Eating Clean and Healthy

The typical modern Western diet is filled with processed foods. This typically means lots of sugars, additives, preservatives and saturated fats. It is not what the body is meant to have. Sure, much of it is convenient, but with this convenience has come a myriad of health problems including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other problems.

Eating clean is the antithesis of today's typical modern diet. It means eating whole grains, lean proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Benefits of Eating Clean

There are many health benefits of adopting a clean eating diet. Really, it is more of an overall lifestyle then just a diet. One of the reasons many people first look at adopting an eating clean diet is to lose weight. Without all those sugars and processed foods, your body will drop weight.

In addition to losing weight, some of the first things people will notice are an increase in energy and healthier looking skin and hair. Taking out all the additives and preservatives from the diet and filling your body with the nutrients it wants and needs, will help increase your energy and lead to a healthier appearance.

Overall health is another benefit of eating clean. Reducing the saturated fats in your diet decreases the possibility for heart failure or stoke. Eliminating highly processed foods and sugar from your diet can decrease your likelihood for diabetes. And the list goes on.

Basics of Eating Clean

Here are a few basic components of adopting an eating clean diet:

Food in its most natural state

Think of how the food you eat originated - in its most natural state. Certainly wheat was not meant to be stripped of all its nutrients, pummeled and then mixed in with a large amount of additives and preservatives in order to feed the body. If this was natural, we would see white bread growing on stalks in fields. In following this line of thinking, eating clean means taking the food back to its most natural state. This means eliminating processed sugars, additives, and preservative from your diet.

Eating small frequent meals

Another aspect of eating clean is to eat small frequent meals. Our standard of three square meals a day is outdated. It has been researched and proven that eating smaller meals more frequently helps the body in a number of ways. It helps to have a feeling of being satisfied over being "starving" at meal time, and thus have a susceptibility to overeating. It also helps increase the metabolism overall, which brings a wealth of health benefits, including weight loss.

Cooking your own meals

One of the downfalls of our modern over processed diet is that it is convenient. You can reach of a box of this or a jar of that or a frozen package of something else and pop it in the microwave for a quick meal. The problem is, the reason it can sit on your shelf or be in your freezer for extended periods of time is that it is chock full of additives and preservatives.

By cooking your own meals, you are able to avoid these pitfalls. You can start with all natural eating, clean foods, and then add some more. Spices are a great way to add some pizzazz to your meals. Again, these are natural herbs and spices, not the pre-packaged kind of the shelf. You will be amazed and how different the real flavor is of herbs and spices that you get fresh!

How to start eating clean

It can be a little daunting to think of jumping in to an eating clean diet. After all, your body is used to all those processed foods you've been feeding it for years. It's probably a good idea to take it one step at a time. Remember, your body will be riding itself of toxins. All that processed food you've been feeding your body for years will be crying out to you...after all, a highly processed carb diet just means your body will want more of the same.

Start by eliminating one food category at a time. For starters, maybe it's eliminating all white bread including hot dog and hamburger buns.

A good idea when you are starting eating clean is to re-route your grocery shopping trips. You probably have a 'typical" route that you go in when grocery shopping right? Maybe you start at one end of the store and go up and down the aisles until you are done. Think about planning your shopping this way: start in the fresh fruits and vegetable section. This is usually on one side of the store. Stock up on fruits and vegetables - just about the simplest thing to find in its true natural state. If your produce section has an organic section, take a look at it closely. This way you know there are no pesticides being added to your foods. Start trying out some new fruits and vegetables you haven't tried yet... there are probably plenty. Take your time in the produce section...if there is a fruit or vegetable you haven't heard of and aren't sure how to prepare, hop on the internet to find out more.

Next, continue through your shopping trip by going on the outside perimeter of the store. This will usually take you through the dairy and meat sections of the store. Again, look for organic items as much as possible. Then think long and hard before you go down any other aisle. There are MANY that can be skipped altogether. Eating clean is about making smart decisions.

You don't have to do it all at once. It can actually be really hard on the body to do so. Start with some small steps, and then add more and more. Soon you will be on your way to feeling and looking better by eating clean.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6534128

Listen To Your Body | Nikita Sharma | TEDxGrandviewHeights

Listen and Pay Attention to What Our Bodies Are Telling Us

Nikita shares her 3 life mottos

Lift - Love - Laugh

Your Body Is Always Talking To You. Are You Listening?

