Give up to Keep up

         Written by Dana R. Arevalo

"It is is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them" ~ Ben Franklin.

Congratulations if you made it with me to day two.  I woke up this morning and tried to procrastinate. I am so sore but I did it! I feel great too.   I am slowly learning that if I don't stick with something it is easy to give up.  However, we don't want to give up good habits and routines.  But today's assignment is to give up something that is or can keep us from our goals.   Come ON there has to be something that you can give up in order to keep up.  Keep focused.

I have decided to truly give up something that is nutrition related. Bagels and bags of chips.   I have formed a recent bad habit of eating a bagel in the morning. I kept telling myself, today is the last day. Well Thursday I thought it again and Friday yet again I had another bagel.  If I fall off healthy eating it is hard for me to remotivate myself.  While both diet and exercise are extremely important, I notice instant improvement when I am eating healthy. How about you, what are your thoughts?

Another sign was **Friday afternoon** I went to a vending machine during lunch and attempted to purchase chips. Twice placed 1 dollar into the machine and twice the chips got stuck.  No more chips for me. :-). 

My entire point being, if we can get rid of the bad habit now it will make our goal easier to achieve so that we can keep up! Good luck everyone!! I will check in tomorrow.

Thank you for reading.

Non-existent Fitness Routine

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday" ~ Don Marquis 

Written by Dana R. Arevalo 

Welcome.  It is the New Year (2014) therefore, you are probably expecting me to report wonderful changes and happenings with my fitness routine.  Problem is I am such a procrastinator, my fitness routine is non-existent.  Today, I do not entirely come with ALL bad news. I am disappointed in myself for the non-existent fitness routine but not completely, as I have been watching what I eat.  I believe with my eating habits in check when I kill procrastination and begin a fitness routine I will be on the right path to a killer body. You definitely cannot have one without the other; healthy eating works in conjunction with a healthy fitness routine.   

Let's take a minute to refocus on healthy eating. There is much controversy over what is more important diet vs exercise.  If you followed my writing in the past, you know, I hate the word "diet" as it reminds me of something that is unhealthy or forced.   If my child ever needed to lose weight, I would never mention or ask them to diet...I would say let's change our eating habits to "healthy eating" habits.  While I think healthy eating habits work in conjunction with a fitness routine, I think grasping the eating habits come first before the fitness routine. It may just be my preference, but I find changing both at the same time never works. I also feel it is more difficult to change eating habits than grasping a fitness routine and I am a firm believer in tackling harder steps first.  

Celebrity fitness trainer, Bob Harper, of the Biggest Loser, reports, "Diet is the MAIN factor when it comes to weight loss".  In the article he admits that he used to think differently.  Reality is, that no matter how much you exercise, if you eat poorly it eventually takes over.  Don't you agree?  

So, what do we do?  How do we change?  My suggestion is, complete one small task every day for the next 365 days!  Whether it be something for nutrition or fitness let's do it.  This will be the year that #365daysofhealthandfitness works for both you and I!  Let's make it as simple as waking up 20 minutes earlier than normal to fit in a power walk.  Don't think we have time? Let's make time!  

Oh, procrastination!  How do we kill it?  It is a work in progress. Here are some tips:

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Report in with your ideas or progress!

Source:  

Can diet trump exercise in weight loss? (2013, August). Retrieved 1/14/2014, from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/diet-trump-exercise-weight-loss-article-1.1430729

Diet and Exercise: Don't Be Afraid To Mix It Up

by Marc A. 

"Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend." ~ Bruce Lee

Typically, when it comes to diet exercise, we do a lot of searching to find the thing that "works" for us. We look for that routine that will get us where we want and that type of diet that will shed us some weight. Usually when we find them, we stick to them and keep doing the same things until we reach a plateau and wonder what happened.

What happened is you didn't mix it up!!

