force. That is an extreme example of motivation but the principle stays the same.

To get in the game I've put together these four steps to guide you.
1. Create - Find something that captures you and you would love to commit to for 8 or 12 weeks. It must excite you and set a reward or a prize at the end of the game for you to strive for.
2. Enjoy - Have fun doing it. If it isn't fun your enthusiasm and motivation will not be high enough.
3. Want - You must want success. Be hungry and desperate to succeed or win. Bring your competitive side out. Again this will keep you motivated.
4. Reward - Claim the prize and reward yourself for the great effort you have put in. We move towards pleasure and away from pain so it is important to feel the pleasure of the reward.

Don't be Scared, Just get Uncomfortable

2008-08-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

Not knowing what to do. Not knowing how many sets and reps you need to do. Where I need to keep my heart rate. When should I eat? What should I eat? Do some of these questions or all of them stop you from partaking in a structured exercise program? If the answer is yes then follow on and see if this will assist. If you have other questions than the ones quoted and they are restricting your motivation via lack of perceived knowledge this also applies to you; hopefully.

It isn't necessarily your lack of drive or willpower that is holding you back from activity, nor is it your fear of perceived hot, sweaty and stinky aftermath. It is your mindset. You aren't happy to get out of a comfortable place and enter an uncomfortable area. Because certain questions appear and you aren't sure of the answer, your immediate response is;'I don't know', 'It's too hard, or simply 'not for me'. In other words get back to your comfort zone. Life is easier there and I am prepared to under achieve as long as I don't have to feel so uncomfortable. Sorry if I seem to be picking on you, but sometimes the truth needs to be told.

I should know more than anyone. I haven't had so much fun in my life as I have done for the last two years, give or take a few months. But I would be lying if I told you it was plain sailing. I have never been more challenged by mentors and myself, sometimes to the point where I have really had to gather up all of my internal belongings and check myself in again. A couple of times I felt like I was a stranger in my own body and needed to get to know myself again. I disputed myself and my mindset's beliefs. It was hard but it was revolutionary because I survived the ordeal and grew from the experiences.

Getting back to the activity or exercise theme, the principle is the same. Think abundant and not scared. What can I do or who can help me. People like to help and all you have to do is ask. After the initial setback and ego denting activity of asking for help you begin to realise it is the only way you are going to prosper. You and me both only know what we know until we discover something different. My advice is get out into the unknown and make sure you abundafy your attitude to capitalise on all of the opportunities to learn from what's always around us. Start with your activity levels first. The rest will be history.

Employing a Mental Gatekeeper Makes Good Sense

2008-08-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

In carrying out my work as a restrictionator I need to introduce to you how hard it should be for your thoughts to qualify. This is timely with the Olympics starting as I put this piece together. I recently wrote on how you would be well served to investigate the kind of thoughts we allow into our heads which you can read here. Progressing on from playing investigator or gatekeeper you now need to transform your mind into the official selector. Focusing on qualifying the right kind of messages your brain needs to hear for you to grow and develop as an individual.

Take our Olympic athletes for example. These individuals have to go through a rigorous qualification process to get in to the Aussie squad. However for years leading up to that selection or qualification process they are visualising themselves successfully competing in the games. Do you think they would even get to Olympic trials if there thoughts were restrictive in any way. These aspiring Olympians train their minds to be their most valuable tool and if they aren't aware of the quality of their thoughts and only qualifying the beneficial ones they will fail in their quest for optimal performance. This is foundational not something they pick up along the way. Without this quality they are wasting their time even training physically to get to the selection trials.

Although you probably aren't aspiring to be a competing Olympic athlete it doesn't mean your mind doesn't have to qualify your thoughts for you to succeed in achieving outcomes. To aspire to a richly rewarding relationship with your wife, to get the promotion you want, to lose a certain amount of kilos or to just keep your bedroom tidy; (don't laugh I set this goal for myself years ago) you still need to qualify the right messages to have success. So my parting advice for all you budding successful restrictionees, make it hard for your messages to qualify before allowing them in. It may mean saying no more than you say yes to your thoughts. You still have to think so why not train yourself to do it for your benefit. Think qualification not damnation to get progression and stop stagnation.

Don't Leave It for Another Year

2008-08-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

After chatting with a mate recently who for the record is a highly regarded keynote speaker over east. I discovered another reason why Winter is a great time to hibernate. The winter social calender drops off for obvious reasons. But also two of our main energy paths (called meridians in traditional chinese medicine) are very active in winter. And they are responsible for governing body temp, motivation, nervous system and sexual energy.

So with all of the above in mind it makes sense to tap into this inner energy and start relating what you want to do in the next 6 months to what you are currently focussing on. Because I can guarantee once the warmer, sunny weather appears in another month or so your social calender rises and if you aren't organised not a lot of personal development, achievement or whatever you want to call it will happen. You must have your actions and plans already mapped out to guide you through summer to allow progress whilst making the most of this fun and festive period.

Putting these four steps into play now will ensure you get the most out of the warmer months this year otherwise you may miss the boat so to speak for another year.
1. Think. Think about your direction and focus, not so hard that you start worrying or panicking about it and procrastinate.
2. Plan. Put your thinking into a plan so you now have a map of where you are going when summer hits. Visualise the end result first and then fit the steps in along the way that will get you there.
3. Act. Time to convert your plan into action. Getting motivation comes from working on the things you like and gives you the most reward. Don't forget to review your progress.
4. Identify. Identify and evaluate what is stressing you and how you are handling them. Are you reactive, inactive or proactive to these 'stressors'?

In a nutshell you only have a month or so left to make sure you get yourself planned on track and acting before spring and summer take hold. Wherever you would like to direct your energy, follow the above steps and go for it. Follow the map and you will find the destination. If it's health, career, hobbies or relationships get onto it now. After the chat with my mate I now know why New Year's resolutiuons are hugely unsuccesful. Beat the crowd and plan your resolutions now, you will probably have achieved them by the time others attempt to plan theirs!

Keep It Simple to See the Benefits

2008-07-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today I am letting you in on something that manifested in my thoughts whilst taking my two youngest kids for a walk yesterday. I had to wait for today because yesterday was my day solely dedicated to being with them. The message is solely about how much we over emphasise exercise for fat loss. This probably sounds wrong coming from a restrictionator that prescribes exercise as a part of a healthy holistic lifestyle to increase well being.

My point being reducing fat loss is achieved by using up more energy than you take in. So what I emphasise to all and sundry that cross my path and wants to lose weight - get more physical activity in your life. Walk, run, skip, hop or whatever tickles your fancy but just move. What this will do is use up more energy obviously but it then enhances any other efforts you are utilising to drop some excess fat stores. You are setting yourself up for failure if you are doing 2 or 3 hours a week of specifically designed fat loss training and not much else. You simply aren't using up enough energy. Add another 6 or more hours physical activity in the mix and the scales will definitely head in your favour.

The physical activity doesn't have to be anything other than walking or it could be something more demanding like skateboarding or running. To add your specific fat loss efforts on top of an already enjoyably active lifestyle you should see much better results plus you will receive a lot more health benefits. Don't get me wrong I will always encourage resistance type of training in any holistic lifestyle especially if losing weight is a desired outcome. But to rely on weight training or resistance type of training solely may be not enough.

