UPDATE!

WOW! It’s been a LONG time since my last post!! If you’re still out there reading, I just wanted to let you know that I will be moving and contributing to a new blog: PerformancEDU. I am in the process of transitioning all of my old content there and after that I will begin posting my new stuff! This new blog also has content related to physical fitness – but just like I feel strongly about personal empowerment in making nutrition choices for YOUR body, PerformancEDU feels passionately about personal empowerment about the way your body MOVES!  So come on over and check it out!! We are excited and humbled to welcome you to the P-EDU family!

See you there!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

Food is good

Good Morning Sunshine!

Do you think maintaining your health and weight is all about calories in versus calories out – regardless of quality? In my opinion, it’s more about quality in versus quality out. You can eat a whole lot of  calorie free “food” and still be unhealthy and overweight. Check the ingredients of what you’re about to eat – if it looks like a chemical, it probably is! Eating too much chemical laden “food” can disrupt your entire endocrine system – leading to a whole mess of problems (including weight gain!). Remember – don’t beat yourself up – just take baby steps for improvements in health! Let me know if you have any questions! I would be happy to assist!

Have a beautiful day!!

Master Yah

Food and Pleasure

Hi Everyone!

It has been quite some time since I have posted. Truth be told, I have been a bit hesitant to continue writing about nutrition. It’s not that I don’t believe that real, nutritious foods are important – it’s just that … well…..it seems that many people are taking the “virtues” of food and eating a bit too far (in my opinion). I do not believe that eating should be viewed as a religion and I certainly do not want to get caught up in that mindset (let alone promote it). Eating one food over the other does not make us “good” or “bad” people. And quite honestly, I don’t think that there is ONE perfect way to eat. There is just the way YOU or I eat. Period. Done. To judge yourself or others for what is chosen to eat, is silly – maybe even dangerous. It’s rare that people take pleasure in food anymore – and I mean TRUE pleasure, not an ounce of guilt (or statements like, well I “shouldn’t” be eating this, but oh well – that is not true pleasure). Could it be that the secret to the “French paradox” is that they derive so much pleasure from the food they eat? Could one reason that Americans are becoming so overweight is because there is so much guilt and fear wrapped up in food or eating? I don’t think it’s a coincidence. There are many research studies that prove that if we eat a food just because we think we “should”, but we don’t truly enjoy it or don’t really want to eat it, that we don’t even absorb much nutrition from that food. I know that for me, personally, when I take true pleasure in eating exactly what I want – I just naturally eat less. It’s not until I force myself to eat the foods I think I “need” that I wind up overeating. This is definitely “food for thought”. Maybe we all need to remember how to “Eat, Drink and Be Merry” again.

Until next time….

Master Yah

 

What to do with Leftover Halloween Candy???

Happy November Everyone!!

Saw this article on Brad Pilon’s Blog and definitely thought it was applicable for the day after Halloween 🙂 Enjoy!

An Essential Diet Hack

Throw it out.

You know exactly what I’m talking about.

Throw. It. Out.

I know you paid money for it. I know there are people in the world that are starving. It doesn’t matter right now.

This is an ESSENTIAL DIET HACK, and one that I’m positive if you can master it, you will see massive increases in your success.

It’s the day after Halloween.

Your house is FULL of candy you DO NOT NEED.

Throw it out.

(If you have kids, keep enough for them, but you do not need a month’s worth of Candy.)

Throw it out.

It doesn’t have to be Halloween.

It could be the day after a birthday, or a retirement party…you name it.

The half eaten cake in your fridge? WHY DO THAT TO YOURSELF??

I know you feel guilty but you need to learn to WIN this battle.

By keeping that food you are PAYING to have more Body Fat then you want.

Repeat after me.

“IF I KEEP IT, I EAT IT.”

(Use this rule for leftovers too.)

You can keep the ‘healthy’ ones, but honestly, half of a two-day-old large pizza?

Admittedly this is one of the hardest Diet Hacks to master.

But it pays off big time.

So remember

I believe ‘treats’ are for celebration…Birthdays, Retirement parties, Super Bowls..you name it…but saving them for after? That’s for Body Fat.

Thow it out.

BP

Why do people get Flu Shots??

Good Morning Everyone!!

Hope you all are doing FABULOUS today!! :o) My BFF and boyfriend was recently told that he “had to get a flu shot”. He politely refused, as both he and I have made the personal decision that flu shots aren’t good for us! I found it ironic that I  was reading one of the blogs that I LOVE (check it out HERE) and found the following post on flu shots: Enjoy!!

Every winter, I hear horror stories about flu shots. Everyone I know who gets them gets sick immediately after. That’s part of the treatment, right? You have to get the cold in order to fight it, right?

Bullshit.

