Month: April 2015

Have you ever seen that line “Look Fear in the face and punch it”? I kind of love that line because of the way we all look at fear.

Fear is something that will hold us back, stop us from moving forward, and stop our feet in one spot. Fear is that tightness in your stomach and that tightness in your muscles

But we have to beat fear or it will beat us

How to Overcome Fear

The best way for us to overcome the fear that we face whenever making a change in our life is to approach it head on. You know full well whenever making a change that you mind and body are going to want to resist change. The status quo is always uncomfortable and our mind and body resist any change to the comfort that we want to have.

What is the first thing that you think of when you are looking at making a change? I know because I fight with it so much. First I look to see if this is right, should I stop eating cookies? Of course if we want to plot the good vs bad of eating cookies then I am sure after yummy, and emotional support (flimsy), and hunger, we run out of reasons we need to gorger on cookies. They are of course bad for us and the empty calories, and fattening, and insulin issues.

Next, what is the alternative? Of course when we are making a change we need a stop doing and a start doing otherwise the change will just be an open loop of loss. Give up cookies and start eating veggies. Veggies give us cleanliness, energy, health, and happiness. Seems pretty easy. How about starting to run. We stop wasting our lives on the couch and we take the initiative to be healthy, energetic, better rested, more attractive.

See we give and we take

Still even with logic our emotions will cause us to stop wanting to make that change. What if I am wrong, what if cookies are a brain food? What is I get hit by a car while running?

What is I just don’t want to change?

That is the one that gets me. I can use logic and still there is time. I can start tomorrow, I am not ready today. After a good nights sleep I will be able to do this or that….

These are again just fear trying to dig in again. But with the time excuse you have an uncomfortable but easy way to face fear.

Just do it!

If you are going to run you have to remember that it is not all day, or for the rest of your life, or even a huge commitment. You can just dip your toe in and the change, the fear, have no power. Go for a walk around the block from home to home again. Wait an hour for that cookie and have an apple instead.

I really hate that fear can get the best of us because quite often the status quo is what we should really be fearing the most. Every time that I see another pieve of research on obesity, or hear and excuse that someone “Just can’t do it” it makes me want to yell out “Change now or lose forever!”.

There are not a lot of alternatives at a certain point. If we don’t make the change our life and health don’t stay the same they instead go downhill.

So don’t let fear stop you. Know that you are making a choice, take a better life, give up a subpar life

And don’t eat that cookie

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I heard a story years ago that when the musicians got together to record songs for Live Aid that there was a sign on the door of the studio that said “Check your ego at the door” That is a great intro to this article.

Ego is a double edged sword. As we all know we have ego to protect ourselves at the vbery least. We know that we are good at certain things and our mind will pump us up and pump up our abilities by using the ego.

The bad side is that we are often not realistic and our ego will hurt us in the long run by helping us make excuses for not doing what we should really know is important.

How Ego Hurts Weight Loss

Lets look at an example of this ego working against us. Let’s say that you are 20 pounds over. Losing 20 pounds will often not seem very important but in actual fact that 20 pounds could be robbing you of a better lifestyle and shortening your lifespan. Also thinking that you are “only” 20 pounds over may mean that you have no good reason to exercise, heck if you aren’t fat then you do not need to exercise.

Well that kind of thinking is dangerous.

On the other hand my ego tells me that to be the kind of person that can speak to people about fitness means that I have to be fit. I can not go more than a couple of days without knowing that I would be a hypocrite for not working out.

Ego to do with eating is even more dangerous than exercise. If we eat badly and then go a day eating well we may want to reward ourselves with a nice fattening snack.

After eating that snack you feel like you let yourself down but it was your ego that said to eat it and your ego that was mad at you for it.

Instead the best thing for us to do is to actually check our ego at the door. If you take some time at the beginning and end of the day to be a realist then it should help you to eat better and exercise more.

It is hard for us to live without our ego but if we can just make a list of the things that we know are important. Let’s say write down a few health goals in the area of eating and exercise and then with those goals also write down why these goals are important in the short and long term.

Just this one action alone will force us to do more of the things that are important and not let our ego get in the way

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Vegetarians do not eat meat but it does not mean that their meals are bland and tasteless.

Vegetarian recipes are not only healthy but they are also flavorful. If you try using fresh vegetables in your main courses more often you will realize that a vegetarian meal will make a healthy, delicious difference in your diet.

Healthy vegetarian recipes can be found everywhere on the internet.

Vegetarian recipes are often economical. A balanced vegetarian diet provides all the essential nutrients that the human body requires.

Because vegetarian meals are often low-calorie, they help keep the down naturally. Vegetarians rarely suffer from illnesses linked to fat consumption.

Because of the health benefits of vegetarian recipes, more and more people are becoming vegetarians.

People who eat vegetables are less likely to be obese or suffer from heart disease, kidney diseases, or diabetes. Vegetarians have lower blood pressure and fewer incidents of digestive tract disorders.

Getting the Right Amount of Nutrients

Contrary to what many people believe, meat and fish are not the only sources of protein. Healthy vegetarian recipes can also provide all the essential amino acids that the body needs.

Rice and beans, macaroni and cheese, bean-vegetable chili with tortillas, and cheese rolled in chopped nuts are just a few vegetarian recipes that provide protein and other nutrients.

Citrus fruits, peppers, melons, cabbage and strawberries are good sources of Vitamin C. Vegetarians take in calcium from soy milk, almonds, artichoke, broccoli, carrots, kale, peanuts, spinach, lima beans and peas.

Getting enough iron can be tough for vegetarians, but there are vegetarian foods that are rich in iron including Swiss chard, lima beans, whole grains, spinach, lentils, blackstrap molasses, quinoa, and tofu. Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron and must be included in a vegetarian diet.

A Healthy Vegetarian Dinner Recipe

Once you’ve tasted this Homemade Black Bean Burger recipe, you’ll never want to eat frozen veggie burgers again.

Black Bean Burger Recipe

Black Bean Burger Ingredients:

•  1 (16 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
•  1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
•  1/2 onion, cut into wedges
•  3 cloves garlic, peeled
•  1 egg
•  1 tablespoon chili powder
•  1 tablespoon cumin
•  1 teaspoon hot sauce
•  1/2 cup bread crumbs

Black Bean Burger Directions:

1. If grilling, preheat grill. If baking, preheat oven to 375F and lightly oil a baking sheet.

2. In a bowl, mash black beans with a fork until pasty.

3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, garlic and onion. Stir the chopped vegetables into the mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the egg, chili powder, cumin and hot sauce.

5. Add the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Add the bread crumbs and mix until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture and form into four patties.

6. If grilling, place patties on a foil and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes on each side.

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