Just like you hear finance experts telling you to spread your risk factors and don't put all of your eggs in one basket use the same principle with your lifestyle and fat loss efforts. Have multiple energy using sources to help guarantee success.

Show Yourself Some Identification

2008-07-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Remember way back when (for some of us) when you were asked for identification to prove your age before you entered a licenced premises. It is also standard practice to have to show ID to open a bank account or get a credit card. Society takes this for granted and whilst it can be a pain in the butt at times, the masses recognise the importance of all of these identification processes.

However something goes a miss when it comes to ourselves. In my chosen role as a restrictionator (terminator of restrictions) the first plan of attack should be to change your mindset. Simply because we all possess conditioning's from our upbringings that will feel almost tattooed permanently into our psyches. I am the first to own up to having them and I'll also admit not all of those conditioning's are bad for me. But if you aren't aware of them then there is definitely no way you will erase the damaging thought processes that keep restricting your personal development. Whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual or mental restrictions you place on yourself it has the potential to stop your development in its tracks.

Without trying to address and then fix everything all at once your first point of call is your thoughts. Start identifying what it is you are actually thinking. Are your thoughts regularly negative and restrictive. For example, "I would never be able to do that" or "When I do that I will be a better person ....". Although the examples are vague I hope you get the point. Once you know what you are putting into your head space you can identify what it is that will be holding you back in some capacity. Without revealing your thought patterns there is no way known you can ID the destructive ones that will be holding up your development.

I liken it to creating a building base or foundation that is solid enough to take the massive weight that will be placed upon it. Any weakness that is left unattended could lead to potential destruction and disaster. Your mind is the same. If you have weaknesses that are left unattended they will most definitely surface in some shape or form. Get on the case and become a Sherlock Holmes in your mind, any clues you find will be vital.

Elite Athletes do it Why Shouldn't We?

2008-07-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

I'm talking about taking a break, having an off season to recover and rejuvenate. I think we can learn a lot from elite athletes just by seeing how they constantly attempt to get the best out of themselves. In doing this they also have regular natural health intervention such as physio, chiropractic care and massage to name a few plus medicos on hand to assist. Because they are attempting to keep themselves free of injury and sickness in order to carry out their trade optimally. Isn't that what you should be doing?

If you look at the way you live at present in general terms there is no comparison to an elite athlete. Fair enough I realise you aren't an athlete with elite status but you can still invest in yourself to enable you to run on all cylinders. After all if you go down who pays you? My generalised view of our lives goes something like this; work 8.30am till 5.00pm if your lucky, get dinner ready and try and fit in activity, social interaction, hobbies oh and get some sleep as well. Repeat, repeat and repeat again. This goes on all year rain hail or shine with little if any thought to recovery, rejuvenation or preventing sickness. Just keep going, it's the way it is. When you do go on holidays or take your annual leave you are usually to tired and run down to enjoy it.

Point being you need to periodise your lives other wise there is no way you will operate any where near your peak. I wrote about the winter blues recently and how they affect energy, motivation and even our mental state. So it makes sense that winter should be the time when you purposefully slow down. You are now aware this is the time we slow down anyway so why not make it your off season. And while you are there factor in regular you time during your year for recovery and rejuvenation. There is a great book out called "Flip the Switch" by Andrew May who goes into greater detail about all of this stuff if you are interested in taking this further. Just remember you are the only one who will truly look after yourself and spend time, money and energy ensuring you are firing on all cylinders and preventing illness and disease. Everyone else is thinking about themselves to. Time you started isn't it.

Here is Your Wake Up Call

2008-07-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Undernourished, disease, dehydration and malnutrition are all words we associate with third world countries. Well I hate to tell you but undernourished and dehydrated apply to us in the developed world also. A vast majority of individuals don't drink enough water leaving us chronically dehydrated. Big problem. And a massive proportion of us don't get enough micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals) in our diet. In fact judging by the study we dredged up none of us are getting enough nutrients in our diets.

The purpose of this study was to determine if food intake alone provided the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) requirements for 10 vitamins and 7 minerals. The ten vitamins analyzed were Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-2, Vitamin B-3, Vitamin B-6, Vitamin B-12, and Folate. The seven minerals analyzed were Iodine, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, and Selenium. 20 people were analysed comprising of 6 sedentary individuals and 14 athletes. Pro cyclists and amateur cyclists, athletes and triathletes were in the mix.

There is so much info I could stuff into this post but you would switch off before you finished it all so I will leave the address at the bottom of the article if you wish to check it out yourself. Very briefly 10 diets were calorie deficient and 10 were calorie excessive but the real problem is that none of the participants met the minimum recommended daily allowance for their micro nutrient intake. You may have already suspected this already, but I found this alarming and highlighted how our vitamin and mineral deficiencies reduces our ability to prevent nutrient deficiency diseases and disorders. For the record Iodine, Vitamin D, Zinc, Vitamin E, Vitamin E and Calcium was lacking in all of the diets monitored.

To wrap this up let me reiterate that this study was only conducted on 20 people. So hopefully more widespread research can be carried out in this area. However I am quite confident in predicting most intakes would fall short of the mark nutritionally. Now is the time to make changes if you wish to increase the quality of your diet and your health. The longer you wait, the more open you leave yourself to nutrient deficiency problems. Even small incremental changes will make a massive difference. Take matters into your own hands and take action today.

The address of this study can be found at jissn.com/content/3/1/51

Changes, What Changes?

2008-07-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Do you get concerned, anxious and uneasy when you know things are going to change. Or do you do just avoid change like the plague? If routine is vital for you and change is frowned upon then perhaps you need to think about changing your mindset.

Your still with me; good. The basis for my change topic is that we only know what we know and as far as we are concerned that is all that counts. Have you ever been told or asked to do something different to the way you normally do things? Even if it's just mentally you resisted initially didn't you? Even more so if you were ordered or rudely told to do it. See we believe as fact the first thing we learn or are told on a subject. Research carried out by the University of Michigan states whatever information individuals first hear is what is believed. It is taken and embedded in your brain as fact. This illustrates why we must be careful not to carry around the old and out of date conditioning's that are mostly ineffective and often incorrect. As is normally the case with ideas carried around in the minds of most people.

If you are existing with restriction in your life at the moment then you need change. Be aware of your thoughts and see if they are restrictive. Do you often repeat the phrases like, 'when I' and 'if only I could'. Even phrases starting with 'I should' are restrictive. Are you exercising the same way you did 5 years ago and wondering why you aren't seeing the results you desire? Is your diet the same as it was in your childhood? Do you carry around beliefs you have had instilled in you from parents, grandparents or old coaches? If you answered yes to any of theses questions then why not dissect your actions and see if they are beneficial or restrictive. And if you screwed up your face in angst at my suggestions, I hope the wind doesn't change because if it does you will stay like that forever!!! Change; a life with less restriction is dependent upon it.

Are You Aware of Your Value in the Grand Scheme Of Things

2008-07-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

This post has been inspired by a collection of experiences that my wife and I have been through very recently. My wife runs her own business and has recently refurbished her hair salon. She has dealt with suppliers, contractors and her own staff majorly in the last two to three weeks. because of her tales and tribulations I have seen from a outsiders view how our values and actions can impact on so many.