Here’s an idea. Try being healthy. Support your body with necessary nutrients, so you won’t come down with anything at all.

I used to be a big smoker and a drunk. Not only did smoking and drinking influence the current crap state of my digestive system, it gave me colds all the time. Each winter, I came down with at least two bronchial infections.

I got fat and farty and decided to take control of my health. The more toxins I cut from my diet, the less snotty gross colds infiltrated my body. So here you go. This is the FartyGirl guide to not getting sick this winter.

1. Don’t smoke.
No really, DON’T SMOKE. No cigarettes, cloves, or ganga. If you smoke, you’re asking for it.

2. Don’t drink.
Whiskey? Vodka and OJ? Burbon and cider? It doesn’t work. Believe me, I’ve tried. When sick, you need to flush the sickness out of your system. Drinking alcohol dehydrates you; it only makes you more susceptible to flus and colds.

3. Get a good night’s sleep.
Not sleeping well, especially mixed with drinking and smoking, used to be a recipe for a cold for me.

4. Drink black or green tea. No coffee.
I love coffee. It’s one of the few vices that I still allow myself. This rule I save for when I’m actually sick.

5. Take Echinacea.
Ech is good for post-holiday parties. When you’ve spent all night smoking, drinking, and not sleeping, have Echinacea tea as a nightcap before bed. Add raw honey and ground ginger; they are also good immune system boosters.

6. Drink water, not OJ.
Water flushes out your system. OJ creates mucus. It also weighs you down with sugar, which isn’t good for colds. Oh and by water, I don’t mean Vitamin Water. Real filtered or spring H2O.

7. Suck on cough drops.
When mucusy, I pull out my Fisherman’s Friend drops. They are so strong, they punch my face out. Forget stupid Altoids. I haven’t felt so mentholated since the time in high school when I snorted mint snuff while tripping on acid.

8. Drink coconut water
I can’t go on enough about coconut water. A small serving contains so many nutrients and vitamins. The electrolytes keep you from getting dehydrated. It’s got kind of a weird taste. I like to mix it with soy milk or orange juice or pineapple juice.

9. Drink Gypsy Cold Care
This is my favorite winter tea. I love it so much that I horde it, save it for if I get really sick. It’s full of healthy herbs.

10. Herbs
Make your own tea with elderberry, goldenseal, licorice, ginseng, and dandelion root. Cook with rosemary, garlic, and oregano.

Notice that I said nothing about hand sanitizer. I said nothing about washing vigorously. That’s my one flaw. I’m bad about washing my hands. Partly it’s because I believe that we do need to keep in contact with germs. Our body does need to learn how to fight them off. For me, it makes more sense to strengthen my body, so it has the best chance.

Of course, now that I’ve written this blog, I’m sure to come down with something immediately.

 

The Power of the Mind: PsychoBioEnergetics

Good Morning World!

I hope you all are happy and healthy 🙂 I wanted to re-post an article that my friend, Taylor Donovan, wrote. Taylor is an excellent chiropractor, practicing here in Reno and also does nutrition counseling! We share many of the same beliefs, and the following article really hit home with me! Enjoy!

“ ‘In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?’ — Siddhārtha Gautama

I am convinced that chocolate was healthy for my grandmother. She had a particular affection for the chocolates created by See’s candies. When I saw her excitement in peeling open the white box, the ceremony around choosing her indulgence, and the savoring of these chocolates she impressed upon me a powerful insight. If you are going to indulge, do so with reckless abandon free from guilt or restraint. To this day I believe that if you indulge anything with a positive mindset and complete enthusiasm then the negative side effects will be minimized no matter what. This phenomena can also account for some of the incredible results that the placebo effect is capable of eliciting.

Have you ever heard of someone that drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes and lived a long and healthy life? Have you ever been troubled by hearing about a friend or relative that seemed extremely healthy but died suddenly from a heart attack or was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer? As a health care professional I hear these sorts of stories on a somewhat regular basis. I believe the topic of psycho bioenergetics can assist in explaining these occurrences.

Years ago I began my scientific studies while undertaking a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at a UC school. I was fascinated by the elaborate communication that occurred at the cellular level. I have continued to study and research this field for the last fifteen years. I have since applied my focus to the nervous system and the brain. I feel this system of the body is the most powerful area that I am capable of impacting. This is also why I became a chiropractor. While my treatments and knowledge are effective at relieving pain and soreness my true forte is in insuring long-term health through functional and dynamic gains in movement, thought, and nutrition. Lately I have been studying the effects of mental attitude on our physiology. The fields of positive psychology and trendy books on creating happiness have shown how important attitude is in creating optimal health. One of the simplest ways to better yourself is to truly believe that what you are doing is making an incredible difference and to do these things with great commitment and discipline.

