Healthier Life Advice

6 Ways to Stick to Your Diet

2012-03-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

So many have us have tried and tried again, we keep starting, and then we binge and then we try again. It's just an endless cycle. We know that once we start dieting that we will just inevitably stop. Let's face it dieting just isn't fun. You can't drink, no more mickey D's, and no more snacking on chips when you watch TV. But dieting is super good for you and it will help you reach your desired fitness goals. So for those of us who do decide to take the plunge here are six tips that can help you beat that bulge.

1. Chew Gum (and lots of it).
Chewing gum especially cinnamon gum helps suppress the appetite. Also it helps prevent shameless snacking, because if you already have gum in your mouth you are less likely to mindlessly grab some chips. In addition gum can help satisfy you if your craving something sweet.

2. Eat cheat meals
Dieting doesn't have to be an endless marathon where you never eat what you want. Let's say that we eat 5 meals a day. A meal is not necessarily a sit down meal, it could be you grabbing an apple on the way to work. So any snacking we will consider a meal as well. If you add that up that is 35 meals per week. Now if you have 35 meals per week you can use the 90: 10 rule. If 90% of your meals are healthy you can eat 10% what you want. This can help you satisfy your sweet tooth, without going on a 3 day binge only to regain what you worked so hard to lose.

3. Put hot sauce on stuff
While sometimes diet foods aren't always the best tasting and are a little bland, most hot sauces are 0 calories, and the spiciness helps to suppress your appetite a little bit. So don't be shy and go heavy on the hot sauce.

4. Keep Busy
When you are sitting at home looking at the computer or just mindlessly watch TV a lot of us have the tendency just to eat out of boredom. However, if you are busy working on a project, or doing a hobby that you really love, you might just forget about eating all together. While I don't advocate starving yourself during a diet, if you keep busy you might just forget that you are on a diet all together.

5. Eat TONS of vegetables
Vegetables like mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, etc. are all mostly water. It is possible to eat a plate full of vegetables with under a 100 calories. You literally can not eat too many vegetables. If you are hungry can some asparagus. You won't eat too much, you can stuff your face with steamed broccoli, and you may get full but you will not overeat. Since most vegetables contain mostly fiber and water, you get the full sensation, with all the vitamins just with almost none of the calories.

6. Take pictures of your progress
Let's face it you look at yourself every day in the mirror. You don't necessarily notice when you are changing or not, however when you take pictures of your self on a weekly basis, you WILL start seeing results, and when you look at those pictures it will give you the motivation to keep on going, because you will be able to see how much you have accomplished.

My Workout Split

2012-01-16T09:38:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask me "Mark? what does your workout look like?" Well I don't exactly have an easy answer to that. I very my workouts constantly. I haven't repeated a workout in years because I like to always have my muscles guessing, and I have seen really good growth from this strategy. But for the past few months I have done the same body parts on the same day of the week.

A sample of what one of my weeks would look like this

Monday: Legs
Squats: 5x5
Romanian Dead Lift: 3x8
Lunges: 3x8
Leg extension: 4x10
Hamstring Curl: 4x12

Tuesday: Chest
Dumbell Bench Press: 4x10
Incline Bench Press: 3x8
Incline Dumbell flyes: 4x8
Cable flyes: 3x8
Dumbell front raises: 2x20

Wednesday: Shoulders
Barbell Overhead Press: 5x5
Dumbell front raises: 3x10
Dumbell side raises: 3x10
Cable side raises: 2x12
Dips: 2x20 or to failure

Thursday: Back
Deadlift: 5x5
Hyperextensions: 3x8
Good Mornings: 2x10
Barbell row: 3x8
Lat Pulldown: 3x8

Friday: Arms (Because you need good arms for when you go out on the weekends)
2x20: tricep pulldowns
3x8: skull crushers
3x5: overhead extensions
3x8: Barbell curls
2x10: Dumbell curls

The 5 Biggest Eating Mistakes

2012-01-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

I know that nearly all of us have the goal of building muscle, and losing fat. While you all may kill it in the gym, that may be for only 1 hour a day. The other 23 hours is what will really make or break your fitness goals, and that is why nutrition is so important.

1. Not eating Before/ After your workout
Eating before and after a workout, is the most critical time. The window that is 30 minutes before the workout and 2 hours after is the most anabolic period for building muscle. When you eat before you will increase your energy in the gym. In addition, eating after a workout, will provide your muscles with all the nutrients that you need to gain size, and adequately recover from a workout.

