| | |
|
| |
| | |
|
| | |
|
Enter Email to Receive Special Offers Each Month! | |
| | |
|
Featured Brands
Follow Us On:
|
Home > Your Body Your Temple
| | |
|
Your Body, Your Temple
 People have to be the most puzzling creatures in all of creation. That is of course with the exception of the duck billed platypus, I don’t know what the hell is going on there. But as far as the rest of the animal kingdom goes, we are truly nature’s enigma. I’ve seen people buy special towels made from super soft fabrics just to polish their car with to make sure they don’t scratch it. I’ve gawked at women who spend thousands of dollars on purses and handbags that are totting around a fraction of their worth as its contents. I witness people painstakingly paint special coatings on their backyard decks to protect it from the elements. Yet, I’ve observed these same people eating at restaurants like McDonalds and Burger King, shoveling pint after pint of Hagen Daaz into their mouths, and calling fried chicken with bacon and ranch dressing on a bed of lettuce a salad. People take more pride in what goes in and on their possession than they do with their most prized, special, and important possession, their bodies. And the weird thing is it really doesn’t take that much effort to maintain a healthy, good looking, feel great body. There are 3 things everyone can do in order to achieve or maintain a healthy happy body. Just keep on reading to find out what these 3 concepts you already know are.
The first thing you need to do in order to live a healthy lifestyle should be a no brainer, exercise. Now I know some of you are thinking back to the few times you’ve been brave enough to venture into the gym and have seen the “weight monkeys” as my friend calls them, throwing around the dumbbells and barbells and are intimidated or think that you can’t do that. Or you see the “desperate housewives” as I call them, on the cardio machines with their hair and make-up done, their matching spandex body thongs, and their 3 well-placed beads of perspiration and become disheartened and disillusioned that you won’t look as glamorous when you’re working out. Don’t worry about those people, they are not you. They don’t have to go home and look in the mirror and see what you see. They are dealing with their own issues. Rule number one of going to the gym, you are not there to compete with anyone but yourself. If you go to the gym and make improvements, then it is working. Remember, you are doing this for yourself. That is all you should be concerned about. Unless you are training to be a professional athlete or compete in a body building contest, which in either case I doubt you would be
 reading this article, you have no reason to care about what others are doing. All you need to do is just get yourself into the gym, or out on a bike, or on into a park or on the beach to run for 30 minutes, 3 times a week. It’s as simple as that. Throw in some sit-ups and push-ups if you aren’t going to the gym and you will be in great shape in no time. Make sure you stretch before and after you exercise to promote good flexibility and to prevent injury. Rules two and three for working out are maintain good form when lifting and remember to breathe, respectively. There are many books, magazines, and online articles dedicated to exercise, so take the time to read them and get moving. Remember, be active.
The second thing you need to do in order to have a healthy body is to eat correctly. This means be aware of what you are putting in
 your body. Food is fuel for your body. If you put mud in your gas tank, your car won’t run. If you put junk in your body, eventually it won’t run either. You must use the fuel that your car requires to get it to move you from point A and point B. The better the “fuel” you put in your car, the better your car will run. The better the “fuel” you put in your body, the better your body will run. There is one fatal error that everyone makes when it comes to your diet. And that is the word “diet” itself. The misconception of the word “diet” has done more damage than all the fast food chains and donut venders combined. People hear the word “diet” and think that in order to reach their health or body goal they will need to eat only foods that start with the letter “T” or should only consume their food in liquid form for 2 weeks, or only eat protein or whatever other crazy diet I am sure you have tried. “Diet” does not refer to something you are going to do for a few weeks, then go back to what you were doing before. Well, that is unless you are not serious about staying fit and healthy. Diet simply refers to the food you put in your body. Your “diet” may consist of chips and sodas, as well as fruits and vegetables. But if you want to get healthy, or remain healthy, you will have to limit the amount of chips and soda and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
 There are 3 things that should be part of everyone’s diet, protein, carbohydrates, and fats. You should eat meals consisting of all three throughout the day. You can read up on it, but you want to eat lean proteins (chicken, fish), simple and complex carbohydrates (green veggies, sweet potatoes, fruits, whole wheat bread, try to stay away from white carbs), and eat “good” fats (roasted nuts, olive oil, avocado). My diet consists of eating delicious food often throughout the day. In fact, I am always eating. I eat maybe 6 to 7 meals throughout the day. Each of my meals is small in calories and spaced out about every 90mins. I will eat about 300 to 400 calories at a time. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on my activity for the day. But by eating that often, I am keeping my metabolism constantly working. My body is always processing food and burning calories. I still eat ice cream, cake, and cookies. Life would be dull if I were to deny myself these pleasures. But they are treats for me that I have every once in awhile or on special occasions. And you will find that when you limit them in your diet, you don’t miss them and actually appreciate them that much more. When you are active, you need good fuel in the gas tank to keep your engine going.