The Body Is Selfless

When was the last time you listened to your body speak? I don't mean literally, but through sensations, impulses, or intuitive guidance. For example, are you aware of the subtle changes in your body from time to time? How do you treat your body in general? With compassion, nurturing, or with contempt? It is not about making you feel guilty, but about helping you identify your predominant relationship with your body.

Our body is constantly providing for us through the breath and the beating of our heart. These processes occur tirelessly and effortlessly, receiving no instructions from outside of us. They are precise and function as intended, regardless of whether we're asleep or awake. The body gives so much of itself, asking nothing in return. Our gift to our body is to love and nurture it in the same way we would a child or a loved one. It involves treating it with kindness to show how much we care for our body.

For instance, have you ever considered the complexity of your body's innate wisdom? Next time you meditate, I invite you to tune into your breath and notice it is constant without ever stopping to rest. It doesn't stop when you're asleep, nor when you're showering or walking. Your breath provides you with rich oxygen to nourish every cell in your body all the time. It happens with no effort on your part. Sometimes, the body may work irregularly, but even then, it is still trying to correct itself and provide for your needs. Therefore, the body is selfless and gives of itself unconditionally.

Listen To Your Body

Here's an idea to consider: your body speaks to you in quiet whispers, which requires learning the language it communicates in. For this reason, we must develop a strong relationship with our body and not dismiss the signals we receive. I admit, it's difficult to know what our body is saying sometimes, especially if we are living a fast-paced life. But this can be a call to slow down and connect with our body more often, to listen to the quiet intuitive impulses. It requires perceiving the sensations and messages the body is sending and listening to them with openness. For example, if you're in a crowded place and surrounded by unfamiliar people, you might experience a headache. Rather than dismiss it or blame your body for being sensitive, listen to what the headache is trying to tell you. Perhaps it is a sign your body is uncomfortable being in an unfamiliar setting? Is it alerting you to anxiety, discomfort, or something else? Listen and tune in without judgement.

There's a saying that reads: "If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won't have to hear it scream." The underlying meaning here is that the body communicates in quiet undertones. If we dismiss the messages, the body will do what is necessary to get our attention, which may result in pain, illness, or disease. Similarly, many people nowadays use wearable devices that relay data on how their body is performing. However, they are limited insofar as they cannot tell what the body is feeling. This is because the body perceives emotions well before the brain has time to register them. It has an energy field, which can pick up subtle changes in our environment and communicate it to us.

How do you feel about this so far? Can you see that tuning in to your body is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself? It fosters a two-way relationship because you are giving it what it needs. For example, you might feel tired, but decide to push through your work until you are exhausted. However, by tuning in to the wisdom of your body, you take a small nap and come back to your work feeling rested. Yes, I agree, sometimes we are inundated with the pressures to get things done. But I'm inviting you to notice whether you are creating time to listen to your body's needs.

Your Body Knows The Truth

Practise the art of listening to your body. Speak to it often and let it know you are grateful for the tireless work it performs. It's not as crazy as it sounds. For example, I know people who talk to their plants, which grow and flourish. I have no evidence whether talking to plants actually works. However, thanking your body for the constant work it performs is one of the best things to develop a stronger connection. After all, your body is a vessel for your experience of life. It holds all your emotions, wounds, and trauma. Therefore, we must listen to the body when it speaks, because there could be important messages it wishes to convey.

To put it another way: the body holds the truth because if we are attentive, it will show us how we're really feeling. This is where mindful meditation can help us go deeper into this practice. It involves sitting in silence, tuning in to our breath and bringing our awareness to areas of our body. This is a practice I recommend when working with coaching clients for the first time. I invite them to create a ritual, starting with three minutes of meditation and extending the time progressively. It needn't become a chore, but something they will come to enjoy. After all, we spend so much time maintaining, cleaning and fixing our bodies through grooming. So, it makes sense to add 5 or 10 minutes to our day to be in silence. We simply notice the breath and the sensations occurring in the body. We tune in to any emotional disturbances and welcome them without trying to control or push them away. Then, we invite them to be present and listen to any messages they are trying to convey.