2. Not being consistent
I know that this one is really obvious, but it needs to be said. There are so many people (myself included) that just can't seem to keep their nutrition is check ALL of the time. If you really wan't to see those results your nutrition really needs to be spot on. If you want to cheat, you can consider adding 1 to 2 cheat meals per week. These cheat meals would be 1 or 2 out of your 6 meals a day. So that is like 1 out of 42ish meals which you should be eating per week. If you can eat 40 meals consistently, then you cheat one that might be OK. But, don't cheat too often, or you will see your results go away.

3. Eating Too Much
Many people who are trying to gain mass fall into the habit of just eating everything in sight. While this may cause you to gain size, the size will be anything but healthy. You will have an increased risk for diseases. In addition obesity is another health problem that you could put yourself at risk for. If you are trying to gain weight it is best to eat around 600 or so calories more than you need. So if your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is 3000 calories a day, bump it up to 3600 calories a day. You can calculate your BMR by multiplying 15*Lean Body Mass. While it may take a little longer to gain size, you will not get that unwanted bodyfat that comes as a result.

4. Eating Too Little
Yes, I know I just said that eating too much is a problem, but eating too little is also a problem. There are many people who are trying to gain size/lose weight who just don't eat the adequate numbers of calories needed. It is important for those even trying to lose weight, that they need to eat enough to get all of the health benefits of food. Also eating can help you avoid binge eating in the future. In addition for guys trying to put on size, no matter how much work you do in the gym, if you don't eat enough there is no way that you will be able to pack on that muscle that you want.

5. Eating Too Much of One Type of Food
So many people think that you should have protein over any other food nutrient. But that is a huge mistake. It is critical to have enough carbs, proteins, and fats for ideal muscle growth. While protein what muscles are made of, if you don't have enough carbs or fat, your body will not be able to continue its basic functions, and not having enough carbs or fat, can actually hinder your development. A good ratio is try is to have 40% protein 40% Carbs and 20% fat. You can adjust those ratios to fit to your nutritional needs.

All Sources of Protein Are Not Created Equally

2012-01-13T23:04:00.000-08:00

What nearly every diet has in common is that protein is one of the most essential things. Protein is the building blocks of muscle. In addition it takes more energy to digest protein than any other macronutrient, which is protein carbs and fat.

There are BV's (Biological value) of protein. Whey protein is rated at 100, and now here are the rest of the proteins.

Whey-100
Whole Egg-99
Cow's Milk-91
Egg White (only)-91
Fish (various) - 83
Beef - 80
Casein -80
Chicken - 79
Soy - 74
Wheat Gluten - 64
Rice - 59
Wheat - 54
Beans - 49

Ginkgo Memory Benefits

2012-01-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ginko is a an herb that is ground up to make medicine. While there are many benefits of ginko one of the most well known one's is its help in memory loss. In addition it can help slow Alzheimer's disease and it can help sharpen the memory skills of younger people.

While Ginko has many memory benefits, its benefits may include aiding in PMS (Postmenstrual sydrome), improve distance vision with those with macular degeneration, improve color vision for patients with diabetes, and it can act as an antidepressant. In addition people use it for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), blood clots, heart disease, high cholesterol, "hardening" of the arteries, depression, and mountain sickness. However these things have not yet proven to be effective from ginko.

Ginko benefits memory and helps the body by improving blood flow. In addition ginko seems to help kill bad bacteria, which could be a cause of disease. So in general if you are not taking ginko, you should consider it because it could help you really improve your health.

Coenzyme Q-10 Benefits

2012-01-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Coenzyme Q-10 or Co Q-10 is a nutritional supplement with a lot of value. It is really good for the heart, and it should be added to any person diet who either has a CO Q-10 deficiency or a Mitochondrial disorder, which is a inherited or acquired disorder that limits the energy production in the bodies cells.

However, even if you don't have these things, co q-10 can help the body with a whole bunch of other things. In addition to helping mitochondrial disorders, co q-10 is effective in treating :

Congestive heart failure (CHF), in combination with other medications.
Decreasing the risk of additional heart problems in people who have had a recent heart attack (myocardial infarction).
Huntington's disease.
Preventing blood vessel complications caused by heart bypass surgery.
High blood pressure (hypertension) in combination with other medications.
Preventing migraine headache.
Parkinson's disease. Some research shows that taking coenzyme Q-10 supplements might slow functional decline in people with early Parkinson's disease. But taking a coenzyme Q-10 supplement in people with mid-stage Parkinson's disease does not seem to improve symptoms.
Improving the immune system of people with HIV/AIDS.
Muscular dystrophy, an inherited disorder involving muscle wasting.

Co Q-10 has very few side effects that could include, loss of appetite or upset stomach. But, it is pretty much a safe supplement, that can be given to children. It is also relatively inexpensive, and can be found at most nutrition stores or some drug stores. You should add co-q 10 to your supplement stack today!

