The Mind Over Body Matter Letter

I don’t know anyone that REALLY likes to diet…

Seriously.

Realistically, you’re depriving yourself of something that you really like to do. Many social situations dictate that you eat… and many times those situations say eat the fattening foods.

Think about it… do you really WANT to reach for carrots and celery at the posh party when everyone else is stuffing their grille and not even REMOTELY worrying about the special cool whip topping on the “triple decker chocolate mayhem delight?”

Of course not.

No one really LIKES to “diet”. Even bodybuilders don’t “like” to diet.

So why is it that people try to manipulate their bodies solely by diet alone.

Why are people taking the “hard road?”

Realistically, I’d rather focus more on the exercise portion 3 days a week… 45 minutes per day using the principles that I discuss in the Fat Loss Black Book… than try to beat myself up with a diet that may or may not work for me.

I really hate feeling like I’m depriving myself of the good things in life. Now, naturally, everyone has a different view of what those good things are.

But… nevertheless… if you can change your body WITHOUT feeling like you’re dying due to starvation… would you not rather go in that direction?

I know I’ve been a little bit absent in the last few weeks blogging… and sending information.

I’ve actually been working on a few different projects… including a 26 biweekly video series for the Fat Loss Black Book which should be available to everyone that’s picked up a copy in the next 2 weeks. Of course, that means the rate goes up as well (naturally, everyone that already has a copy gets the video series for free… for getting in early).

There’s also a “hybrid” project in the works… combining fitness, diet, and healthy living with another niche altogether…

This one’s really interesting.

So, thanks for your patience… there’s LOTS more to come.

If you’ve read the article on Yahoo! that I talked about the other day… then you’ll know that “the experts” have come up with new guidelines for minimum exercise requirements for healthy individuals.

Funny how these guidelines are starting to look more and more like the type of exercise that myself… Craig Ballantyne… and Tom Venuto have been talking about for years now.

And no, I’m not trying to get into the “I told you so” type of situation.

No, in fact… I think “the experts” had a noble reason for their recommendations in the past.

Their reasoning… if we can just get people to do SOMETHING… it will be better than doing NOTHING.

Unfortunately, this line of thinking has proven to be false… and here’s why.

The people that just aren’t ever going to try to get a little healthier… well… it just doesn’t matter WHAT kind of plan you put in front of them… no matter how easy it is… they still aren’t going to do anything.

Counter that with the people that ARE going to try to better themselves:

When they exercise according to “the guidelines”, they tend to get frustrated at the lack of results.

I’ve seen it time and time again.

Look, if you’re not pushing your limits… taking yourself to another level all the time… you’ll never see the results you desire. This also applies to LIFE in general as well. Stretch your boundaries… try a new program… do something you’ve never done.

And for heaven’s sake… get off the hour long treadmill runs and cardio only workouts.

You’re only spinning your wheels.

As an aside, check out this cool video from Craig B… the author of Turbulence Training… showing you Glute/Ham raises. Seriously, you need to try this… it’ll work your hamstrings like the devil

(Guest article by Craig Ballantyne, author of Turbulence Training and TTMembers.com)

What’s worse, getting paid less because you are overweight, or not getting paid at all because you’re sick from being overweight and can’t make it into work?

I’m sure you wouldn’t want either option, but the bad news is that many overweight people are dealing with both situations.

A study from Europe, published in the prestigious journal, Obesity, found being overweight and obese were accurate predictors of sick days from work.

Obese individuals were found to have more long sickness-related absences from work even in young men and women. Chronic obesity resulted in the longest sick leaves, particularly in men.

In order to avoid missing work and sacrificing profits, it’s a good idea to control your weight with exercise and nutrition. I truly believe nutrition is the most important factor in determining fat loss, and in terms of improving your health.

Fortunately, it’s easy to eat for fat loss and health. Stick to…

1) Whole, natural foods, avoiding any processed foods that come in a bag or a box

5) Exercise with strength training and short interval training workouts. Don’t waste your time on long cardio workouts that just leave you weaker and hurt from overuse injuries. Strengthen your body the right way.

This simple nutrition guideline will keep you lean and alert at work, so that you won’t miss any crucial workdays due to illness.

Obesity 15:1554-1564 (2007)
BMI, Obesity, and Sickness Absence in the Whitehall II Study
Jane E. Ferrie*, et al.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked bodysculpting workouts have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. Craig Ballantynes fast fat burning workouts help you lose fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment. Craig’s home exercise programs help you lose fat without any equipment at all.

I’ve touched on this subject a little bit before but it still seems that everyone is making such a HUGE deal with steroids in sports…

What I really don’t get is this… why aren’t people focusing on the other illegal drugs that some of these players use.

Why is the steroid thing so big?

I think that if I have a kid and he looks up to a certain player… I’d rather that player be on ‘roids than smoking dope all of the time (or doing ecstasy).

Isn’t the drug problem among the youth a much, much larger problem than the steroid problem?

Granted, these things didn’t get as much press back when I was younger but I never had anyone come up to me and say, “Hey Brad, you need to try these pills… they’ll make you strong!”

Are we sending the wrong message when a person in baseball gets caught with steroids and is hit with a 50 game suspension but they can’t get in any trouble for smoking weed…

Am I wrong or are they both illegal?

Don’t get me wrong here… I’m not advocating steroids by any means. But, I can attest that I’ve never really seen a huge amount of steroid type issues in the whole time I’ve been in the health and fitness industry.

If someone is going to pull a 50 game suspension for steroids, they should pull a 50 game suspension for any drug use… period.

What do you think?

Anna Nicole Smith was found dead today.

Of course, there are no sources of exidence to suggest foul play was involved.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out…

1. Will the product that she’s been promoting have anything to do with it in any fashion?
2. Did the yo-yoing up and down with her weight finally have it’s toll?
3. Is it something totally unrelated?

We shall see, although it is always tough to see someone pass on… best wishes to her family.

What do you think?