Do Your Workouts Feel Like a Chore?

<h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 11px;">by Mark Sisson @ marksdailyappple.com</span></span></h1> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <img alt="todolist2" class="alignright" height="260" src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA%202012/todolist2.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 2px 7px; max-width: 100%; padding: 4px;" title="Do Your Workouts Feel Like a Chore?" width="320" />Evolution tends to reinforce healthy, beneficial behaviors that improve the survival of members of a species by making them enjoyable. <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sex-health-benefits/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="8 Health Reasons to Have Sex (As If You Needed Them)">Sex</a>, <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-manufacture-the-best-night-of-sleep-in-your-life/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="How to Manufacture the Best Night of Sleep in Your Life">sleep</a>, socializing, and <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/yet-another-primal-primer-animal-fats/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="A Primal Primer: Animal Fats">animal fat</a> either feel good, taste good, and sometimes feel <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">and </em>taste good at the same time not “just because” but because they are necessary components of a healthy, (re)productive lifestyle. And it’s not just the act that feels good. Evolution has also reinforced the anticipation of the behavior. At the prospect of <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-guide-to-maintaining-a-healthy-sex-drive/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="A Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Sex Drive">sex</a>, we become aroused, horny, randy, or whatever you want to call the pleasure of anticipation. Those long, delicious yawns that herald the surge of melatonin and promise excellent sleep as we slip beneath the cool covers with a good book? Nothing better. And I still get happy stomach butterflies when friends are coming for dinner and the scent of crackling <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/pork-belly-croutons-with-kale-salad/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Pork Belly Croutons with Kale Salad">pork skins</a> fills the kitchen.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span id="more-50238" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> Okay, but what about exercise? There’s the <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-get-high-naturally/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="How to Get High on Life: 10 Natural Ways to Feel on Top of the World">endorphin and endocannabinoid high</a> from exercising intensely, but that exists to keep us moving during an activity as we near the physiological breaking point. It doesn’t get us off our butts in the first place. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">If exercise is so good for us – and it is – why doesn’t everyone crave it? Why does it feel like a chore?</strong> Why do many people dread it so much?</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Here’s the thing: exercise wasn’t always optional.</strong> If we didn’t chase down the antelope, we wouldn’t have dinner. If we didn’t climb that forty foot acacia tree, our glycogen-starved muscles wouldn’t get the <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-honey-a-safer-sweetener/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Is Honey a Safe(r) Sweetener?">honey</a>. If we didn’t make the six mile walk to the spring, we wouldn’t have water to drink. We <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">had</em> to do these “exercises” if we wanted to survive on a day-to-day basis. There was no “Oh, I’ll just sit on this couch and eat microwaved pot pies and go to the gym some other time.” <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">There was no selective pressure to evolve a love of exercise because we were gonna do it anyway</strong>.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> Today, exercise is in a weird place. Exercise is optional, but it’s also not. Though being sedentary remains disastrous to our health, circumstance no longer compels us to move. There’s no trench-coated goon pointing a gun at us and nodding toward the treadmill, but plenty of “authorities” point their fingers and strongly recommend exercise on pain of disease. We’re buried in studies proclaiming the essentiality of exercise for good health. The message is clear and overwhelming: we’d better work out if we want to be healthy and live long. Just like they tell us we need to work the crappy soul-sucking job to pay the bills, they tell us we need to exercise for thirty minutes a day to stave off disease. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">For most people living in the first world…</strong></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Exercise is something you do to lose weight. It’s a mechanistic way to churn through the calories you’ve eaten and make room for the <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dear-mark-maximum-4000-calories-a-week-of-exercise/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Dear Mark: Maximum 4,000 Calories a Week of Exercise?">calories</a> you want to eat.</strong></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Exercise is something you do even though it’s unpleasant. It’s like brushing your <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/nutritional-cures-for-damaged-teeth/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Beyond Sugar and Soda: Nutritional Cures for Damaged Teeth">teeth</a>, taking out the trash, and emptying the cat litter.</strong></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Exercise is about attaining a far-off goal.</strong></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Meanwhile, the journey – the actual experience of exercising, of moving your body through space and time, of challenging your physical capabilities – is forgotten.</strong> It’s not just forgotten, it’s willfully ignored. We actually try to shut it out, because the act of exercising is all pain and suffering and drudgery. It’s the goal that matters to us, the weight lost, the<a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/gain-weight-build-muscle/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle">weight lifted</a>, the miles logged, the calories burned, the <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/health-vanity/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Mirror, Mirror on the Wall">beach body attained</a>, the tickets to the gun show redeemed.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">The evidence suggests that this paradigm doesn’t work all that well.</strong> A <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11002-014-9301-6" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" target="_blank" title="Is it fun or exercise? The framing of physical activity biases subsequent snacking">series of three recent studies</a> illustrates this. In the first, researchers gave healthy adult women (most of them overweight) a map of a mile-long outdoor walking course and told them to walk it for half an hour. Half were told to treat the walk as exercise and monitor their exertion, half were told to enjoy the walk and listen to music. Both groups spent the same 30 minutes <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-walking/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="The Definitive Guide to Walking">walking</a> the same course, but only the exercising group felt grumpy and fatigued. And when they had lunch, the group who’d “exercised” consistently chose soda over water, pudding over applesauce, and ate far more calories than the “fun” group.