Valerian Roots Benefits, helping you get a good night sleep

2012-01-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

Do you have trouble sleeping? You don't want to take sleeping pills, and melatonin just doesn't seem to be working. Try taking some valerian. There are many valerian root benefits that can help you, but helping insomnia is its number one benefit. However, you need to be slightly careful because some people experienced side effects such as headaches or uneasiness when they were on valerian. But valerian root is an all natural supplement so you should not worry about taking it.

There also is thoughts that there are more valerian root benefits in addition to helping insomnia. There is thoughts that it helps: depression, convulsions, mild tremors, epilepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), muscle and joint pain, headache, stomach upset, menstrual pains, menopausal symptoms including hot flashes and anxiety, and many others. However you should be careful, and not use it for these things, because all of these have not been proven.

In addition if you are using valerian for sleep, it may take as much as a month before you see sleeping results. But, valerian could be used as more as a cure to insomnia instead of just a quick fix, because it acts like a sedative to the brain. I would suggest that you try and see the valerian roots benefits for yourself. It may just help you get that good night sleep that you have always wanted.

How To Stick to Your New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Another year has passed and you probably are making the same new year's resolution again. Odds are you are just one of the statistics. There are more gym member sign-ups in January than any other month of the year. It is because of all of the people like you who want to start their life fresh. Now another sad fact is that most of these people will be gone and stop working out by March. If you don't want to be like them try these tips:

1. Start of Slow
The body doesn't do well with dramatic change. Odds are if you go from a couch potato from a gym-rat overnight, you won't be able to stick with your plans. However, if you just plan on showing up! to the gym (you don't have to work out), and then leave. Do that just 3 times a week. Then maybe the next week you could start working out for 10 minutes, then 20, then build up until you are working out your desired amount. This will help you slowly become acclimated to the gym, and you will be able to build up a habit of going, making you less likely to break it.

2. Eat 1 healthy meal per day
So the same logic goes for diet as it does for the gym. Even though diet is more important than working out in terms of weight-loss, we will start out even slower. Let's say you eat 5 meals per day (including snacks), try to eat just 1 healthy meal a day. So if you snack on chips during work, eat an apple. Do that just once a day for a month. Then the next month continue eating that apple in place of potato chips, but then if you have another snack after work when you go home, replace that snack with a piece of fruit. Then you can start working on your main meals. Before you know it, all your meals will be healthy, and you won't desire any of the bad food again.

3. It's Ok To Cheat
Now I'm not saying it's ok to completely ditch your diet all together, but after a couple of months of rigorous dieting, its ok to maybe have 1 or 2 cheat meals per week. These aren't meals where you completely binge, they are more like meals where instead of the apple you will have potato chips. In these meals you reward yourself but you don't go too over the edge, because it is easy to get back right where you started.

If you follow this advice you should have no problem sticking to your new year's resolutions, and hey maybe you will inspire someone else in the process.

The Benefits of Cinnulin

2012-01-03T18:16:00.000-08:00

The Benefits of Cinnulin |Healthier Life Advice

Cinnamon is a ingredient that has been around for thousands of years with a great history. For centuries it has been used primarily as a good healthy spice to put on foods, to add that little bit of sweetness without the sugar; But now, cinnulin, the active ingredient is found to have many benefits.

There are many cinnulin benefits. Cinnulin helps regulate blood glucose levels and helps suppress appetite. This means that it is a great thing to take if you have type II diabetes. In addition, if you are trying to shed those extra pounds and don't want to shed the extra pounds try taking a cinnulin pill. They can be bought cheaply (usually below 15 dollars) at any drugstore. But that is not all of the cinnulin benefits.

Cinnulin also helps to lower blood pressure and it packs the punch of a ton of antioxidants. The result will be in a healthier heart, a better body composition, and you will have a harder time catching that cold. So, the next time you are in the store, buy some cinnulin pf, and you won't regret all of the cinnulin benefits that you will feel.

Vegetarian Bodybuilding

2012-01-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

If you look at diet plans of bodybuilders, I would say that about 95% of them include things like grilled chicken, lean steak, and other types of meat. While meat is the easiest way of getting in a high protein low carb meal, there are plenty of bodybuilders who have been vegetarians, and you can too.

You can get your protein from sources like eggs, nuts, soy products like tempeh, or the obvious protein powders. But if your vegan, you can use soy or pea protein powders. Also when you are bodybuilding on a vegetarian diet it is important to consume an adequate number of calories. Since fruits and vegetables have a high water and low calorie content, they are not the best for bulking. You need to get creative if you want to eat enough good healthy food to gain weight. Weight gainers are a great tool. In addition peanut butter can be added to a lot of things to really give some extra calories. It is also important to make sure that you are getting enough iron in your diet by eating spinach, lentils, edamame, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, etc,. Also things like soyabeans and spinach will help you get in your required calcium to keep your bones strong.