An example was where a small furniture company's owner was on holidays. All dealings were with a younger employee. Everything was a drama and was really drawn out. There was no passion for her job and doing the best for everyone she came into contact with. My first thoughts were she doesn't care and she is slacking off because the boss is away. Then my mind started flipping things around to see it from her point of view. Hypothetically of course.

She isn't aware of the importance she plays in the general community. Her inaction and unprofessional manner upset harmony between two individuals initially. Due to this other associated professions were disrupted creating a snowball effect of setbacks and hold ups. All of them reflected badly on the company, not her as she is representing that company. The people affected will all speak badly of the company to their associates, the company loses credibility and in turn business and if this keeps going unchecked, her job will go and she will hate her boss for sacking her. All in all her perceived lack of value has been reinforced by the end result, but she will have no idea of the scale of destruction in the lead up to that point.

Maybe as a boss he should be making her aware of her value to the company and reinforcing that value in some way. Instead she isn't learning her true value, he isn't capitalising on it and the community suffers also through general inefficient and inharmonious practices and the company not reaching it's true potential and employing more staff. If this girl never has her true value highlighted to her and how her actions affect so many others she will go through life absolutely clueless of her self worth. Reinforcing how important it is for you and me to keep striving to realise our true value first and our circle of influence will benefit from that realisation much more.

SAD; Nature Recognises it But us Humans Just Don't Get it

2008-06-28T01:28:00.000-07:00

The winter months have more darkness, are colder and in general can be down right gloomy. We struggle getting out of bed and motivation can be found wanting even in the highest achievers in the world. We can experience more mood swings, energy loss, food cravings, weight gain and general depressive emotions in winter. SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a real issue and I have heard quotes of as many as 1 person in 300 being affected by the condition in Australia. I prefer to call it the winter blues because from my understanding SAD is a very hard disorder to diagnose. Purely because of the overlap between sleeping problems and depression.

Nature is a great measuring tool from my perspective and on this issue I can actually compare how nature works and how wrong we as humans are getting it. Looking at nature you will see animals going into hibernation over winter. You will see caterpillars wrapping themselves into cocoons for the colder months. Birds either nesting down or flying the coup to warmer lands. Yet we carry on as normal and push ourselves even harder. The fact of the matter is we haven't much control over the winter blues because our circadian rhythms become confused due to less light to regulate our melatonin levels.

I have put together 3 steps that can help get through this period smoother but the last step I have highlighted is vital for the transition into this period from the summer months. They are as follows.
1. Get natural light and keep active - Although it may not be sunny you can still gain great value from getting outdoors and soaking up the natural light. While you are outside you may as well go for a walk, ride or run; this can be testing due to rain, work and temperature but it will help regulate sleep patterns and help boost energy.
2. Balanced Diet - Mood swings may be controlled with a balanced diet and regular meals. This will help control sugar cravings.
3. Plan for winter - If you are aware that the winter blues are a possibility then alter your lifestyle accordingly. Don't push when energy and moods are low. Listen to your body but don't play on it too much. Activity is still important. Take a mini break maybe.

It may be a good time when inside activities are favoured over outside activities to focus on ways to improve any physical restrictions that you may have. Or better still any mindset restrictions that may be holding you back from improving your health and well being. After all you want to be at your peak for summer don't you?

Don't Blame Your Health on Your Genetics

2008-06-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

Some magnificent findings have surfaced from a study conducted by Dean Ormish,MD and a few associates in California revealing you can change the way your genes work by improving your lifestyle. The trial was performed on men with prostate cancer who decided to forgo treatment until their condition got worse. Instead they agreed to undergo a lifestyle overhaul to see if this made any impact on their condition. More than 500 genes changed the way they worked after a genetic analysis. They can't say yet if the cancer was controlled but the changes did manage to change the genetic make up of non cancerous cells in the prostate. Cancer promoting genes were switched off and cancer suppressing genes became more active.

The lifestyle changes involved a more natural and unprocessed diet containing lots of plant foods and whole grains. Walking for half an hour 6 days a week and 1 hour on 3 days a week as well as an hour a day of stretching, breathing and meditation that were derivatives from yoga techniques. They also became involved in a support group for social support and to give them a sense of closeness and belonging.

This may seem like a lot of extra time required on your already full schedule but remember these fellas are coming from a cancer diagnosis. If you are disease and sickness free then wholesale changes aren't called for. The inclusion of lifestyle improving measures bit by bit will be very beneficial. The genetic changes shown in the participants was achieved in only 3 months, imagine how a life committed to incremental lifestyle improvements could benefit your genes.

So using the gene excuse doesn't cut it any more. It is great to have studies like this to prove and encourage you to keep looking for improvements in lifestyles constantly. This doesn't mean everything you hear you do, but you can develop a greater awareness of ways to create interventions to your lifestyle for the better. Diet and nutrition, physical activity and even the way you think can be very beneficial for your lifestyle.

You can find the findings in the June 17 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Physical Activity the Ultimate Anti-Aging Poly Pill

2008-06-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

After reading an article and viewing associated power points on the topic of viewing physical activity (PA) as a medicine. This topic is going to keep growing momentum and with the ever increasing reliance and acceptance of technology and societal factors us and the Gen 'Y's are going to have to make PA an absolute priority in our lives. Messages such as increasing fish oil consumption and green tea intake are great and getting through to more and more people. The PA message is just as important. The key figure delivering this message was Dr Karim Kahn an Aussie trained sports physician now an associate at The Uni of British Columbia in Vancouver.

What must be highlighted is PA is anything. There is an abundance of ways to increase physical activity. If you are a sales person you could get 60 minutes of increased activity a day by scheduling in an extra 10 minutes per appointment and parking 5 minutes walk away and trekking to and from 6 appointments. Very simplistic example from a very simple man I know (me). Dr Karim states in his message that PA could even be more beneficial to the brain than the heart. He also goes on to say cell function, cancer prevention, type II diabetes prevention, bone strength and health are all benefits of this PA poly-pill. And adding a bit of sarcastic humour to the equation he also states if those benefits don't interest you then how about a 60% reduced risk of erectile disfunction.

What really interested me was the fact that the find 30 minutes a day message bandied around these days is well short of the mark. Something I will be addressing personally in my own life is that 7 days a week we should be incorporating 60 minutes of PA. Because the complete genetic makeup of a cell evolved with a high componet of PA so the benefits of increasing PA would be
evolutionary. The US only introduced the 30 minutes a day message because they thought finding 60 would be too daunting!!! The truth hurts sometimes don't it.

To finish with Dr Kahn quoted a conclusion from a study conducted by Frank Booth in the Journal of Applied Physiology, 2002 titled,'Waging War on Physical Inactivity' that says, "with the possible exception of diet modification, we know of no single intervention with such great promise than physical exercise to reduce the risk of all chronic diseases simultaneously". I don't think I need to add much more to this except pass this message on to all of your friends, family and loved ones. Any assistance needed to help you integrate PA into your tight schedule I would love to help.

