Hi,

Do you know how to pick fitness goals?  Or health goals, or nutrition goals?

Most goal setting gurus tell you to write down your goals.  This is all we

ll and good, but are your goals any good?  Are they realistic?

And what do you do after you write them down?  Some will tell you to set a time line.  Sadly, most goal gurus never get past these 2 steps.  

Somehow writing them down and setting a time frame will make them all come true.  Sorry, life doesn’t work that way. 

So let’s try a new approach. 

Write down what you want.  If you want 6 pack abs, then write that down. 

If you want to gain 10 pounds of muscle then write that down.  (You can of course do this exercise for anything, not just health and fitness items.)

So you have written several items down. 

The next step is to ask yourself why you want it.  Write the answer down. 

This is critical.  Just writing down a bunch of goals is pretty much useless.  Setting a time frame doesn’t really help either. 

What does work is finding the reason why you want what you want. 

Write down what you want and why you want this.  Concentrate for now on your health and fitness.

Write down as many reasons as you can think of for each item that you want. 

After you have done this for all the items you want, go back over your answers to why you want them. 

Almost always you will find the same reasons why for several of your items. 

Write these down on a separate piece of paper. 

These will be your real goals. 

Let’s use an example.

Let’s say you want to lose 20 pounds.  Why?  You will feel better.  You will look better.  You will have less body fat.  You will be healthier.

You want to have 6 pack abs.  Why?  You will be stronger.  You will look better.  You will have less body fat.

You want to reduce your sugar intake.  Why?  You will feel better.  You will be healthier.  You will have less body fat. 

You want to have a stronger heart.  Why?  You will have more energy. You will be healthier.  You will feel better.

Okay let’s look at what we have.  You have 3 – you will feel better.

You have 3 - you will have less body fat.

You have 2 – you will look better.

Continue doing this until you have gone through your whole list. 

You will find that there will be common reasons.  In this example, you will feel better and you will have less body fat are pretty important to you. 

So these are two goals you should focus on right now. 

Okay, now what? 

Don’t worry I am not going to leave you hanging like most goal gurus, but you will have to stay tuned until next post.

Thanks

Hi,

I know in the last part of your life and your health I promised to reveal more about who I am and so on.

But, I ran across something that is more powerful and supports what these last few posts have been about.

It is about Elle Swan, who is now an international speaker, author and coach. 

But, it wasn’t always that way for Elle.  Before she got to that stage she was overweight, overweight, had no money and was a drug addict.  It got so bad for Elle that she overdosed  and thought she died.

But she didn’t and from that lowest of low points she started making the good habits, the good decisions.

Remember our original quote that got me started on this journey?  Good times breed bad habits and bad times breed good habits. 

That does not mean it is easy to overcome all the bad habits that have accumulated over the years.  No, it is actually very hard to overcome in many cases.

Elle, in her own words, says she stumbled more than stepped on her path to empowerment.

But, she had the courage to face herself, to stop blaming others and circumstances for her problems. 

It is only by looking within and finding yourself and who you want to be, that you can start to overcome the bad habits you have accumulated over a lifetime.  That is your foundation for taking the steps you need to take.

If you have been overweight or obese or terribly out of shape for a long period of time, it is only by looking at yourself and seeing yourself as you really are that you can begin to change.

You can have a gymnastic type of body.  You can be healthy and strong. You can be vibrant and filled with energy. 

But, do not believe all the BS hype out there about how easy it will be.  It will not be easy.  There will be times when you struggle.  There will be times when you want to give up.  There will be times when you say I don’t have time for this. 

There are ways to overcome all of these issues.  And the next post of your life and your health we will talk about them.  Along with – who the heck am I – I promise:-)

If you want to know more about Elle, you can go to her website

woman running

Last post we looked at whether your metabolism decreases because of the aging process or because of the fact that your lifestyle has changed considerably from when you were younger. 

You can check that post out at: your metabolism

Today let’s look at some easy ways to keep your metabolism raised through out the day.

Make sure you get plenty of sleep.  I know I am not a good one to say this, because I would rather be doing almost anything than sleeping. 

However, if you can not or will not sleep for 7-8 hours a night at least try to get a good 20 minute nap sometime during the day. 

More rest might seem counterproductive to keeping your metabolism going, but you have to take into account 2 things.  More rest = more ability to be active throughout the day. 

The other thing is that your hormones are dependent on the amount of rest you get.  For example, remember – from previous posts – our friends ghrelin and leptin. 

Ghrelin spikes and leptin decreases in sleep deprived individuals.  So get enough sleep so that you feel energetic all day – without energy boosting beverages.

If you are already exercising in the mornings, then continue to do so.  If not add a simple 2-3 minute exercise session – even if it is just some fitness stretching or moving – first thing. 

After your exercise session eat something before you go off to work.  Eat something nutritious.  A bagel and cup of coffee is not what I had in mind. 