So while it may be slightly more difficult to bodybuild on a a vegetarian diet, it is definitely possible, and it can actually be a much healthier diet than eating all of the meat that a normal bodybuilder would be. So no meat no problem!

Betaine-More Than Just Beet Juice

2012-01-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

What is Betaine?
Betaine is a modified amino acid commonly known as trimethylclycine. It's called betaine because it was originally isolated from beets. However, it is also found (in greater amounts) in spinach and wheat germ. Betaine is naturally found in the body from the breakdown of choline.

What it does
Betaine is great for promoting overall health. It has been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, it can fight depression, enhance liver health, and aid joint recovery. It has even shown to lower cholesterol, and reducte the risk of atherosclerosis. While it is really great health wise it can also help you leaps and bounds in the gym. A University of Connecticut study found a 25% greater increase in strength with a pre-workout with betaine, and a placebo. There have also been studies done by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, and the College of New Jersey that have confirmed these findings. These findings seem to be validated because betaine supports the natural production of creatine in the body. Another study by UConn found that it lowered lactate levels, and people who drank betaine in water were able to sprint 40 seconds longer. It also seems that betaine is anabolic and supports the growth of muscles.

How to take it
Betaine can either be found naturally in vegetables such as spinach and beets. It can also be purchased in supplement form. It is recommended to have 1 to 2 grams of betaine per day. But if you really want to maximize your results with betaine, you could take 1.5 to 2 grams twice per day with your meals.

So if you have not added betaine to your workout regime this might be just the motivation you need.

Maple Syrup? The next superfood

2011-12-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not maple syrup there has been a study done by the University of Rhode Island that shows that maple syrup has tons of great antioxidants. 54 to be exact. These antioxidants help fight against cancer and diabetes. This is interesting because this is twice the amount that was previously thought to be in maple syrup. Maple syrup is now known to be nearly as beneficial as some foods such as berries, tea, flaxseed, and redwine.

So the next time you reach for some agave nectar or splenda to put on your pancakes, STOP. Put on some good nutritious maple syrup to your pancakes. Not only will they taste a whole lot better, but you will be helping your health as well.

3 Ways to Bust Through Any Plateu

2011-12-30T16:55:00.000-08:00

Many people come to me and ask me, "Mark! I've been working out for awhile, and I am just not seeing the gains that I used to when I first started lifting, how can I get those gains back?" Well while you probably wont see those gains that you did because of the law of diminishing returns, which pretty much means our bodies can only handle so much. You can only weigh so much, or you can only lose so much weight, their is a limit. But, if you haven't reached your limit yet, there are some things that you can do.

1. Change up your supplements/start taking supplements
While many people are taking supplements, they sometimes take the same thing for too long. If you are still taking that same fat burner that you used 5 years ago or that same pre-workout, it may be time for a change. Change to products with different active ingredients, and vary what you take. Or if you don't take any supplements START! They can really help you take your workouts to the next level.

2. Change up your workout
There are so many people who do the same thing day in and day out. They had the same workout split for years. They would do the same exercise on the same days for so long. This is not how you build muscle. I personally never do the same workout twice in a row. I haven't actually done the exact same workout in over a year. It is important to vary your rep range and set range and exercises to continually keep the body guessing.

3. Watch what you eat
Many people ask "Mark I just cant put on size" or "I just can't lose the fat that I want". While both these people spend all the time that they need in the gym they don't eat right. If you are eating not enough/too much food no matter how much you workout, you will not gain size/lose weight.

How to Really Lose Weight

2011-12-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, there are so many diet crazes, weight watchers, atkins, the keto diet, south beach, and the list goes on and on. However, I am willing to sum all of them up into one sentence

"Eat less; do more"

If you want to lose weight, all you have to do is eat at a calorie deficit. What this means is you need to find out how many calories you normally use per day, which is about

your body weight * 15 = Base Metabolic Rate (BMR)

*Note this number is higher if you are more active and lower if you are sedentary

or your maintenance calories. If you want to lose about a pound per week you would lower your calories about 600 below your BMR. Now if you want to eat more you can increase your BMR by doing more (running, swimming, etc.) It does not matter what you eat when it comes to weight loss. However, it is much easier to get fuller off of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables than it is candy bars. But, it is possible to lose weight eating twinkies all day. Although, you would have other health problems. If you want to find out more accurately how to calculate your BMR you can go here http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_BMR.php where they go in depth to calculate your calories. That's it! That is the secret to losing weight.