If you feel the need to read the power points from Dr Kahn's presentation go to the apaconferenceweek07.asn.au/ website and the link is:
website_pdfs/presentations/MPA/Fri%20AM/Khan-K.pdf

Optionate to Increase Natural Energy

2008-06-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

You read it right, optionate. It haven't spelt it incorrectly, I just manufactured another word. It is just my way of quickening the way I explain to people, you need to think options if you want to create a natural energy flow that influences long lasting positive changes. Even more so if you are a person of influence or want to be and would like to influence outcomes positively.

Let me illustrate my point by highlighting something I witnessed today. It is so common that we all would of heard something similar if not on a daily basis very regularly. I took my three children to a fast food outlet and let them play on the playground on their premises. For the record I took fruit and water for the kids and I bought a coffee just to satisfy the staff that we were paying customers.

There was another family there who were there to have lunch. I heard the following instructions being delivered to a young girl who would of been no older than 5 or 6 years old. The father or grandfather ordered her to stop blowing bubbles in her drink as it was splashing everywhere. Fine in theory but think of it from the little girls position. She was happy and enjoying herself and the instruction stopped the fun. To get a win win scenario for all parties involved would of been to approach it as follows. Mary (made up name) if you want to blow bubbles in your drink that's fine but I will be forced to take the drink off you because you are wasting the drink and are making a mess with something you are supposed to be drinking. Or you can stop blowing bubbles and I won't take the drink of you. It's your choice, which one would you prefer.

So the onus is back on the little girl to make a decision for herself that stops her blowing bubbles either way, so the father wins and she will not want to lose her drink so she would take the second option. So she perceives a win out of the situation also. Then there is no dummy spitting and tantrums thrown or worse still resentment towards the father for restricting her enjoyment.

Point being that any decision you take doesn't have to be restrictive. Such as cutting out certain foods completely because you want to lose weight or cutting calories ridiculously. Optionating the process so you are nudging yourself towards making the choice in order to achieve a desired outcome is far better than restricting yourself from doing something to achieve an outcome. More reasons why restrictive actions are not the best option to create natural energy flows. By taking an option that really empowers you to take action rather than restrict practices creates a force far greater and motivating than any action taken out of perceived necessity. Clear as mud?

Adaptation Should Be Your Enemy

2008-06-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Adaptation is defined as a form or structure modified to fit a changed environment. To many adaptation is what is desired. Mainly because it's comfortable and the feeling of being in control is important. I'm here to tell you adaptation shouldn't be tolerated unless you would like to stay exactly as you are right now. Can you see yourself doing exactly as you are doing now for the rest of your life and being happy doing it?

This applies especially for people trying to change their physical appearance by either toning up, losing weight or increasing muscle size. If these outcomes are desired then doing the same thing over and over again is only going to waste your time. Any change must be bought about by an increase or a change in the stimulus to evoke the desired end result. I have seen it myself in a gym I was once a member of. Walking back in their recently I saw familiar faces and familiar bodies. Don't get me wrong I applaude them for sticking to their exercise regime but if they are hoping to elicit a change, it aint going to happen. Same applies with running, riding or weights training. No increase in intensity, distance or format will allow the body to adapt and won't gain any benefit out of the activity after a while.

Same goes with personal development, education or anything for that matter; if you adapt and then don't change you aren't growing. I have heard some people state that if you aren't growing then you are dying!!!

So if growth and development is important for you then don't get comfortable for too long. Find new challenges, attempt new tasks. Bump up the weights in the gym and make your session shorter. Read a self development book and implement the changes. Just keep pushing the boundaries a little so you aren't ever in total control. A common theme I hear with succesful people is that their lives are like organised chaos. Never in control totally but not out of control either. Don't go with the mob get on the outer and see where it takes you. Make adaptation your enemy and if you aren't sure how to do this seek assistance.

Sammy is a Genius

2008-06-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to Sammy on the weekend and he reinforced to me how to get a positive reaction from a perceived negative situation. See Sammy isn't human, he has only one leg and can't float. I was introduced to him by my son Tyrone who met Sammy at his swimming lesson on Saturday. For the record Tyrone is 3 years old.

Sammy's was introduced to Tyrone to encourage him to put his head under water. This is very frightening for Tyrone as it is for all of the other boys in his group. But Sammy was funny and captured the attention of the kids big time. Although the thought of dipping his head under the water wasn't any more inviting than before Sammy arrived; getting Sammy off the bottom of the pool was number one priority now. The priority had shifted from worrying about putting his head under water to getting Sammy off the bottom of the pool.

My point is some things don't seem very inviting. Such as eating fruit and vegetables over cakes or deep fried fast foods. Getting up in the morning to participate in exercise sometimes isn't as attractive as staying in bed for an extra half an hour. To get you to move forward and participate in the perceived not so attractive options you need to find a motivating factor that juices you to do anything needed to get it. I can't tell you what your end result should be, but if you look deep within it is inside and it will motivate you to greater heights.

Exercise Minus Healthy Nutrition = Unhealthy Lifestyle

2008-06-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

On reading the headline you are probably saying to yourself,"I know this already, it's not rocket science". But the underlying message I am going to try and unearth for you isn't as simple as the title suggests. If it is then great you should be on the way to creating an existence rich in Lifesperity.

It isn't unheard of to hear of individuals making the sacrifice to exercise and attend to part of their lifestyle in a bid to increase their health and well being however nutrition and diet are not even addressed. They think because they are exercising they are automatically healthier. Nothing couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact if exercise is undertaken that is vigorous and of high intensity, without adequate nutritional habits you can actually increase the percentages of lifestyle conditions occurring.

Again I am probably going to sound like a broken record here but if one aspect of your lifestyle efforts is adhered to and others aren't then the likelihood of overcompensating in that area is greatly increased. As is commonly reported, exercise is carried out daily to cover for poor nutritional habits. Stress of exercise plus the stress of incorrect food options has no option but to equal double stress. They can't equal each other out. The sad fact is exercise is usually then carried out for longer to use up more calories in a bid to counteract poor nutrition; more stress!!!

As a lifestyle coach seeing these two common imbalances in a lifestyle means that emotional and spiritual health isn't optimal either. This is adding more stress to the equation just compounding the invisible and silent problem of an unhealthy lifestyle which are often realised only when you are diagnosed with some condition, relationships end or depression and associated problems present. Get holistic it is the way ahead, don't keep over compensating and kidding yourself that because you are exercising you are healthy.

Getting Back On My High Horse In Regard To Restrictive Practices.

2008-06-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

As you have probably guessed by the title I am going to rant about how restrictive practices aren't the right way to go about achieving a long term positive outcome. The reason I get so passionate about this is I have learnt from my experiences. I have stopped positive outcomes in my life by restricting my actions. By not taking risks, by not questioning mainstream thinking. Just going with the mob and following the flow.

I am in the process of putting together a book about why fat loss and its associated thinking and practices need to lose their identity in the world of health and fitness. Because the mere sound of fat loss sparks thoughts of restriction and reduction. I was so happy to hear the thoughts of a high profile American nutritionist about how people should go about keeping their weight in check. Dr Chris Mohr was asked what are the three things he thinks are most important in keeping your weight in check. Here's his summary of what he said, "I never said cut your calories in half. I never said decrease your calories. I never said reduce your fat intake, reduce your carb intake or anything like that. The three things I said two of them were increase or eat more and one of was write down what you eat.