In mindfulness circles, it is known the body is always in the present moment, yet our minds are stuck in the past or worrying about the future. When we are engaged with our breath and meeting the sensations of the body, we are anchored to the present moment. We are in harmony with our mind and body and become one in awareness. So, your practice over the coming weeks is to tune in to the wisdom of your body. See if you can recognise the impulses occurring throughout the day. Use a journal or diary to record your experiences and see if you can make sense of them. Look for a pattern or theme with the sensations. For example, you might notice more tension and anxiety throughout the working week and less so on the weekends. Note it in your journal and create more space for your body to be calm. After all, if our body is always talking to us and we are not listening, eventually we will hear it scream and by then it may be too late.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10544909

Wim Hof Explains Benefits of Cold Showers

Wim Hof Method

3 Pillars

Breathing Technique

Gradual Cold Exposure

Mindset - Commitment

The Importance of Cold Showers

A modern convenience, a luxury we have these days is hot water. This hot water comes out little spouts for us to use in cleaning, cooking, really cruel practical jokes, or whatever else comes to mind. Since this is obviously something that primitive people in the past didn't have access to, we should use it for bathing (or showers) because it's superior, right? After all, the heat kills bad germs, or something like that, right? Oh, and it feels good. It's sooo much easier than taking a cold shower or bath. And cold showers make you sick, right? And aren't good for you? And hot showers are better?

That is about as much reason for hot showers as I've ever heard from anyone. The people who still take warm/hot showers and refuse to take cold ones don't know the real benefits.

Did you know that many of those "primitive" people, like the Romans who have made roads, aqueducts and cities lasting thousands of years with precision that would challenge us to this day, continued to use cold water for bathing even when they had access to steaming hot water?

Or that Native Americans, after sitting in a steaming tent, would immediately jump in a cold lake?

The Aztecs (might have been the Mayans... or Incas) also used cold water after taking a steamy hot steam shower.

Before the big pharmaceutical companies came into play, doctors would recommend COLD baths to fix a whole host of problems.

And to this day, those who are serious about health still take cold showers.

Personally I take only cold showers now. I start the water warm and get my body cleaned, then immediately turn it to cold (as cold as it will go) and let it run over me. Most times I even sit down with my eyes closed and take it for several minutes, breathing steadily, feeling the energy surge through my body.

I don't get this with warm showers. There are many reasons for that.

When that cold water hits your body, the heart begins pumping warm blood everywhere. It speeds up everything about you. The cold bite fights against your mind and your will power. You are forced to either fight it and continue, or give in and take a warm shower just as most people would. When the water is properly cold, it can be hard. But so rewarding.

It is said that a cold shower raises testosterone levels, while a warm shower lowers them. I don't care for the science behind it, I just know that this seems to hold true. Testosterone is the man hormone, and taking luxuriously warm showers sure isn't very manly compared to cold ones. Ask most any tough guy to start taking cold showers from here on out, chances are he'll refuse. I've done this many times, so far not one has been willing to take the challenge.

But you should. Try it once. Turn the water to cold, all the way, and don't jump out. Wait until your body enjoys it. Sit down and let it pour over you like a waterfall. When your heart is pumping so much blood that the water begins to feel warm, you may step out. Chances are when you step out, you will feel as though you can take on the world. A warm shower will never give you this feeling. A testosterone building, will power challenging, heart racing cold shower like this will.

If you're anything like me, you will long for that feeling again and next time sit in the water longer. You'll be wanting a cold shower, even if it hurts at first. You will come to love the challenge. You become excited when the water is freezing cold, and disappointed when it is only luke warm at most. While others are complaining about running out of warm water for showers or baths, you'll laugh and jump right in.

Did I mention that taking cold showers also helps your body adjust to the cold much better? I have a hard time in cold weather, but when I take cold showers regularly, I can handle it as well as those who love the cold.

Something else I have discovered from cold showers is how well they help the body recover. Whether it's muscle soreness from working out or being sick from making a few bad food choices, cold showers either solve or at least help solve the issue. A cold ice bath does wonders for recovery, and bragging rights.

The temporary cold also helps strengthens the hair and skin. While most guys don't worry about having smooth skin and hair, those are signs of health. And it is perfectly acceptable to have smooth yet hard body. After all, don't we say we want our bodies carved in granite? Those statues are smooth yet hard. And the cold water will help keep everything it touches healthy (as a side note, healthy skin from cold showers also means less acne).

I've also mentioned it speeds up the heart, gets it pumping. It jump starts the whole body. If you were tired before the shower, you will be bounding with energy afterward. There is no way this can be unhealthy. This energy also strengthens the immune system in the process.

