The Final Piece of the Puzzle

          For those of you who have been following my blog from the beginning, I have a few questions for you. Are you mentally ready? Are you giving your body the right energy? Are you ready for the final piece of the puzzle to reaching your full potential? For those of you who have not been following me, I would encourage you to check out my archive posts. My next series of posts, although important, are not as important as my first two series of posts. The subject of this series will be maximized by having a proper mindset and giving your body the proper nutrition. Have you guessed what the final piece of the puzzle is?

          Ladies and gentlemen, coming in third place and making the podium is KEEPING FIT! Wait ….don’t go anywhere! Notice how I did not say exercising? The word “exercising” is a turn off in many people’s eyes. Although I personally like the word and use it often; I like to approach this from a different angle. The truth of the matter is that keeping fit and exercising is synonymous. Thank God for spell check because I just hacked that word all up J  In keeping fit you physically allow yourself to do the things on this earth that are important to you. Your odds of reaching your full potential and fulfilling your purpose are much better than if you are not fit. I have heard of too many people that have not been able to reach their dreams or do some things they have always wanted to do because their body just will not allow it. You can only abuse your body for so long before you start feeling the effects from not taking care of it. Let me start by saying IT IS NOT TOO LATE! No matter how young or old you are, make today the first day of the rest of your life and embrace change.

            So what is keeping fit? Keeping fit in its simplest definition is nothing more than increasing your metabolism allowing your body to burn off those calories that have been building up. I told you it was a simple definition (my definition).  At my job I often hear the phrase “keep it simple”. I agree with that phrase. Life is not as complicated as we make it out to be. This is why I gave you a simple definition of keeping fit.  The more you understand and less intimidating it appears, the more achievable it seems. You have now just entered into the “World According to Dan”, keep it simple ….keep in fit.



Really! Time to go already! Good thing this is just the beginning of this series because I have a lot to talk about. More importantly, what do you have to share? Remember, we are all in this together and can learn from one another.

Junk In Junk Out (Part 3)

     Enough simplistic talking; it is time to get more complex. Carb complex that is! In the last post we discussed how our body’s process simple carbohydrates quickly; and also burns them quickly giving you a short sustainment of energy.  Complex carbohydrates are completely opposite. Our body processes the complex carbs more slowly giving us a longer sustainment of energy.

     The chart above that I got of the okloseweight.co.uk website list several foods that are naturally high in complex carbohydrates. These types of foods are the best method for getting your carbs. Unlike the simple carbs, these foods contain other nutrients such as fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. Generally speaking, people call the simple carbohydrates bad carbs and the complex carbohydrates good carbs. I am always a bit concerned when I hear of someone going on a carb free diet. Your body needs carbs to help create and maintain energy. Instead of omitting carbs completely, try cutting back making sure that the ones you are consuming are of the complex type or from fruit. Remember some simple carbs are ok in moderation (check my last post).

     A little side note, even though honey is considered a simple carbohydrate; it is a preferred sweetener over sugar. Honey has some nutrients in it where sugar does not. If possible try sweetening your food or drink with honey instead of sugar.

     So to bring the “Junk In Junk Out” series to a close, I found a short Youtube video by HealthiNation that does a great job summarizing what we have been talking about. It even gives a few bits of information that I did not touch. Check it out!

 

     Stay tuned for my next post. Hmmm …since we did a series on the mind, and just finished a series on a nutritional area; can you guess what the next series will be on? Sorry no hints ….just come back next week. However, we are well on our way to reaching our full potential!



 





Junk In Junk Out (Part Two)

            Last post we introduced importance #2 of reaching your full potential; what we put in our body. Let’s continue this topic by looking at some characteristics of unhealthy and healthy consumptions. First let’s take a look at the unhealthy side.

            For you calorie counting people out there (yes I am one too), just because you fell under your daily calorie goal does not necessarily mean it was successful. Let me explain. I use an application on my phone to record what I eat to help keep me accountable of my food and drink intake. I highly encourage some sort of accountability program (whether electronically or the paper method) because it really makes you aware of what and how much you put in your body. It is a good idea even for those of you that do not need to lose weight and want to focus on a healthier lifestyle. It is a great accomplishment staying under the calorie goal for the day; but what if half of what I ate was a donut, fast food, ice cream, and the majority of the fluids I drank were soda pops?  Then as I mentioned in my last post; there is a good chance I may feel sluggish. Although my energy level may spike momentarily; rest assured it will not last long.

 

                     

            But I stayed under my calorie goal for the day! I did do that but most of what I put in my body was simple carbohydrates (simple sugars). In my last post I mentioned that your body breaks down what you put in it and converts it to energy. Simple carbohydrates are easily broken down and quickly absorbed by your body but that energy does not last long. That is why when you eat a high sugary food or drink a large quantity of a sugary drink, you may feel peppy right away and then not long after you want to take a nap. In addition to the high sugar intake; where was the nutrition? Any protein? Any vitamins? Any minerals? These are essential for your body.  Some simple carbs do have additional nutrients in them but others do not. Check out the chart below that I got off the okloseweight.co.uk website:

                                              

                You can see our bodies do need simple carbs but the sources of the simple carbs are important.  Let’s be realistic here! Unless you are from another planet (even then I have my doubts) you will at times crave those sugary foods of little or no value.  At times you will break down and have them (I did today).  The key is not to give in every time you have those cravings; and eat more of the foods that have nutrients in them. Again, recording what you eat will aid in helping you keep track. So what do you think? Any comments? We are all here to learn from one another! Next post … COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES…STAY TUNED!