Hearing this from a high profile high flyer in the health and fitness world has given me great motivation to keep spreading the non-restrictive practices message and I hope it encourages you to stop restricting yourself and start taking actions that take you towards your outcomes. And more importantly don't believe and trust the first thing you hear because the person you heard it from is probably coming from a mindset of scarcity and not abundance. To see if some of the things you have heard are true or myths why not check out this myth busting resource to get you started.

How's Your Filter Working?

2008-06-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

Recently our household experienced a leaking pipe from the sink which left water in our cupboard. Much to our disgust, as the house we live in is only three and a half years old. Consequently we were inundated with midges (small flying insects). As we don't use fly sprays in the house we can't seem to get rid of them. So Adriana googled midges and found out goldfish eat them and by getting a fish tank these little critters get attracted to the water and light, leaving them to become fish tucker. Of course with the fish comes the responsibility of feeding and keeping the tank clean. A filter is a necessity and vital for their survival.

Our filter should be viewed with the same degree of importance. Although not life threatening immediately like the goldfish's. If left unattended and even turned off it may become a life threatening hazard for us to. Whether you agree with it or not, we have control over our thoughts and our actions. However if you don't filter the thoughts entering your head space you relinquish that control. With dire consequences.

Your thoughts will be mixed and varied, that is a given. But the way we filter them isn't. If you choose to stay unaware of your thoughts you will automatically manifest your most dominant thoughts. So if a very negative outcome or fearful outcome is played out in your mind and you aren't filtering the way you react to that thought, there is a fair chance you will be moved towards that dominant thought. So in actual fact your dominant thought will be manifested by you if you leave them there to build momentum. Leading to actions congruent to your thoughts. Flip the scenario and ensure your filter is ramped up and working efficiently your dominant thoughts and emotions will be those of harmony, positivity, fun and ultimately favourable outcomes. Leading to actions also congruent with your thoughts.

Both of these thoughts require the same amount of energy so why not maintain your filter and see what the difference is. You have the choice and if you are totally honest with yourself you are responsible for every outcome that comes your way. Start immediately by analysing your lifestyle to see what sort of shape it is in. Once you are aware of any weaknesses in your lifestyle
filtering out any destructive emotions will allow you to get into positive lifestyle territory and build an extremely positive Lifesperity portfolio.

Start Asking Harder Questions

2008-06-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Do you like such and such? What do you think of him/her? You hear these questions asked a lot don't you? On reflection you probably ask these questions to don't you? I don't want to know why you ask these questions, that is for another time.

What I don't think happens enough is we don't ask ourselves that same question!!! That's right talk to yourself. We have over 50000 thoughts in a day, so we do talk to ourselves regularly. A healthy lifestyle consists of a healthy spiritual and emotional well being. So if your emotions that you allow into your head space are negative and you aren't aware of them. If your mind filter isn't working, this aspect of your lifestyle won't be as healthy as it should be. It is also known that what emotions you think or feel manifest into actions. If someone thinks angry and violently!!!!! Keep away from them. If someone is self doubting and unsure of their potential their actions become consistent with those thoughts.

So ask yourself do I like myself? If you don't why not? Then you can fix what part of yourself you don't like and move on to start liking yourself and accepting yourself for who you are and not for who society dictates who you should be. This should be a key step in starting long term lifestyle adherence and improving your health, happiness and well being. I call it Lifesperity.

The Silent Omega Will Catch up With You.

2008-05-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Shopping at my local supermarket this week I couldn't help but be amazed at the amount of oils are being produced and sold. There is a whole isle virtually selling oil. What's more alarming is they are predominately cheaply priced vegetable oils. They contain predominately omega 6 fatty acids which we do need but not too much of. Hence the inspiration to warn you of a very big problem in the developed world today. Omega 6 overload.

If the intake of omega-6 fats gets to high it will cause the bodies metabolic system of balancing and checking itself and functioning optimally to malfunction. The abundance of processed foods have caused a huge in flux of omega 6 fatty acid into the western world's diet and in so doing has sparked a huge imbalance in the ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats. The omega 6/omega 3 in most people would be completely out of control. Instead of the ration being around the recommended level of 4:1 omega 6/omega 3 the current American diet is averaging out at 20:1. That means Australia is going that way to.

The effects of an overload of omega 6s means we are increasing inflammation and dangerous blood clotting within the body. Increasing thrombosis, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, coronary heart disease and tumour formation. This can be attributed to the wide usage of plant oils such as canola oils, sunflower, grape seed and safflower oils. Cooking with these oils will also push up omega 6 intake. Not to mention the amount of prepacked and take away foods that our society consumes. We already get a sufficient amount of essential omega 6 in our grain fed meats and nuts so it would do you well to stay away from vegetable oils and a lot of packaged and take away meals.

The solution is start eating a more natural and unprocessed diet that contains grass fed meats, coconut oils, organic and grass fed dairy and stay away from heavily marketed vegetable oils. These changes will make a huge difference to your life, guaranteed. If you find you are constantly aching and tired there is a fair chance your omega 6 levels are way too high. Get help if you don't want to keep overloading your system.

Coconuts Can Be Dangerous As Well As A Life Saver.

2008-05-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

People do get hurt when they get hit by a falling coconut. That is about as dangerous as they can be. On the up side, if it splits after hitting you, by eating the flesh you will not only be enjoying the lovely coconut taste but also reaping the benefits of what is contained within that flesh. Let me enlighten you on the benefits of coconut oil and why it would serve you well to include coconut oil in your diet. First of all clear your mind of all preconceived ideas you may have in regards to coconut and its fat content.

Coconut oil being associated with other saturated fats is not entirely correct because of the existence of subgroups within broad category of saturated fatty acids. Medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) have a lower melting point, a smaller molecular size and greater solubility in water and biological fluids compared with those of the long chain fatty acids. It contains approximately 50% lauric acid and around 7% capric acid which both get converted into substances that are antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid-coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalo virus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria.

Lipid researcher Dr. Jon Kabara found that lauric oils have miraculous healing powers and the MCFA of lauric oils found in coconut oil is similar to the fats found in mothers milk. Coconut oil is highly heat resistant and will only oxidise at temperatures over 198 Degrees Celsius due to its high concentration of saturated fats. Coconut oil is therefore a healthy oil to cook with and won't lose its MCFA properties.

Now I am not going to load you up with heaps of studies and claims of how coconut oil will increase your health but I will state what some commentators have said about why coconut oil's health benefits are relatively unheard of. Tropical oils were very popular in the US food industry prior to World War II. And with the US being the largest exporter of soybeans this huge marketing machine funded by the soy bean and corn industry and supported by the American Heart Association was committed to change the American Diet, calling among others, for the substitution of saturated fats for polyunsaturates. So 40 years later these commentators are claiming the legacy of this nutritional change has left a legacy of obesity and cardiovascular diseases in their efforts to boost their nation into magnificent billboards of health and wealth. This has negatively affected small island nations in the South Pacific who were converted by this powerful marketing machine to change centuries of dietary traditions of tropical oils to importing polyunsaturated fats.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we do lag behind the US in certain trends and patterns but we do follow them primarily. Don't be a follower and if health and well being is high on your agenda then investigate Coconut oils further. It's as easy as typing in Coconut oil and doing a Google search on it. It is a big part of improving your physical well being that we highlight in our Lifesperity Coaching program.