I assist many of my patients in defining exactly what they need to change in order to better refine their health choices. While this is an important process it’s also integral to go a step deeper and look at how an individual mentally relates to these changes. I have patients that change to organic tobacco with great enthusiasm and others that fixate anxiously on which detox diet to try. In the end it may depend less on what we are doing and more so on how we are doing it. If you are indulging the vice squad be sure to do so with an enjoyable mindset. If you are purifying yourself do so with an upbeat demeanor. Everything you do will be enhanced by a sense of optimism and acceptance.”

 

Self Judgement

What if I said to you, “Lets go have a lunch of Mac and Cheese, cookies, and ding dongs, chips, and donuts….and we will wash it all down with a giant Pina Colada!”?? What would you think about me?? Some of you might think I’m really awesome! Some of you might think I’m a big fake. Some of you might think I have “issues”. Some of you might join me! Well, the truth of it all lies only in what I think of myself, not in what you all think of me. Does the fact that I eat “Primally” make me a “Good” person?? And when I make the conscious decision to go eat a Dairy Queen Blizzard (which I LOVE, by the way), does that make me a “Bad” person?? Well the truth of it is YES, if I believe it. But the ULTIMATE truth is that all of those “beliefs” are just beliefs. Things we create about ourselves. Illusions. None of it’s real. And who knows why we carry these beliefs …. it could go way back to when we were in junior high. Or something our parents said. Or something the doctor said. But none of that matters! It’s all irrelevant. Because YOU are the creator of your own life. And once you realize that…and get out of the way of your own head…then you will start to realize your freedom. And that’s what we all want – freedom. That’s why when you have someone like me come up to you and tell you to eliminate grains, and dairy, and sugar – you immediately want to rebel! Why?? Because you’re human and you want to be free. You don’t need me to tell you how to live your life and how to eat … because deep down you KNOW already! Tap into your own body’s wisdom and realize the power that is yours! Stop relying so much on other people’s advice, and rely on your own. Trust yourself. Empower yourself. Become … FREE!

I LOVE YOU!!!

How to be Awesome

Good Morning Everyone!!!

I just got this blog post from Brad Pilon’s blog and really enjoyed it! I think you will too!!

I am Awesome.

You are Awesome too.

This is important since the first part of becoming Awesome is realizing that you are already awesome….

And that being Awesome is a choice.

So what is Being Awesome?

Well, let me start by saying that this is the NEW Awesome. So don’t think Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure type of  Awesome…

It’s also not the pretentious jerk version of awesome. Awesome has evolved to something greater than this.

Think more along the lines of a mystical force..kind of like the Tao.

It’s something then when you are ‘in-line’ with it, it makes a difference in your life without taking a lot of effort.

If the traditional use of awesome is “That which inspires awe” think of the new Awesome as “That which inspires Awe in one’s self”

So vaguely Being Awesome is:

The ability to inspire yourself and to be inspired by Yourself

(OK so the exact definition is still a work in progress)

The most important part of being Awesome is remembering that being Awesome is a choice, and the more time you spend being awesome, the more being awesome becomes second nature.

So remember, you are already awesome, and you can become more awesome with a little practice.

For instance:

If you are complaining or whining, just remember, you could be being awesome instead.

I’m not sure why but it seems as a whole we are becoming a very negative group of people. We whine on TV, we whine on Talk Radio, we whine on blogs and in forums…This isn’t constructive or positive..therefore it’s not awesome. If you catch yourself in one of those downward spirals of complaining or whining, stop and think about the fact this thinking in this way is a choice, so you can change it.

Being awesome is that easy.

A large part of being Awesome is learning not to compare yourself to others. Instead you should compare yourself to the way you want to be…when you stop and think about it, there is a difference between the two.

Another way of improving your awesomeness is by learning from other people (since we are all awesome in some way)

Every one of the people in your life has qualities that are awesome. Spend time thinking about this and A) appreciate those traits even more (and maybe even let them know you appreciate it) and B) incorporate them into your own awesomeness.

My brother in law is really good at returning phone calls and emails. I think this is awesome, so it’s something I’m going to try to incorporate into my own awesomeness.

It’s as simple as that.

Warning: Awesome can be stolen from you…

Now here’s what you have to watch for…some people will want to crush your awesomeness. For some reason there are people out there who are really uncomfortable with the idea of someone thinking that they are awesome. As if we should all be grumpy or unsatisfied with life.

So remember awesomeness is an INTERNAL thing, it’s your ability to inspire awe in yourself, not what others think of you.

Here’s an example:

A friend of mine posted a comment about building muscle for aesthetics in a CrossFit forum. In the forum he was bashed hard for not wanting to be ‘functional’ and because he “probably does 20 sets of biceps every workout”.