Astral projection

2011-12-26T21:09:00.000-08:00

Astral Projection is an out of body experience that occurs when you are asleep. It is kind of like lucid dreaming which is controlling your actions and being aware of yourself when you are dreaming. However, astral projection is taking lucid dreaming to the next level. It is where you literally have an out of body experience. You can literally see yourself coming out of your body, and you can do whatever you want. You can fly to mars, be a pirate, mess with your friends. It's like your dreaming, but it's more realistic.

People who have said to experience astral projection say it is different than anything they have ever experienced. One person said that it was like she was having a war between her physical self and her spiritual self trying to escape. While this may seem scary, actually it is a really good thing to do. It helps you to be able to control how you relax. There have also been claims of people in groups astral projecting together and going on glorious adventures.

Here are some tips to do astral projection if you so choose.

Relax. Make your whole body still. Don't move a muscle. Don't even move your eyes. You need to keep still until you feel shaking, or a warm tingling.
Release yourself. One you finally feel a warm tingling or a shaking, imagine that there is a rope over you and that you are pulling yourself out with a rope.
Enjoy. Once you have released yourself from your body, enjoy your out of body experience.

Tips

Don't Freak out! Whatever you do don't be scared. If anything bad happens use your mind to will the bad away and only think good.
Use music. There is some music like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDgTWoe9KGg, which can aid in astral projection

Overall, this is a really good technique that you can use to relax, and it can be a fun technique to learn because you never know what kind of adventures you can go on.

The Ketogenic Weight Loss Diet

2011-12-24T21:37:00.000-08:00

With so many diets going around it is difficult to keep the facts straight. The keto diet or ketogenic weight loss diet is a high fat low carb diet that is gaining a lot of popularity. In this article I don't intend to go to in depth, but I will give you the general pro's and cons of such a diet.

In a nutshell the idea behind the keto diet is that if you eat mostly fat and little to no carbs, your body will use fat as its main source of energy instead of carbohydrates. When this happens there is an excess amount of ketones in the blood, thus being called ketosis.

The pro's of keto

Main source of energy comes from fat. So the fat is easily lost
It is safe. It is even used to treat seizures in children
It is filling. As opposed to other calorie deficient diets that are low in fat, fatty foods are extremely filling
It is muscle sparing

Sound's great right! In the ketogenic weight loss diet your muscles are spared as long as you have adequate protein (about 1 gram for every pound of lean body mass). Also eating the foods on keto (eggs, meat, cheese, etc. ) is extremely filling, and you have no problems losing weight. However, there are some downsides to keto.

Cons

Being tired. Fat is a really bad way for the body to produce energy. The result is feeling lethargic.
Bad breath. There is mainly only anecdotal evidence that it causes bad breath, but eating lots of meat and cheese can't be too great for the kisser.
Not getting enough nutrients. The sad fact that there just isn't as many micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) in meat and cheese as there is in vegetables and fruit, which are strictly banned.

So while the ketogenic weight loss diet definitely has its benefits, the decrease in energy really makes the diet not as fun as one would think. It is really only fun the first couple of days when you get to eat ton's of fatty foods, but it quickly turns into a difficult diet. But it is really up to you. The fact is that this diet works. You can work around the con's by taking vitamins, brushing your teeth, and taking caffeine or sleeping. I would suggest that you try the ketogenic weight loss diet if you want to lose fat and preserve muscle. If it fails you can always try another diet.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Your Brain

2011-12-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

1. The brain holds between 3-1,000 terabyte of information
This is pretty impressive seeing that a movie is only a couple of gigabytes, or that the National Archives of Britain with 900 years of history only has about 70 terabytes of information.
2. The brain is 80% Water
The brain is soft and spongy, and water really helps it perform better. So the next time you feel dehydrated drink some water, and you will help out your brain function.
3. The brain itself can't feel pain
But don't worry if you hit your head, you will still pain. Even though the brain can't feel pain, it is surrounded by bone and tissue that can feel pain. So that's why you still get headaches.
4. The Higher your IQ the more you dream

Courtesy of Mateu from DeviantArt

While this is true, don't feel bad about not remembering your dreams. The average dream only lasts about 2-3 seconds, which is barely fast enough to register.
5. The brain generates as much energy as a 10 watt lightbulb
I don't think any computer has as much memory as the brain, but they all use a lot more energy than the 10 watt lightbulb. We should study the brain and see how it utilizes power, and maybe we can build a computer closer to it.
6. Your brain is more active when you sleep
While you would think that day to day life would be a lot more active for your brain, the opposite turns out to be true. While scientists don't know the exact reason why your brain is more active, you can thank your active brain for tons of interesting dreams while you sleep.
7. The brain is always changing
One study found that learning to juggle changed the structure of the brain in just 7 days. This goes to prove that the brain learns very quickly.
8. Information can be processed as fast as 268 mph
This explains why your reactions can be really fast. For example pulling your hand away from a fire. On the other hand, don't rely on your reactions too much because some information can be processed as slow as 0.5 m/s
9. People who eat lunch did better on IQ tests
Studies show that people who eat lunch score an average of 14 points higher on an IQ test. So when you are given the option of skipping lunch, don't. You will be eating to a healthier brain.
10. The brain uses 20% of the oxygen from your body
While the brain only weighs 3 lbs, your brain takes up about 1/5 of your body's total oxygen. That's a lot of air!