 The third and last thing you need to do to keep and maintain a healthy body is to sleep. This is probably the most important and overlooked thing you can do for yourself. Your body works hard for you throughout the day and evening. Nighttime is a time for it to rest and recharge. If you don’t give it time to do this it breaks down, will have problems, starts to sputter, and you wind up taking it to the shop a lot more than you should need to. Think of your body like the cell phone you forget to charge every day. It works fine for the first few hours, but when you need it later in the day, it won’t work. It’s out of juice. If you don’t sleep and try to burn the candle on both ends on a regular basis, when you need your body the most, it will be out of power and won’t work. For maximum performance and energy throughout the day, try to sleep 8 hours a night. If you can’t sleep that long, then at least try to get between 8 to 6 hours of sleep each night. I think 6 hours is still kind of pushing it, but I understand that we want to have lives as well. Anything less than that you are doing serious damage to yourself.
Taking daily vitamins or supplements are also good to maintain a healthy body. I take a daily multi-vitamin that I really like. It isn’t very
 expensive, and it ensures that I am getting the proper daily amounts of the nutrients my body needs. You won’t see any fast results or quick fixes with vitamins. You might feel a little more energy or a little more pep, but it is not like drinking a Red Bull or a 5-hour energy drink. It is not meant to give you a quick fix. In life quick fixes usually result in more problems than what needed the “fix” in the first place. My friend said it best when asked about the benefit of taking vitamins, “they are like car insurance, you hope you never need to use it, but it’s good to know that you have it if you need it.” And if you are willing to insure your car, you shouldn’t mind doing it for your body.
It should go without saying that if you want to achieve or maintain a healthy body, you must give up putting toxins and poisons in your body. You must limit the amount of beer and wine you consume. In the beginning, I would eliminate it for a good 2 months and then slowly reintroduce them in a limited capacity back into your diet. You must not smoke or do drugs either. But like I said, this is common sense, and should be a part of everyone’s diet. Also, fast food is as detrimental to your health and well being as drugs and alcohol. I don’t always have time to cook either. And most days I am in a rush. But there are healthy options out there for you if you take the time to look for them. It might cost you a little more or take you out of your way, but in the long run, the benefits of maintaining a healthy body will outweigh the monetary price that it is costing your wallet.
Everyone gives out all kinds of “get thin quick” solutions that never tend to work. There is a reason why they don’t work. There are no quick fix solutions. That is because only hard work, dedication, and perseverance over time will give you your desired results. Or plastic surgery, but I prefer a more natural look and feel. That being said, for those of you who want a quick little boost or want to lose 5 lbs quickly to fit in that dress for a special occasion, I have a secret tip for you. Drink water. Yep, it’s that simple. Replace all the liquids you consume with water. No more coffee or tea, no diet sodas, no juice, beer, wine, nothing. Just lovely, clear, refreshing H20. Drink 10 8-10oz glasses a day, and you will feel better, your skin will be clearer, you will lose weight, and of course you will pee more. But in a weeks time you will have lost that weight. It is a temporary thing, and your body will regulate itself to about a 3-pound drop, but hey, it’s a quick fix. But if you maintain just drinking water for a longer duration, you will ultimately be much healthier. You should really do this anyway as part of an active lifestyle. The results won’t lie.
I hope all of this advice helps. But in the end, you must do what you want. It is your body. It can be your temple or your trash can, you decide.
Related Articles
Top 10 Reasons Why Your Not Losing Weight
We can go to the gym for hours and eat all our greens yet not even lose a pound. Eventually any person can get frustrated, blame it on a weak metabolism and then give up entirely.
We have been inundated with misleading food labels such as; “lightly sweetened” this and “all natural” that, all of which sound like healthy food choices but are not. Learn how to navigate through these misleading food labels and make better food choices.
Sleep Linked To Weight Gain
A new study reveals that identical twins that sleep more or less than 7-8 hours a night gained weight.
11 Ways to Help You Eat Less
Finish your plate of food so you can grow up to be big and strong. These were words I heard many times as a child. Is overeating embedded into us from childhood? Here are 11 tricks to help change the habits we learned as a youngster.
| |
| | |
|
|