(Granted this was probably not the best place to pose a question of this nature, and I don’t know the nature or tone of the conversation…but I digress)

The point is this…to be Awesome, you have to OWN YOUR GOALS.

It doesn’t matter if people think your goals are dumb, useless or crazy…if something is YOUR goal then you owe it to yourself to be Awesome at it. If you listen to everyone else’s opinions on your goals you are externalizing your awesomeness, and this just doesn’t work.

This is how being Awesome can greatly improve your fitness and weight loss goals…because you learn to stick with your goals and not worry about everyone else’s goals. So awesomeness is also a focused happiness.

You have to own your awesomeness.

Being Awesome also helps with other facets of life.

I have a friend who wanted to buy a manufacturing Plant. He had a successful company, but knew that it would be even more successful if he owned his manufacturer.

For two years I watched people continually tell my friend that he was crazy, or insane, or dreaming. I watched investors turn him down, business partners question his business sense..but he never backed down. For two years he stuck with it, because he knew he was awesome.

He purchased the plant last year, and his business is booming.

So to repeat: you have to own your awesomeness.

You know you are doing it right when your friends all think you are a little crazy, but they love you for it. (as opposed to being a pretentious “I’m Awesome and you’re not” jerk).

Another part of being awesome is not pushing your goals on everyone else.

You want giant biceps but your friend wants a strong functional core…neither goal is ‘right’ but you both owe it to yourselves to be awesome at that goal.

So a main part of being awesome is being happy enough with yourself that you don’t really care what other people think about you, and you don’t feel threatened when people have goals that differ from yours.

Being awesome also involves OWNING your LIKES.

To me fasting is AWESOME. I hope you like it too, but it’s not going to bother me if you’re not a fan.

When people ask me why I like fasting, I could hit them with all the boring scientific jargon, or I could answer “Because fasting is awesome”

Granted, this answer probably seems silly to most people, but after reading this post I hope you would understand that what I am actually saying is “When I’m fasting I inspire myself” …awesome takes on a whole new meaning when you think of it that way.

If you really like something let it be yours, it shouldn’t matter if other people like it or not. And on the flip side, if your friends really like something that you’re just not into, don’t sweat it.

Another part of being Awesome is OWNING your ACTIONS.

Be awesome by doing awesome things.

On the drive home from work ask yourself “Would it be awesome if I took 2 minutes out of my day and picked up some flowers for my wife/girl friend/daughter/mother?” If the answer is YES, then do it..because it would be awesome.

If you are running late for a lunch meeting because you are watching movie trailers on-line ask yourself “Is it awesome I’m about to be late because I’m watching movie trailers?” if the answer is NO, then close your computer and get going…

OK…so now the million dollar question:

What the heck is a post about being Awesome doing on a health and fitness blog?

Well, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on inflammation, stress, mind set and long term health. The science is impressive and is worthy of a whole new book, but for now let’s just say they are connected.

8% body fat, shredded abs, muscle like liquid marble…these things may not matter as much as having the right attitude when it comes to the quality or length of your life.

I once had a chance to talk with the very Controversial Dr. Aubrey DeGray…a person many people consider to be a visionary in the area of life extension and longevity.

He told me that when you look at the world’s centenarians (people who live to 100 or older) it’s very hard to find any connection between them all. There were no real diet or exercise correlations. But, the one thing he did say was that if they had anything in common at all, it’s that they all seemed to smile a lot.

It’s easy to smile when you’re awesome.

BP

Posted by Brad Pilon on September 7, 2010

Official Primal Challenge – starts NOW!

Hi Guys!

Check it out! Official 30 Day Primal Challenge starts TODAY through Marks Daily Apple! I know many of my followers started last week – so we already have a leg up – but if you haven’t fully committed, NOW is the time to do so!! Mark Sisson is going to have posts EVERY day on his website and he’s going to be holding contests to keep us motivated and having fun!! This Challenge is fun, eye opening, and helps you to FEEL amazing!! So subscribe to his blog and let’s get going!!!!!

You never know unless you try!!

Love y’all!

Master Yah

Metabolism Myth?

Do you really need to eat every 3 hours? Will your metabolism suddenly just shut down if you’re not eating 6 small meals every day? Are our bodies really this sensitive??

What if we have been brainwashed … conditioned to believe certain things about food, our health, and our bodies. What if we’ve been giving all of our power away to someone else who is giving us advice based on skewed research?

I’m telling you, this is what is happening. Not everything you read or have been programmed to believe is actually true. Why would someone give us false information? Maybe it’s because of money….or maybe it’s because these professionals have been programmed to believe the same things!!

Challenge your thoughts….challenge other peoples thoughts! Start to trust in the wisdom of your body….it knows more than you think!

Leave a comment … let me know your thoughts!!

Love y’all!

Master Yah