Thinking Just Fat Loss Won't Work.

2008-05-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Fat loss is starting to enjoy its own separate identity in the world of health, fitness and well being. This is dangerous because it means the masses are accepting fatness. We are putting fat loss on a pedestal and in so doing are giving it too much air time. By giving fat loss so much power we are also giving people a way out or an excuse to be fat. In Effect the whole of the developed world are creating another problem that doesn't have to be thought of separately. We just need to leverage our lifestyle attention to get the same result.

Go to a party and see someone who looks slimmer and everyone automatically comments on how wonderful that individual looks. It is wonderful for the individual to have their efforts recognised but it can have a double edged sword attached to it. The attention and recognition soon resides once people get used to that individuals new appearance. In order to get more attention he or she may subconsciously manifest weight gain only to lose it again in an attempt to gain attention and recognition again. It's one example of the victim mentality and it is very much alive and well in developed countries today.

Fat loss focus creates an environment where true and holistic health and wellness focus doesn't always occur. Leading to a very one dimensional health and wellness approach. In general as I have stated many times before the majority relate fat loss to restriction so there alone is one more reason why fat loss thinking needs to lose its own identity. Restriction isn't a natural part of our make-up, it's negative. So any restriction we place on ourselves is taking us away from happiness and harmony.

Think lifestyle and not just fat loss. If your lifestyle is healthy then fat loss won't ever have to be considered. So employ these steps to allow fat loss to lose its own identity.
1. Initiate a plan than will get you addressing your whole lifestyle and not just one component of it. By overbalancing your efforts on only one part of your already inadequate lifestyle you will always fall over and have to go back to where you started from. If you need professional help then seek it. Don't gamble with your lifestyle, it's too valuable.
2. Activate all of your plans and put them into play. Remember procrastination is a curse and without action there will be no clarity. So just follow your plan and adjust it as you go if need be.
3. Don't Stagnate always keep looking for small improvements that will ensure your health, happiness and wellness is always being improved.

Cardiovascular Disease is a Seriously Big Problem!!

2008-05-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

By the year 2015 20 million people will die from cardiovascular disease. At present the World Health Organisation reports cardiovascular diseases the number 1 cause of death worldwide.
Main causes of death are heart attacks and strokes. Primary risk factors from the disease include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Factors that influence cardiovascular disease are being overweight,smoking, excessive alcohol intake to name a few.People hear the words high blood pressure that much these days that they become quite immune to the term. What's worse is the growing acceptance of going straight onto medication to control it.

High blood pressure can be reduced quite quickly with a few simple lifestyle changes. The simplest being a brisk 30 minute walk every day. This can reduce blood pressure for up to 22 hours. Keep on increasing intensities and so on in no time you can be off medication and back to normal. Dietary improvements need to be made also. High blood pressure doesn't show symptoms and can make a hell of a mess to your arteries. I have heard one expert comparing arteries of a person with high blood pressure to a road during heavy winter rains littered with potholes and dirt. Regular medical check ups and following these few simple guidelines if high blood pressure is a concern to you will ease your worries over the condition.

Getting a medical check up is one. Include resistance training into your routine if not immediately, do it as your fitness increases. Most importantly either reduce stress levels in your life. By learning to manage it better or eradicating stress causing activities. For more help managing stress, high blood pressure or any other lifestyle issues why not investigate the newest and most effective way to achieve health and well being. You can integrate lifestyle coaching with your program or just try the new Lifesperity program that coaches you to achieve health, harmony, wellness and to re-evaluate what exactly success is to you.

Fat Loss Isn't What Most People Think.

2008-05-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

The herd mentality is rarely the best way. The best quote I have heard for a long time is "there are no brains in the group". In the context it was used it was explaining how the majority follows what the group is doing without question. In my experience you would be far better listening to what the group or herd is doing and do the opposite.

The same applies to fat loss. The general conception of fat loss is as follows. The quicker the better and if it doesn't happen quick I'm failing. Restrict the amount of food consumed and skip a meal here and there. Consuming fat free foods because fat is bad for fat loss. The more exercise I do the more weight I will lose. Use artificial sweeteners because they have no calories. These are the most common theories the herd rely on when thinking about losing 5kg or 30kg. Knowing what I know, it is no surprise that if our group thinking doesn't change then our children are headed for fats ville and fast.

The herd believe there is a quick fix to fat loss. And we hear a lot that if someone created a pill that would keep people thin they would be rich. The problem with the group thinking is the majority don't approach fat loss as long term. So any quick method that shows a drop in the scales is lauded as a winner. Problem is, you will lose weight, correct; but that weight will be muscle tissue which is your most valuable asset in the fight against body fat. The weight loss isn't sustainable or enjoyable. Hence you end up fatter and heavier than you were originally.

The key is to get the herd/group/pack or whatever you want to call it to redefine what fat loss means. In essence fat loss is no more than improving your lifestyle. The more effectively you improve your lifestyle, the fat loss is mandatory. And what's more it will be for the rest of your life. By just thinking fat loss is a long term journey with an abundance of ways to make that journey an adventure, I'm positive our health and well being as a group will improve.

Discover The Sad Truth Why Many Will Always Stay Unhealthy.

2008-05-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

It really upsets me to see overweight and obese children. Not that it doesn't upset me to see overweight and obese adults but the children have no option. My reason for feeling this way is those kids are destined for a life of fatness, sickness and unhappiness. Unless they are strong enough to change their behaviours and mindsets as they mature into young adults. The minds of children have so much plasticity and can be moulded so easily. If their influences are conducting behaviours and actions that are undesirable for self health and wellbeing the children's subconcious minds will be programmed to behave in the same way. After all Mum and Dad are always right!!! Aren't they?

How commonly do we hear about a lotto winner who wins a million dollars only to be poor in 6 months time. Even Mike Tyson who once had 400 million dollars to his name to lose all of his money. They don't change their mindsets from battling and I don't have any money thinking to thinking abundant and riches. So they manifest ways to lose their money. All subconciously of course. So this also applies to health, wellbeing and fat loss. If you loses 15 kilograms of body fat, making you healthier and more energetic physically but you don't change your self image of yourself to thinner and healthier guess what is going to happen? Your going back to where you started from and maybe even a few steps backwards. All because you or your influences have programmed your subconcious mind to view yourself as unhealthy, fat or unwell. You are restricting your thinking and staying in your comfort zone.

Restrictive thinking will always bring you back to what your restricting yourself from. So if you are restricting yourself from certain fat foods you take power way from you and give the power to the food to control your thoughts. It is an unnatural process restriction and can't be maintained if you want wellness, riches and ultimately Lifesperity. Same with anything you restrict or stop yourself having or doing.