What do I mean by mix it up? Try different things. Don't wait until things get stale to switch it up. If you're not too keen on doing on following a specific routine or diet all the time, don't be afraid to throw in something else. If you don't want to do Paleo 7 days a week, drop it to 5 days and throw in a different way of eating. I chose flexitarian eating because I wanted to live the way of a vegetarian yet still enjoy a steak or some chicken from time to time and you know what? It works for me. Not only that but it gives me consistent results (when I eat the right foods!)

Even moreso, mixing it up applies to physical fitness. Who says you have to only run as a work out? Don't be afraid to swap out a run and throw in some time on the bike or elliptical or jump in the pool. Even if you're following a prescribed plan, it's okay to throw in part of another plan if you want to do a little something else. If you're following Insanity and want to swap out some days and throw in some P90X, go right ahead! If you're lifting weights daily and decide to skip it and do some calisthenics, do your thing! In the end, your body will benefit either way!

The main point I'm trying to make here, just like Bruce Lee said, is to be formless, shapeless, able to adapt. Don't let yourself be defined by one style, make your own style! Let your style be a mix of styles, a mix of exercises, a mix of ways of eating!

Are you willing to mix it up?

Marc A. is the editor and founder of the health and wellness blog, Dr. Marctagon™, and he also runs a tech company and blog, Marctagon™ IT where he offers his consulting services and discusses the latest news, productivity tools and technology for homes and small businesses.

What is a Flexitarian?

"Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat" ~ Marcus T. Cicero

  

                                   By Dana R. Arevalo

Hello.  I can't believe it is quickly approaching the end of October. Many are preparing for the upcoming holidays and cold weather.  I, myself, just turned on the heat in my house yesterday.  Please don't make the approaching WINTER an excuse to hide under bulky clothes.  If anything, get yourself in tip-top shape before the New Year. However, keep in mind it will take both DIET and exercise to get you there.  It cannot just be one or the other.  Stop living to EAT...

We have many choices as to what we can feed ourselves and our families.  Our contributing writer, Marc A. tells his story about becoming a flexitarian: 

About 2 years ago, during the summer of 2011, I decided I was going to become a vegetarian. Over the course of those 3 months, I slowly phased out meat adding one extra day without meat every 2 weeks until eventually I was meatless everyday. I must admit, it felt awesome. I felt lighter on my feet. I didn't get that sleepy feeling (known to some as "the itis") when I ate too much and I had a lot of energy. Now I don't really blame the bad feelings solely on the fact that I consumed meat with regularity but more on the level of fattening (or fatteningly prepared, see: deep fried) meats I consumed with regularity. This and a desire to pursue a more plant based lifestyle is what led me to decide to become a vegetarian. Read the full article at Yahoo Voices! Dieting and Weight Loss

Before Marc introduced us to what a flexitarian was in his article, I didn't know the term existed.  According to US News and World Report, a flexitarian is a marriage of two words - flexible and vegetarian.  The best news, for meat lovers, is one does not have to rid meat entirely from their diet.  It is the best of both worlds a plant based diet and an occasional meat.  It seems to broaden ones choices.  I had a childhood friend who became a complete vegetarian for over ten years until her last pregnancy when she decided she needed a hamburger.  If only she knew what a flexitarian was.

Are you a flexitarian?  Please share your story.

As always, thank you for reading. 

References:  The Flexitarian Diet - US News & World Report

Discipline and Why It's Better than Motivation

by Marc A.

Webster defines motivation as "the condition of being eager to act or work". Motivation is awesome! It's that wonderful feeling that makes you want to do exactly what it is you want to do. It's what spurs you to action. It makes you want to start eating better. It makes you go for that run or get that workout in. It makes weight loss all the more easier because your mind is in it with you. There are plenty of different types of motivations to be healthy and fit: you want to lose weight, you want to lower your blood pressure, you want to run run a race, you want to be fit, or simply you just want to improve your health. When you're motivated, life is awesome. 

