Nutrition and Energy

Fatigue sends many people running to their doctor for help. They just don't have enough energy to get through their day with vitality! Is anything wrong with them? Not necessarily. 

Of the causes of fatigue, one of the most common is poor nutrition. This isn't always our fault. Thanks to soil depletion brought on by years of chemical fertilizers and over-farming, our food no longer contains as many natural nutrients as that grown and eaten by previous generations. Today's veggies just aren't as good for us as our grandparents' vegetables were for them. 

Does that mean you should give up on vegetables? Of course not! It just means you need to supplement in order to achieve the kind of good nutrition our grandparents and ancestors could get just from their five daily servings of fruits and vegetables.

The growing energy drink market capitalizes on people's need for a boost to their day. Energy drinks are everywhere! Many of them contain artificial caffeine. Drink one, and it'll give you some quick energy. Unfortunately, you can crash and burn after a while.

B.K. Boreyko, founder of VEMMA, saw the need for an energy drink that would also provide nutrition. What if we could give people energy that's actually good for you? Made with naturally occurring caffeine, all organic ingredients, plus a dose of nutrition, all in a delicious, icy cold drink? Working with his scientists, B.K. and his team came up with Verve. What is it? Insanely healthy energy!

How good is it? Good enough that it's the official energy drink of the NBA Phoenix Suns! Good enough that it's part of America's favorite doctor's afternoon pick-me-up routine! And if that's not good enough for you, the organic sugar versions have only 35 calories. Plus, the silver can is Zero-Sugar, with only 5 calories! 

Best yet, it's delicious! So, healthy energy, no crash, and low calorie! It's a win-win-win! 

To find out more, please visit www.enthusiasmpays.vemma.com. Thanks, and have a great, energy-filled day!

How Are Your New Year's Resolutions Coming?

If you're like me, you set several goals for yourself this year. I like to call them goals, rather than resolutions. So much has been made of "New Year's Resolutions" that we've forgotten what a resolution really is. Making a resolution means you resolve to do something, that is, you decide and then set your whole heart and mind to accomplishing that goal.

Too many times, we make out a list of things we'd like to accomplish. We let it be a list of good intentions. It's great to have good intentions, but unless we put them into practice, they won't amount to anything!

Say, for example, a child wants to become a great baseball player. Unless he is willing to put in the time to practice daily, he won't gain the skills he needs to be able to pitch, throw or even hit the ball.

Or say you have a vague notion that you'd like to play the guitar. After all, it looks easy, the instrument is portable, and you can do all kinds of things with it. Maybe you actually purchase a guitar and play around with it, even pick up a chord or two. That might be enough for you. Someone else, buying a similar guitar, might have a burning desire to become really proficient, good enough to play concerts. Will they pick up the guitar every month or so? No. They'll put in at least an hour of practice every single day. (In my heyday, I'd play close to eight hours a day.)

The point is this: if you have a goal, you have to work for it. You can't just have some vague hope of success. If you want to lose weight, you need to make the changes in your metabolism that will help you to keep it off permanently. And that will take exercise as well as a modification of your eating habits.

Good nutrition and exercise can make you stronger. In the end, it's up to you. If you do the work, you can change the way you feel!

Keep up the good work!
And for some really amazing nutrition and an insanely healthy energy drink, please visit EnthusiasmPays.Vemma.com.

Mindset and Health

I'm reading a couple of good books right now, one on exercise and fitness, the other on developing enthusiasm. Both seem to be out of print, but are available in various formats on Amazon.com While I'm just a few chapters into the latter, I can already see they have a lot in common.

MAKE THE CONNECTION by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey discusses making the decision to get fit. ENTHUSIASM MAKES THE DIFFERENCE by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale shows how generating enthusiasm can change your entire attitude.

Even though they cover different subject matter, they have this in common: you have to change your attitude in order to succeed. A negative attitude will bring negative results. The only way to get positive results is with a positive attitude.

Maybe negative thinking is a habit of yours. You may think you aren't good enough, strong enough, smart enough... the list is endless. Stop allowing yourself to think negative thoughts about yourself. All you're doing is reinforcing the attitudes and behaviors that are keeping you from fulfilling your potential.

When I first started this blog, I think I mentioned I'd tried just about every diet ever printed, and failed at them all. Part of that was due to unhealthful attributes of some of the diets, but most of it was due to me. I wanted to get healthy, but I'd been a sick child, and prone to think I couldn't do something because I was sick. That carried over into other aspects of thinking.

Negative thinking will eventually rob you of all enthusiasm. And, unless you get excited and enthused about what you want to accomplish, the likelihood is that you won't accomplish what you set out to do.

I haven't finished these books yet, but already they are making a difference in my attitude. I know that I'm already much healthier than I've ever been, even though currently I'm exhibiting mild flu symptoms. A year ago, those symptoms would have been severe, but changing my nutrition habits has given me more strength.

Will I still take it easy and rest when I need to? Definitely! The difference is: I know that I can still accomplish things despite this current physical challenge.
And you know what? I believe you can, too!

What's your current challenge? What are you working through? Do you have the enthusiasm to see you through it? I'd love to hear from you!

The Importance of Exercise

A lot of people have asked me whether I was exercising to lose weight, and the answer is a qualified "no." I had tried exercising to lose weight before, but that isn't the main purpose.

Exercise helps you increase your lean muscle mass, which increases your metabolism. In that sense, the answer would be "yes." However, I'd been exercising all along without making much difference to my Body Mass Index.

The importance of exercise, whether you're trying to lose weight or gain it, cannot be overstressed. This day and age in which we live doesn't give us daily exercise the way our ancestors knew it.

Before the age of machines, everything was done by hand. People mostly walked everywhere, unless they could afford a horse (which was another form of exercise). Since walking is the ideal exercise, our ancestors could stay in shape pretty much just by living a normal life.

Automobiles and a sedentary work life have contributed to a society with fewer people in good shape. We don't get enough exercise naturally from our lifestyle. Since many of us are no longer having to walk everywhere and do heavy, outdoor labor, we have to add in exercise on our own.

In choosing an exercise program, you need to consider many factors. If you're just starting out and are badly out-of-shape, you should talk to your doctor before beginning anything that could aggravate some currently undiagnosed condition.

There are basically three forms of exercise: aerobic (that which causes you to breathe more deeply and increases your lung capacity), anaerobic (which doesn't), and (I'm giving this its own category, though most exercise physiologists probably don't) flexibility.

Aerobic exercise includes walking, running, cycling (or spinning), and skating (though not skateboarding). Anaerobic exercise includes weight lifting, resistance training, and isometrics. Flexibility exercise includes stretching programs, yoga, Pilates, and Praise Moves.

Which one should you choose? Ideally, you should be doing all three. We need aerobic exercise for our hearts and lungs. We need resistance training (of any sort) for our muscles. And we need flexibility so we don't stiffen into statues!

So, check with your doctor and decide to make a change today. I'm going to be adding in more aerobic exercise to accompany my resistance and flexibility programs. While I know I need to keep my muscle tone built up, I also need the endurance that walking will give me. I'll keep you posted on my results, and hope you'll share yours with me!