The Truth About Sleep

2011-12-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, you probably think this article is about how you should get 8 hours of sleep per night, and that if you don't you will be tired and lethargic throughout the day, and that sleep is super important. Well while this may be true on an average day, I am here to tell you a little bit about how sleep actually works.

Sleep consists of 5 stages (theta waves, sleep spindles, delta waves, delta sleep, Rapid Eye Movement or (REM sleep)) lasting about 90 minutes. If you wake up at the end of a cycle you will feel refreshed and energized and ready to tackle the day. On the other hand if you are woken up in the middle of the cycle, due to outside factors (having to pee, alarm clock, someone waking you up, etc.) you will feel groggy and tired.

So here's the point. If you wake up after just 1 sleep cycle, you should feel great! But, even though you will feel great be wary because despite feeling good, you need some sleep to recover your body. But, you might need less sleep than 8 hours. Some people need only 4 or 5 sleep cycles. So if you wake up after 4 cycles or 6 hours, you will feel brilliant. There is nothing wrong with you, and you can enjoy your longer day! But it is different for everyone. Some people only need 5, 6, 7 hours or so. So find out for yourself how much sleep you really need you might be shocked.

Now there are some other shocking things about sleep. In addition to not only needing 8 hours, it is possible to skip the 5 stages of sleep, and go straight to REM sleep. It is actually possible to sleep for only 2 hours per day, and be fine. This is called the Uberman sleeping schedule which consists of six twenty-minute naps every 4 hours. While this would be nice, most of us who live in the real world, this is impractical. People cant just sleep for 20 minutes every 4 hours with work, and other commitments. But, there are lots of other different sleep cycles that you could choose from in the list below.

Name	Total sleeping time	Method
Monophasic	≈8.0 h	8 hours major sleep episode.
Biphasic	≈6.3 h	6 hours major sleep episode and one twenty-minute power nap.
Biphasic (90-minute nap)	6 h	4.5 hours major sleep episode and one ninety-minute nap.
Everyman (with 2 naps)	5.2 h	4.5 hours major sleep episode and two twenty-minute power naps.
Everyman (with 3 naps)	4 h	3 hours major sleep episode and three twenty-minute power naps.
Everyman (with 4 - 5 naps)	≈3 h	1.5 hours major sleep episode and four to five twenty-minute power naps.
Dymaxion	2 h	Four 30-minute naps (every 6 hours).
Uberman	2 h	Six twenty-minute naps (every 4 hours).

So, you might really not need as much sleep as you think. I encourage everyone who reads this to look at this list, and try and figure out something that will fit with your day, and make you more productive. Because we don't all need to get the typical 8 hours of sleep a night. We really only need 2 hours of sleep per day to function.

sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/165/3892/513.short

protein pineapple upside down cake

2011-12-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 Can of cubed pineapple
1 cup of oats
3 scoops of protein
3 whole eggs
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp nutella (optional)
A sprinkling of cinnamon

1. Coat bottom of microwave safe cake pan with pineapple and coats. Spread evenly.
2. Mix eggs, protein, peanut butter, nutella, and cinnamon into a bowl. Until batter-like consistency is achieved.
3. Cover pineapple and oats with mixture evenly.
4. Put pan into microwave for 2-4 minutes.
5. Plate and Enjoy!

Cottage Cheese Protein Parfait

2011-12-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 cup cottage cheese
1 tbsp sugar/splenda
1 scoop of protein
Ice
Blackberries or any fruit
oats
A sprinkling of cinnamon

1. Mix cottage cheese, ice, sugar, cinnamon, and protein all in a blender. Add water as needed for consistency. Blend

2. Put yogurt into a cup with oats and blackberries or fruit as desired. Enjoy!

High Protein Low Carb Strawberry Peanut Butter Protein Cake in 60 seconds

2011-12-21T17:49:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
2tbsp peanut butter
1 egg
1 scoop of protein

Finished Brownie

A sprinkling of cinnamon

1. Mix egg, protein, cinnamon, and peanut butter in a mug. Mix until you have a batter-like consistency. Add water as needed.

2. Once desired consistency is reached put it in the microwave for approximately 60 seconds. Be careful that you don't put it in too long, or it will dry out.