Get some protein and fruit if nothing else. 

Drink enough water throughout the day to keep hydrated.  Dehydration does lots of nasty things to your body, including sapping you of energy which = a lower metabolism.

Eat less at each meal and eat more meals.  The simple act of digesting burns calories and revs up your metabolism.  If you don’t over do it.

The 2000 calorie double bacon cheeseburger with everything on it will raise your metabolism as you are trying to digest it and then you will crash and have no metabolism while you try to recover.

Try these few simple things to raise your metabolism and you will feel like a youngster again.

Can you keep your metabolism high throughout life?

If you are like most people you believe that your metabolism declines with age. 

That means you are not burning the same number of calories per day as you did when you were younger.

But, is it the fact that your metabolism is declining because of your increasing age or is there something else at work here.

There is no doubt that most peoples metabolism does decrease as they age. 

I would tend to guess that while age is a factor, your lifestyle is much more of a factor. 

When you are younger you are on the go all the time.  You got to work or to school and then you go out with your friends. 

Even if the going out is not exercise related, it is usually doing something.  Some kind of movement.

It could be shopping (lots of walking, trying on clothes, etc.), dancing at a club or going to the beach or pool (swimming).

Even if it is just going to a movie, you go home, shower, get dressed, drive to the theater, walk to the ticket booth, watch the movie, walk back to the car and drive home.

And let’s not forget about some extra fooling around.  Fooling around is a great calorie burner and most younger people do it a lot more often.

Now fast forward 10 years.  You have a sit down job, you drive back and forth to work, you sit at the computer or watch tv when you get home and then you go to bed.

Your family becomes your life and going out on the town usually is a once a month thing if it ever happens any more.  Going out almost always means getting something to eat. 

Even if you get some fooling around, it isn’t as often and usually not as long – got to get up early in the morning. 

So maybe, it isn;t so much your age that causes a decrease in your metabolism as it is a decrease in your activity levels.

Even if you do get to the gym a few times a week it isn’t enough.

Doing 2-3 20-30 minute exercise sessions does not counter balance hours and hours of sitting every week.

It is a good start, but you need more.  And by more, I don’t just mean add an extra session.  You need different types of exercise every day.  Doing even 4-5 moderate to low intensity exercise for even 60 minutes a day is not going to do it.

You need to push your self.  Add some high intensity bursts of exercise during one or two of your sessions. 

Add some extra walking every day.  Simple things like parking down the street from your work and using the stairs instead of the elevator will burn a ton of extra calories over a years period of time. 

So keep your metabolism working with you and fight the old age myths.

Next post we’ll look at some other simple ways to keep your metabolism fired up!

Here is part 4 of women need muscles too.  If you

missed any of the first three parts, just click on the

archives link on this blog. 

15. Look better in clothes.

Lets face it, most clothing manufactures and designers 

do not spend time on making great looking clothes for

anyone other than thin people.   Add some toned

muscle to the picture and you will look great.

16. Get married easier.

If you are single your chances of getting married or 

re-married increase by 60% if you are thin.

Once again, this is discrimination, but the statistics

are “overwhelming”.

(These last three points are elaborated on in John

Molly’s book.  Why Men Marry Some Women and Not

Others: The Fascinating Research That Can Land You

the Husband of Your Dreams

 17. Play with grandkids.

There is nothing more rewarding than having your kids

and grandkids come running and jump in your arms.

Do you want to miss out on this pleasure because you

are too weak or too fragile?

Or to obese to bend down to grab them in your arms?

I still remember the feeling I had when my niece (she

was 6) came running outside and leaped in my arms

when I came for a visit.  It was fantastic and I have

never forgotten that.

 Now I have been able to relive it with her daughter -

my grand niece.  Priceless.

 18. Reduce physical stress.

 Your muscles need to move and they feel better and 

react better with movement. Moving and exercise help

 keep your muscles and body in a relaxed but ready

state.

 19. Reduce mental stress.

 Not only does exercise help reduce physical stress but 

it also reduces mental stress. The endorphin release

 makes you feel great. And just doing some exercise 

takes your mind off of whatever is causing the stress.

This lowers your stress levels.

 20. Dance the night away.

 Life should be enjoyable. Do what you want, even if it

is to dance all night long.

You can do so if you have the muscular strength and

energy.

Remember the more exercise, the more muscle, the

more mitochondria activity, the higher metabolism, the

less body fat and the more energy.

This is the cycle you want to be on.

So if you are fit already, great – party on.

If not, then you need a way to get there.

It can be hard. Maybe you work all day, rush home to

get the kids and run the household as well as taking

care of your mate

Where are you going to find the time to exercise?

Well, fortunately, you don’t have to exercise for a long

period of time to get all these benefits. 

Stay tuned to this blog for more information on how to

get the muscles you need and all the benefits easily.

Thanks,

 Mike Val

http://www.valshealthsite.com/