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> The second study placed a group of men on the same mile loop. Half “exercised,” half walked for fun. After the walk, they were given plastic baggies, access to an unlimited bowl of M&Ms, and instructions to fill the bags with as many as they desired. The exercise group filled their bags with twice as much candy as the fun group.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> Finally, the researchers approached runners as they finished a relay marathon race and offered them a choice of snacks: a gooey chocolate bar or a “healthy” granola bar. Those who said the race had been difficult and unpleasant were more likely to choose the chocolate, while those who’d enjoyed the race usually chose the granola bar.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">When working out feels like a chore, we demand compensation upon completion, often in the form of junk food.</strong> This can derail weight loss efforts, but it also perpetuates an abusive relationship with physical activity. There’s also evidence, at least in non-human animals, that <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0016643" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" target="_blank" title="The Effects of Voluntary, Involuntary, and Forced Exercises on Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Motor Function Recovery: A Rat Brain Ischemia Model">voluntary exercise is less stressful than involuntary or forced exercise</a>. If that’s the case, workouts that feel like chores heap additional systemic <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/rethinking-stress-it-could-save-your-life/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Rethinking Stress: It Could Save Your Life">stress</a> on top of the local stress the exercise already applies to the muscles. This could make it harder to <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/7-things-impair-workout-recovery/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="7 Things You May Be Doing That Impair Workout Recovery">recover from exercise</a> and easier to recover from <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/15-concrete-ways-to-play/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="15 Concrete Ways to Play">play</a> – even if the total work done for each was identical.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">How do we change our relationship with physical activity?</strong> How can we reframe exercise to make it less unpleasant and more effective? How can we train ourselves to appreciate the journey of movement?</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> Reframing our own activities and appreciating movement for movement’s sake can be tough. You won’t have a guy in a white coat wielding a clipboard and considerable amounts of authority telling you to “enjoy the <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/17-reasons-to-walk-more-this-year/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="17 Reasons to Walk More This Year">walk</a>” you’re about to take like the people in the studies.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> You can’t expect to make everything fun and games. Few people think of hill sprints as “fun.” I can’t ever recall seeing a powerlifter rock a Cheshire grin in the power cage. But it has to be rewarding. You have to get something from it immediately. The activity must be its own compensation. <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">The key, I think, is finding immediate value in the activity rather than relying on some far off goal, like weight loss, to motivate you.</strong> The weight loss, the hypertrophy, the fitness gains, all those “bigger” goals will happen anyway, but they’re not enough of a primary motivator for most people. I mean, everyone has those goals. They’re the reason most people decide they need to start exercising and why there are <a href="http://www.ihrsa.org/media-center/2011/4/5/us-health-club-membership-exceeds-50-million-up-108-industry.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" target="_blank" title="U.S. Health Club Membership Exceeds 50 Million, Up 10.8%; Industry Revenue Up 4% as New Members Fuel Growth ">over 50 million gym memberships</a> in this country. But by and large, <a href="http://greatist.com/health/exercise-weight-loss-071213" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" target="_blank" title="Americans Are Working Out More Than Ever. Why Aren’t We Losing Weight?">they’re not reaching those goals</a>. Something’s gotta give.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> That’s easier said than done. Undoing a lifetime of acculturation isn’t easy. You have to willingly appreciate the flowers along the sidewalk, the birds in the trees above, the sunlight shining down, the refreshing sensations of unused muscles finally used. You have to realize that our bodies are built to move and need to move. We’ve got these shoulders that rotate almost 360 degrees. We can draw our knees up to our chins and touch our toes with straight legs and do the splits (in theory). It’s a crime not to use them – and you have to <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">feel </em>that. You have to find something of worth in the exercise as you’re doing it.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> That could be a PR in the squat, or discovering that <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/15-reasons-to-sprint-more-this-year/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="15 Reasons to Sprint More This Year">sprinting</a> up the steep hill outside your place is getting a lot easier. It could be the the perfect high-five shared with a <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/p90x-and-crossfit/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="P90X and CrossFit">CrossFit</a> bro after Fran that seems to make time stop and the universe shudder for a moment. Or maybe it’s the meditative <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/flow/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Total Immersion: How to Recognize and Tap Into the Power of Flow">flow state</a> you reach when training, the peace of <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/hiking-around-the-world-what-to-eat/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Dear Mark: Hiking Around the World">hiking</a> through an ancient redwood forest, or chatting with your power-walking partner. It can also be the sheer joy we feel doing something we love to do, like play <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ultimate-frisbee/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #668318; line-height: inherit; outline: none;" title="Ultimate Frisbee">Ultimate Frisbee</a> (winning doesn’t hurt).</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">It took me a long time to reach that place, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I suggest you try to do the same</strong></div> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />link to article: <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/do-your-workouts-feel-like-a-chore/#ixzz35RZbS3zh" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #003399; line-height: inherit; outline: none;">http://www.marksdailyapple.com/do-your-workouts-feel-like-a-chore/#ixzz35RZbS3zh</a></span>