For example any decision you make about your wellbeing now depending on how much it will cost you for example unless you are certain you can get the same result cheaper, quicker or better somewhere else. Is potentially going to cost you more, and you justify that decision by telling yourself I'm functioning and not suffering at the moment so I can do without it. I'll wait till I can afford it. Eventually you will need attention, it maybe minor or it could be major. However you will have to pay more later than you would of had to earlier. You would of saved money by thinking proactively and not reactively. Same thinking applies with weeding the garden regularly, cleaning gutters out before winter and the list goes on.

Point I'm trying to make is firstly change your mental approach before trying to achieve the result physically. Especially if you want long term lifestyle improvement. And don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone every now and then. Test yourself now by filling out a Lifestyle diagnostic that tells you what state your lifestyle is in right now. It's free!!!!

Restriction Only Creates Desire

2008-05-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

In a perfect world there would be no restrictions on anyone. We would all be free to eat and do as we wish. In a perfect world there would be no restricting yourself to what you can do. I am here to try to illustrate how that perfect world should be your aim.

First of all restriction is something you place on yourself and possibly others try to place on you. You must be aware that restriction is not natural and is created by your thought process. Where we slip up is that we try to stop ourselves from doing something in a bid to gain something else. Is it any wonder your mind finds the process of restriction challenging and confusing.

What you must realise is when you restrict you glorify and give the item or practice you are restricting power over you. It consumes you and dominates your mind as you keep fighting with yourself to refrain. You have given it power over you. The mental confusion arises because your dominant thought is the item or practice that you want to restrict yet you keep telling yourself you can't have it#!#

This illustrates to me why all of the unhealthy foods and practices are seen to be fun, exciting and desirable. Because we put these items into the restricted area and glorify them giving them power over you. Chocolate is a classic example. It is desirable because your told it has lots of calories so you tell yourself you can't eat chocolate or you'll get fat. So immediately you put chocolate on a pedestal and it becomes a prized possession. When you do finally give in, whammo you eat bucket loads of it. Because you are going to make it worth it because you aren't going to be allowed to eat it again!!! It's a no win situation isn't it.

My solution don't restrict. Flip your thinking and direct yourself towards what you would like in your life mapping out everything you want to do to take you there. This way you aren't restricting yourself, you have flipped the coin so to speak and started thinking of the good and value you are receiving from any actions you carry out. A pessimist would say you are still restricting yourself; an optimist would say you are trying to create your dream life. The dream life we should all be aiming for, should be for great Lifesperity.

Does Fat Loss Automatically Conjur Up Thoughts Of Restriction?

2008-05-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

The most common denominator that presents when meeting with individuals keen to lose body fat is they have tried almost every diet imaginable before they go to a Fitness Professional. This firstly highlights how ineffective diets are and how they reinforce an expectation of failure. Plus it highlights to me that the public perception of the way we go about losing body fat is incorrect and dangerous.

When speaking to anyone who wants to lose weight or is thinking about it, the dominating thought is restriction. For example some cease eating dinners, stop consuming carbohydrates after 6.00pm and a very common restrictive practice is to cut out all fat. Unfortunately this may help you lose weight in the short term, so people looking for quick fixes, have their actions justified. But long term, these measures are unsustainable for both fat reduction and for health.

This unsustainable practice stems from a couple of factors. The most alarming factor is the practice of restricting food types and sources. Doing this means you lose out on a lot of important nutrients that keep you healthy and energised. Food groups such as natural fats and unprocessed carbohydrates are a great energy source. Secondly to act in this manner means your thinking is to stop, restrict, lose and cut out which all have negative connotations. This is not a natural and happy way to think and live your life. So hence long term fat loss can't be sustained unless you want to live your life unhappily denying yourself of pleasurable experiences.

You need to take the mentality of improvement into a fat loss campaign not restriction. Plant a seed in your mindset that needs fertilising with positivity, action, good nutrition, persistence and most of all happiness. If need be, get help, because once the seed is planted properly in your mind, the rest of the journey will be an adventure not a restriction.

Is There Anything You Can't Learn From?

2008-04-29T23:41:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased a book that had insights from people that I aspired to be like. I didn't know but inside, apart from all of the information the interviewees put out there, was a gift from each and every one of them. It was a pleasant surprise and a great little bonus. Now that I'm half way through the book and loving it, I have received my first gift and it was an online video of one of the interviewees seminars. It was ok but not awe inspiring and the information to me wasn't groundbreaking either.

The main thing is that I still learnt from the gift which was an absolute bonus. What I discovered was his seminar wasn't great entertainment yet he is very successful. So for me I learnt you don't have to be a great showman to get a message out there and help people. That has inspired me more than anything lately to move forward with my development.

What I am trying to impart onto you is the amount we can learn is infinite. Every situation, book, meeting or even an argument is an opportunity to learn. Even if you read a book and you don't like it and don't agree with what was said in the book. You have learnt that you don't like the book and the actions or information isn't going to be suitable for you. But for others the information may be inspiring.

We have just put out a Lifestyle Diagnostic that can help you learn to see if your lifestyle is going to lead you to Lifesperity. You can find it at the Lifestyle Improvers website under the Lifestyle Coaching tab. Give it a spin and learn how your lifestyle fares and if a quality Lifesperity is a possibility for you the way you conduct yourself currently.

Your Snoring Might Be A Warning Sign.

2008-04-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

Apart from the immediate problem of getting prodded, poked and told to shut up throughout the night your snoring should be taken as a warning sign to you. It isn't normal and it can be a precursor to negative medical conditions down the track. If you are told you snore regularly by your partner then take action and do something to help the problem. If you don't have a partner and can't tell if you snore there will be other warning signs. But the underlying point here is don't accept it as part of your life. Here is another way you become lucky or unlucky. Fix a potential problem before it starts or let the problem go because you aren't sick and then say how unlucky you are when something drastic happens.

Snoring can decrease the amount of oxygen that gets to the brain. This in turn can increase the chances of you getting conditions such as Type II Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, high blood pressure and hypertension. Not to mention the effect it has on alertness, productivity, relationships, emotional and mental health.

I'm not going to give you every known treatment and cure going around. Nor am I going to offer lifestyle advice that will positively affect your snoring problem. But what I will state categorically is that all of the possible lifestyle changes mentioned to influence snoring will positively influence your life also. I suppose what I'm trying to get across to you is be consistent with your lifestyle adherence and a lot of these conditions will dissipate quickly and forever. And usually drug free. Unfortunately some aren't so lucky and need medical intervention but the majority need lifestyle intervention.

Can You Influence Luck?

2008-04-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

According to Dr Richard Wiseman you can. On the rare occasion I watch TV I try and make the experience as beneficial or enjoyable as possible. By chance I tuned in to Catalyst, a great show on the ABC. One particular segment was about a study completed on Luck believe it or not. How lucky was I? Sorry about that. Anyway Dr Wiseman observed a high number of people conducting tests and observing behaviours and results of the tests. As a result of his study he constructed 4 characteristics of lucky people.