However, there are those moments where motivation is lacking. Despite how much you way want to, you can't bring yourself to act the way you know you should. You know you shouldn't eat that whole cake, but you do it. You know you should get that run in today but you can't bring yourself to do it. When you're not motivated, life sucks.

There is a remedy though. Discipline.

Discipline removes your mind from the equation. Discipline keeps you in line. Discipline takes the appropriate action whether you're motivated or not. Discipline helps create a habit. Discipline follows the rules which you have set forth whether you're motivated or not. 

How do you create discipline? Simple (not easy), just do it. Don't give your mind a chance to talk you out of it. Better yet, tell your mind to shut up. So often we rely on our minds to dictate what our bodies should do when we should be doing it the other way around. We think ourselves out of it. Sometimes your body has to step in and just say "shut up, I'm going to do this and that's final!" Let your body convince your mind. Do it enough times and eventually it becomes a habit and it becomes automatic. You, my friends, will have created discipline!

Motivation is based on how you feel, motivation is fleeting. Discipline, once created and fostered, is automatic. Your degree of motivation becomes less of an influence and as your level of discipline increases, motivation can even become a non factor. You just know to do it and you just do it.

This can apply to all areas of health but it especially applies to health and fitness where so many of us lack discipline AND motivation. If you're motivated right now, awesome, go get 'em tiger! However, if you're not, go do it anyway. Give it a shot even if you don't want to. Then do it again. And again. Develop that invaluable discipline. You body, and even your mind, will thank you.

Marc A. is the editor and founder of the health and wellness blog, Dr. Marctagon™, and he also runs a tech company and blog, Marctagon™ IT where he offers his consulting services and discusses the latest news, productivity tools and technology for homes and small businesses.

But Where Do I Start? 5 Simple Ways to Start Losing Weight

by Marc A.

I get it.  Losing weight is tough. It's difficult, requires so much effort, and takes way too much time. Hell, most times just getting started is the hardest part. You deprive yourself of everything that tastes good for a bunch of health food crap. You go in and try to walk off all your pounds in the first week and then a week later you've already given up. It sucks, I know. I know how you feel.

What would you say if I told you losing weight was much simpler than you may imagine. Now, by simple I don't mean easy. Losing weight isn't easy. Just asked the millions of people who are giving it a shot as we speak. 

Become a gym rat and a health nut will come eventually but right now, you just need to get started doing SOMETHING. Never fear, I'm here to give you a few pointers. With these, even if you do nothing else but these six in the beginning, your body will benefit, trust me.

Here are 5 quick ways to start losing weight right now:

1. Trade in your snack foods for fruit.  Every time you get a junk food craving, eat a piece of fruit. For ever bag of chips you would have had, eat an apple. This keeps some of the undernourishing overfattening crap out of your system and replaces it with good sugars, fiber and plenty of vitamins and minerals. Not only that but fruit is more filling for less calories. So just off of that, you're saving a 200-300 calories a day, which adds up to over half a pound a week.

2. Increase your water intake. With the exception of coffee (not drowned in sugar and cream), tea and milk, drink nothing but water. This will be a challenge if you're used to drinking soda or juice all day. So if you can't make a full substitution, replace half of your day's juice/soda with water and with each passing week add more water and remove more juice/soda. Now, some of you may be thinking that if you drink diet soda, you should be fine right? It's zero calories, after all. This is true but diet soda with its artificial sweeteners actually work to your detriment because while you get the sweetness that sugar would give, the implied sweetness will increase your real sugar cravings, leading to possible binging later, not to mention artificial sweeteners in large amounts are just bad for you.

3. Walk 30 minutes a day, for 3 days a week. Unless you fit into the morbidly obese category, then for most this is the bare minimum that you can do to lose weight. This doesn't have to be a chore. Try getting up 30 minutes early and walking around your neighborhood. Or go for a walk on your lunch after you eat. It will help with digestion and also burn off some calories. Or cut out a little TV and throw it in after dinner. You can do this!