And one of my favorite things about cold showers is bragging rights. Most people have trouble even believing me when I tell them I take cold showers, or that I recommend them for so many problems. Having trouble with the cold? Take cold showers. Tired? Take a cold shower. Sick? Take a cold shower.

It may seem "primitive" and hard, but it works. And besides... who else is willing to try? Stand out from the crowd.

Take a shower.

A COLD shower.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7211372

The ONLY 3 Things You NEED to Get in Shape!...

... and they are

Attitude - Starting Point - Consistency

Ten Weight Loss Hacks

Losing weight is not just a matter of eating the right foods and getting enough exercise, it is also a matter of developing the mental side of it because unless you get yourself into the right frame of mind your weight loss efforts are doomed to fail. Here are ten weight-loss hacks.

1. Develop a healthy living mindset

Weight management is more a healthy living mind-set rather than a weight-loss one. Get into healthy living habits try not to focus on how much weight you are losing. Focus instead on getting enough exercise and eating the right foods. Healthy living also means living well and looking after your mental well-being. Unless you are in the right head-space you will not be in the right frame of mind to make the right choices as far as what you eat.

2. Decide to be happy despite your current circumstances

Some people make a decision that they are not going to be happy until they lose x amount of weight or for some other reason. In other words they need a license in order to be happy. The catch-22 situation is that a low self-esteem will undermine your weight-controlling efforts. Being happy is your responsibility and yours alone. It is up to you to find your own calling in life and being the person you were meant to be will go a long way towards achieving happiness and once you achieve that it will be easier to achieve your ideal weight.

3. Be yourself

There is no one else like you so be the best at being you rather than an imitation of someone else. It is better to polish the personal unique gifts and talents you have rather than be envious of others who are gifted in other areas. You are not meant to hide the talents you have or keep them to yourself but rather share them with others so that they may benefit from them. As far as weight-loss goes, it is futile to try and achieve a model-like figure when you have a different body-type.

4. Don't compare yourself with others.

Run your own race and let others run their races. People who have a low self-esteem tend to make unfavourable comparisons with others. It is true that people tend to date their self-esteem. They are attracted to people who have the same issues as they have. Just accept who you are and if others do not like who you are then that is their problem, not yours. Just do your best!

5. Take no notice of the infomercials

Advertisers will use all the tricks in the book to appeal to your desires. That includes making you feel guilty about who you are. Honestly, you can understand why some women's self-esteem suffers when you see some of the ads. There is usually a disclaimer in the ad saying "results are not typical." Understand that for every person who appears in those testimonials there are countless others who were unsuccessful despite all their efforts. The success stories you read of are often exaggerated.

6. Ignore the before and after ads

Take no notice of the before and after adverts. The only before and after photos you should concern yourself with are your own. An unflattering photo is always used for the before photo.You do not know what goes on in order to produce such a flattering image in the after photo.

7. Make small changes daily

Make gradual changes to your diet in order for your body to become accustomed to a different routine whether that is changes to your diet or a new fitness regime. Develop good habits by taking bite-sized changes. It will all take time but it is better than trying to achieve too much in a short time then losing heart and giving up. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was anything else worth achieving so be patient.

8. Don't lose heart

It may be frustrating when you are not making much progress. Don't lose heart, just keep to your healthy living plan and you will at least be satisfied that you are doing the right thing. Focus on your hobbies and this will keep your mind off worries. Enjoy living your life despite your circumstances.

9. Take up new hobbies and sports

This is essential for your well-being because unless you are in the right head-space your efforts to control your weight will be in vain. Have you heard of the saying "comfort eating?" Sport enables you to connect with others and helps to build up your network of friends and acquaintances. Getting involved in some kind of sport is an activity that will certainly help you to control your weight and help maintain your mental stability. There are a number of sports you can take up and it does not matter how unfit you are. Even walking around the block is better than not exercising. The key is to get into the habit of exercising. Your capacity to do more exercise will increase as your fitness increases.

10. Understand there are no magic formulas

There is no magic formula for obtaining the body you want. There is no easy solution or short-cut method for reducing your weight. It takes effort and sacrifice and you have to decide whether it is all worth it. There is an ideal weight for all body types. Therefore you need to establish what is the ideal body type for your weight.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10540851