Lucky people maximise the principles of luck. They displayed open body language and not folded arms or legs.
Lucky people listened to their intuition. They trusted their own instincts, ran with them and more often than not experienced a positive experience because of it. They took action.
Lucky people expect good luck. What he found was individuals who looked for lucky breaks often found opportunities that benefited them in some way.
Lucky people turn bad luck into good luck. Any situations that occurred that were negative the lucky people took that bad experience and extracted any beneficial information from the experience and utilised it. One individual went for a bank loan to start his own business but was rejected. The bank officer informed the applicant of a similar case just before him for the same business idea. The applicant got the details of the previous applicant and contacted him. To cut a long story short they both started up in business together and have since moved on in their own separate paths and having great successes.

All in all it was a very interesting and highlighted to me that there is no such thing as luck. It is another word for taking your opportunities when they present. Thinking of yourself as unlucky is a superstitious belief that inhibits hope. Interestingly around 60% of the attendees in this Happy School experienced not just positive experiences but life changing events. Something in it I reckon.

Is Smoking A Manifestation Of Low Self Esteem?

2008-04-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

My mind is always creating theories and usually ditching them. However this one may have legs. Again I would love to here your comments on this or any other issue I bring to the table. The question I have commonly posed to myself is why do we as humans conduct behaviours and actions that harm us physically. Smoking is a big one. We are all well aware the dangers smoking brings and smokers are also well aware of the addictive qualities nicotine produces. Yet still smoking continues to occur despite the compelling health facts. Why?

What made me really come to this mini conclusion was analysing some of the habits general smokers display. Firstly smokers in general leave cigarettes where they are. Be it on the ground, out the car window, in the garden half buried even in cans or bottles. Despite littering they have no comprehension how bad it looks on them personally. Secondly, again a general observation, are quite happy to be seen smoking and smoke around others. Recent law adjustments have made a difference but still smokers are happy to smoke around non smokers knowing full well of the passive smoking effects. In summary they seem to not care of what damage they do to themselves, the environment and others.

Here's my groundbreaking theory!!! Their self esteem doesn't place them high enough on the importance scale. Hence they manifest ways to keep themselves unimportant. The way I see it, if the value a smoker puts on his life was increased in his own mind and the way they viewed themselves, there would be no way they would continue to place themselves in danger or others. You look at all of the high profile individuals that genuinely make a difference in the world. The overwhelming majority of them wouldn't smoke. So instead of the government wasting all of the money on trying to hide and bastardise smoking, maybe they should invest in the smokers themselves and try to raise the self importance level of a smoker and see how that goes. After all smoking does bring in a bit of revenue for them doesn't it.

Look I know that is way out to suggest the government to invest in each individual but I can't see how stopping smoking in enclosed public places and covering up smokes in supermarkets is going to help smokers themselves. In actual fact the government in it's own special way is giving the smokes greater powers by getting restrictive and covering them up in shops. Or maybe the revenue from the fags is too good. The health system could do with the break too couldn't it?

What is Lifesperity?

2008-04-17T02:29:00.000-07:00

Don't panic the word Lifesperity isn't in the dictionary. It is my own creation to describe what I think we should all be aiming for in our lives. It isn't physically measurable like your body fat content or your BMI. However it will be able to be measured by the lack of restriction you encounter in your life. So if you want to be definitive about what Lifesperity is I suppose you could say it is the success of a complete lifestyle and how well you employed it into your life. The true test of Lifesperity will only be truly evident in your latter years.

Whilst it has no monetary value to judge it by, if you are restricted due to a lack of funds then your lifesperity is not as complete as an individual who is in great health, still active and isn't bound by finances or lack of them. It is planning to enjoy your life and to be successful which should go hand in hand. Unfortunately that is a rarity. It is an unfortunate reality these days where individuals work all of their lives to look forward to retirement as a time to relax and wind down. Only to find sooner than later their quality of life declines to inhibit their so called enjoyable retirement. Why stop doing what you are doing at a 55 or 60 years old if you love what you do. That is the whole concept of Lifesperity; do what you love and this guarantees passionate individuals producing valuable contributions to our society that benefits everyone and allows you to be rewarded financially, mentally, emotionally spiritually and physically.

While there is no guarantee Lifesperity will stop sickness or a declining quality of life due to the ageing process. I challenge you to tell me what other viable option do we have. If obesity, diabetes and all of the other challenges we are facing keep rising at their current rate, quality of life will be minimal for many. Most attempts I have seen to increase a person's quality of life be it fat loss, blood pressure and so on is increasingly a quick fix, medicated or restrictive. It isn't sustainable and no wonder our population is sickening. Drugs are a trade off to stop one condition only to create another. Same goes for nutritional supplements, they are only a trade off for our processing of food and environmental pollutions. And don't get me wrong we need drugs in our existence as they have increased survival rates and kept people alive in dramatic and unfortunate instances. I am living proof of that and am eternally grateful.

A Quick Tip To Help Self Esteem

2008-04-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

We have all read the glossy magazines that feature all of the stars in them. Whether we admit it or not, at some stage you would have looked at one. After reading the stories and seeing the pictures how did that make you feel? I am pretty sure you wouldn't have felt a sense of belonging or satisfaction or unbridled joy. There's a fair chance you would be thinking about what you read or the picture and be comparing your life to theirs.

I feel this is so potentially dangerous for self esteem. We are constantly seeing and hearing about high profiles and their stories. And whilst it is great to motivate yourself by these tales and visions of success you must remember you are not that person. Your individuality sets you apart from all and sundry and where you belong in this big world is unique.

My advice for what it is worth. Before you run out and get your fix of star mania in any form and get caught up dreaming about their perfect life. You should be getting to know yourself better. Internally find out where you stand in the world. What makes you a special individual? Identify your values and why they are important to you. How you improve other peoples lives with your actions. Once identified and feel secure about yourself and where you sit in the world, go ahead and read. This way you can always come back to reality. If you don't like where you sit in this world after your internal dialogue. You have two choices to make. One is to change your actions and become that important or special person your inner self knows you are or secondly keep living as you are and accept who you are. Self acceptance is a vital part of self esteem. Either way by looking, changing and accepting who you are or simply looking and gladly accepting who you are you will be a more grounded person for it.

Putting A New Perspective On Vacuuming

2008-04-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

Vacuuming the house is a chore that some people enjoy and some hate it. To clean out your house, vacuuming is an option. Anyway let's move on. How does creating a vacuum in your thinking sound? If you are attempting to improve any aspect of your life this concept is crucial.

To create a vacuum you must allow something to leave you. For example if you wanted to improve your health via nutrition and you love cool drink, chocolate and cakes and those items find their way into your mouth daily. The easy alternative is to bark out how bad they are for you and tell you to stop eating them. Problem is you know they aren't good for you but it doesn't stop you eating them does it? You have to create an environment that creates that vacuum and sucks away the thoughts that encourage you to eat those foods. This will allow new empowering positive images and habits of your new healthier nutritional habits to come in.

The key to all long term lifestyle, financial, relationship and self development growth is firstly acknowledging there is a problem. You can't fix something that in your mind isn't broken. Once you are aware of your problem this is when you letting go of that habit allows an opening for new and better options to come into your life. And remember your natural state is to be happy and live in harmony with your surroundings. So by creating that vacuum your surroundings start
conspiring to help you. Those coincidences start appearing when you create vacuums. They only start appearing because you are looking for them. Keep the vacuum going and those coincidences quickly become what successful individuals call opportunities.