4. Ask someone to either join you or hold you accountable. Don't keep your efforts a secret. Let people know what you're going to do. You don't have to broadcast but choose a select person or people that you know and let them know that you want to lose weight. Give them permission to check on you and keep you in check if they see you slipping. If losing weight was something you could do alone, you would have already done to let others be a part of it. Beware of overzealous supporters though who try to tell you how you should be doing things or run your life. You don't want that kind of help because it will send you back to your old habits or make you give up in a hurry.

5. Get some rest. I won't say that you need 8 hours a night because personally I feel that 8 hours doesn't work for everyone. Some are just fine with 6, others need 10 but you should be getting adequate sleep. Being sleepy triggers stress hormones and sugar cravings and can cause you to overeat. Three things you do not want occurring especially at the same time. Not to mention, getting adequate rest improves your overall well being. You'll be in a better mood and more motivated. In a rested states, you'll be more open to eating healthy and not just conveniently. You'll be less likely to eat that greasy burger. Perhaps not unlikely but less likely.

And there you have it, my 5 ways to start on a weight loss plan. An honorable mention would be to see this as a lifestyle change not a temporary "diet". This is for life so act like it if you want to have a long one.

Is there anything you would add to this list? Let me know in the comments below.

3 Reasons Why Cheat Meals Are Important

by Marc A.

(Repost from previous' 365 Days.. blog)

So you just started a new diet and exercise plan and you're all excited about it, right? The first day or even the first week goes pretty well but then you find yourself craving all the sinful things you gave up when you first started this lifestyle change. What happens then? You hold yourself to such a high standard of strictness, you end up giving in, and in turn, giving up by binging. Then the guilt sets in and you're back where you started. Sound familiar?

Well let me tell you this...it's OK! You don't have to be perfect. It's okay to cheat sometimes. Cheat meals are important and can beneficial if done the right way.

Let's explore, shall we, reasons why planned cheat meals are important to any lifestyle change.

1. Cheat meals make eating healthy easier. Life is short but it's also long and you should not be forced to be deprived of the things you love. This doesn't mean overindulge. As always, moderation is the key. Cheat meals work best when planned. For instance, I choose Friday nights and Saturday nights to have a cheat meal. The rest of the week, I strive to eat as perfect as possible, meaning no fatty foods, no liquid calories, no sweets, etc. During my cheat meals though, I eat a meal and dessert of my choosing, WHATEVER I want. My cheat meal is my time to eat the way I want to. When you plan you cheat meals, it makes it easier to say no the rest of the week. When your body is craving that burger, and you tell it no and it asks, "Well when do I get to eat it?", you have an answer. "We can have it on _______." Psychologically, knowing when you can and will tends to keep the beast at bay until the time comes.

2. Cheat meals help to spike your metabolism.  After a long week of limiting your caloric intake, a cheat meal due to the increased calories can give your metabolism a much needed jump start. Eating 1800 calories a day, then one day throwing in an extra 500-600 calories in one meal will shock your body and make it work harder. So the meals you eat the next day may get burned faster than normal. The key here is to no overdo it on your cheat meal. Eat 4 slices of pizza not a whole pie. Eat 1 or 2 slices of cake, not the whole cake. The key is to indulge not devour.

3. Cheat meals improve your overall mood and attitude. Let's face it. Sometimes dieting can suck. We have those moments where we just can't stand it. We're tired of salads. We're tired of measuring food. We're tired of being healthy. Sounds crazy, but we've all felt it. Planned cheat meals are just the solution. They're that break from the week where you can just dash all rules to the side and just enjoy a sinful meal. Not only that, you can enjoy it guilt free because you planned for it.


If you just began a new lifestyle change or have a lot to lose, you can do a cheat day if you wish but cheat days can easily unravel a week of hard work so I recommend a cheat meal or 2 per week. Enough to see the above effects but when kept within reason, you should expect continued progress. Don't be afraid to cheat or indulge, just do your best to plan your cheats and eat the rest of the week accordingly.


So, what's your cheat meal this week?