3. Remove from microwave and enjoy!

Why You Should Start Eating More Nuts

2011-12-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know the title of this article can have lots of different meanings; however, I am here to talk about the nutritional value of the ever popular nuts: the walnut, peanut, almond, and hazelnuts. While some people tend to not eat nuts because of their high calorie and fat levels, this is actually OK because nuts are nutritionally dense, and they have good mono and unsaturated fats. Plus it is only necessary to eat nuts in small amounts to get their nutritional benefits.

Walnuts
Walnuts come in at the top of my list of important nuts, because of their many nutritional qualities. Walnuts have an extremely high concentration of omega-3's, and ton's of other healthy fats. They are also great sources of manganese and copper. However, the greatest part about walnuts is you only need to eat 28 grams of them a day to get the omega 3's that you need.

Almonds
Almonds are another nutritionally dense nut. I really like them because you only need 28 grams of them per serving, which is about 20 nuts or so, and those nuts will really fill you up because of their high fat content. They also contain vitamin E, vitamin B2, manganese, magnesium, and copper. These nutrients can help fend off different diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and asthma. In addition they have calcium which will help keep your bones and teeth strong, and they have protein for your muscles. In all almonds are a great super food that really pack a punch in nutrition.

Peanuts
Peanuts are another extremely nutritionally concentrated food and are a good source of monounsaturated fats. They also have a lot of vitamin B3, manganese, copper, and are high in antioxidants. I really like them because they are cheap, and they are a great snack. But BEWARE! While peanuts are great in small quantities, they contain a lot of omega 6's, which should not be consumed too much. Plus when they are salted, and covered in different flavors, that takes away from some of the nutritional content. So while peanuts are a great healthy snack, they should only be enjoyed in moderation.

Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts contain many nutrients, including vitamin B1, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Also they can help fight against neurological diseases.

All of these nuts are extremely nutritionally dense, and they can be used, sparingly, in a healthy diet. So the next time you are at a grocery store, pick up some nuts, and the gift of better health awaits.

The Goji Berry a Nutritionally Dense Super Food

2011-12-20T16:41:00.000-08:00

The Goji berry or wolfberry as it is sometimes called comes from the mountainous regions of Asia. This little elliptical shaped red berries really pack a nutritional punch. They have 18 amino acids, 21 minerals, and more beta-carotene than any other food on earth. A polysaccharide that is found in the Goji berry is one of the same that is used to secrete human growth hormone, with makes the Goji berry truly a gift of youth. In addition to all this they have exorbitant amounts of vitamin C, and have the most antioxidants of any other food on this planet.

The benefits of this berry are immense, including but not limited to: weight loss, aiding in eye sight, lowering cholesterol, having a stronger immune system, lowering blood-pressure, and blood sugar, and more. While many of these claims are anecdotal and have yet to be proved by science, there have been tests with Lycium Barbarum, the scientific name of the Goji Berry, on animals. These tests found that there may have been some anti-cancer, anti macular degeneration effects, improvement in inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. There even is stories about a man from Asia who lived to be 252 years old from the Goji Berry.

So the next time you go to a nutrition store, give Goji berries a try. There are nature's next super food, and who knows how many more benefits they could have.

The Importance of Drinking Water

2011-12-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks altriar from DeviantArt

It has been another tough workout. Why does that sip of water feel so satisfying and why is water so important anyway?

Claude Bernard, a 19th century physiologist, was the first to state that living organisms live in an external environment (air and water) but the cells that make up the organism live in an internal liquid environment (Rhoades and Tanner 2003). So what exactly does water do? This folding is dictated by the water that surrounds it (Fersht 1999). Improper folding means a non-functioning protein.

Protein:

Moving up to the cellular level, with fully functioning proteins, cells work hard to maintain their volume. To overcome all of the osmotic forces, water is channeled into and out of the cell to maintain volume (Strange 2004). Water is so important to the body that two organ systems, the kidney and lower GI tract, function almost exclusively to ensure excess water is not lost.

The Kidney & Lower GI Tract Function
To Ensure Excess Water Is Not Loss.

Water sure does a lot, which is why when the body has too little water the effects are devastating. Water loss, dehydration, occurs when the loss of body fluids exceeds the amount that is taken in. With dehydration, more water is moving out of our cells and then out of our bodies than the amount of water we take in through drinking.

The symptoms of dehydration are varied but include increased thirst (your brain telling you your body needs water), dry mouth and dry nasal passages, weakness, dizziness, palpitations (due to the subsequent electrolyte imbalance dehydration causes), confusion, inability to sweat, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and if ignored long enough, death (www.webmd.com).

The reason why that first sip of water after your workout feels so satisfying is because at the most fundamental molecular level, you need water.

Importance
Why Is It So Important For Bodybuilders To Consume Water?

Physical activity, such as bodybuilding, exposes people to a variety of influences that can lead to water loss. Additionally, the individual's physical characteristics such as body weight, gender, age andmetabolic efficiency also influence water loss.

Since the body prefers to maintain a certain core temperature, this excess heat must be dissipated to the external environment. The loss of water through sweating can lead to changes in plasma volume resulting in the impaired ability to evacuate heat, increases in body temperature and decreased cardiac output (Ritz et al. 2003) In terms of the workout, dehydration results in a decrease in aerobic power and physical work capacity (Sawka and Montain 2000).

To maintain proper hydration, the individual bodybuilder must consider their own water balance defined as how much fluid is consumed versus how much is lost. Exactly how much water is required to maintain the proper balance is the subject of debate.

During your workout, the goal should be to prevent excessive dehydration. Unfortunately, no one-size-fits all amount of water to consume can be recommended. Post workout, the goal is to fully replace any fluids. If time permits, consumption of meals and beverages will restore the proper fluid balance.
Alternatives
Are There Any Alternatives For The People Who Refuse To Drink Water?

What do you do if you don't like carrying around the 'ole tasteless water bottle? Maintaining the proper fluid balance, for most people, is relatively simple. Eating fresh fruits and vegetablescontributes to your water intake. Drinking milk, fruit juices and caffeine-free teas and coffees are also good alternatives to plain tap water.

Caffeine is adiuretic and promotes water loss. For the exercise types, sports drinks are great both during and after the workout. Numerous companies also market and sell individual pour-in flavoring packs to add to your plain ol' bottle of water.

9 Rules to Follow for that 6-Pack of your dreams

2011-12-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

Male or female, our eyes are drawn to a person's abdominals ... or gut.

1. FOLLOW A HIGH-PROTEIN, LOWER-CARB DIET. Your diet is essential in building a lean physique. It is important to consume 4- to-6 small meals per day; this helps to speed up your metabolism at an incredibly rapid rate. Although there are many different theories on meal frequencies, eating smaller meals more often will help the average person avoid overeating and will curb hunger.

2. FOLLOW A CONSISTENT WEIGHT-TRAINING AND

CARDIO REGIMEN. This will allow you to burn fat through
the day. Weight training helps you to burn calories after the
workout and throughout the day while cardio burns calories
during the workout. A combination of cardio and weight training
will give you the optimal fat burning rate you need to stay lean.

3. DRINK A LOT OF WATER. If you're completely
hydrated, your fat-burning rate will be optimum. Remember: the less water you drink, the slower your metabolism will be; the more water you drink, the faster your metabolism will be.

4. MODIFY YOUR ABS ROUTINE. There isn't a specific abs routine that will work better than all others, but changing your abs routine will maximize the results. Some of the common ab moves like crunches, old-fashioned sit-ups, hanging leg raises, broom twists and sprinting, are great for building abdominal muscle. It's important to remember that your abs will show the most development through change and confusion as opposed to stagnation.

5. UNDERSTAND THE TRUTHS AND MYTHS ABOUT ABDOMINALS. We all have abs. Unfortunately, some of us have to work harder than others to attain visible ones. Doing 1,000 sit-ups per day is not going to make your abs just magically pop out, but getting your body-fat levels very low will allow your abs to appear. For a male to able to be see his abs, he has to be roughly at 12 percent body-fat and lower. If you can get your body-fat to those levels, you will start to see your abs.

6. ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST. A healthy breakfast is the most important meal for a reason - it jumpstarts your metabolism for the entire day. Unless you want a muffin top, skip the muffins and opt for protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates. Emphasis on the protein.

7. BE COGNIZANT OF THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR ABS TRAINING. It is important to train your abs at least three times per week for a beginner and intermediate fitness enthusiast. For the advanced gym guru, train your abs about every other day to build them properly. I would implement at least 3-or-4 different abs exercises every other day for 25-to-30 reps per set. You'll really feel the burn with this minimal rest. If not, you aren't working the exercise properly. Muscle grows when you apply shock to that body-part.

8. DON'T GET SMACKED BY SUGAR, STARCH AND SALT. Also, stay away from foods that are high in unhealthy fat and high in carbs.

9. IMPLEMENT A VARIETY OF
CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISES.
Cardio helps you lose fat. There is a
variety of different cardiovascular exercises you can implement. Long-distance running, sprinting, swimming, climbing stairs, cycling, elliptical, treadmill, etc.

.

Your mind will help guide your fitness goals and if that goal is to attain great abs, then, provided you do the necessary work, it will happen for you.