attitude, Determination, exercise and fitness, fitness, fitness goals, good habits, healthy lifestyle, Motivation, strategy, strength, weightloss, workouts

Do Your Workouts Feel Like a Chore?

by Mark Sisson @ marksdailyappple.com Evolution tends to reinforce healthy, beneficial behaviors that improve the survival of members of ...

Health Benfits of Apple cider vinegar

I first learned about the benefits of ACV through <a href="http://www.eatcleandiet.com/" target="_blank" title="Eat Clean Diet">Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Diet</a>. This book was my bible when first learning to eat clean. I have been getting a lot of questions lately from my clients on why do I drink Apple cider Vinegar daily.<br /> <br /> Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is pretty potent and it does take a little getting used too. Adding a splash of fruit juice, honey or stevia to the ACV plus water to help make it more palatable.  Tosca recommends mixing 2 Tablespoons of raw, unfiltered ACV into a glass of water. <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eThG2dUKe8E/UogBTJwZjgI/AAAAAAAACAg/1Bhe5aC9aec/s1600/applecidervinegar1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eThG2dUKe8E/UogBTJwZjgI/AAAAAAAACAg/1Bhe5aC9aec/s320/applecidervinegar1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <strong>What are the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar?</strong><br /> <ul> <li>Rich in potassium, a mineral that is often times lacking in adult diets. This mineral is key for growth, building muscles, transmission of nerve impulses, heart activity etc. It also helps to prevent brittle teeth, hair loss and runny noses.</li> <li>Rich in acetic acid. This acid is said to slow the digestion of starch which can help to lower the rise in glucose that commonly occurs after meals.</li> <li>Rich in ash which gives ACV its alkaline property. This aids your body in maintaining proper pH levels for a healthy alkaline state. (It is particularly important if you drink a lot of coffee or wine.)</li> <li>It can help regulate blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol.</li> <li>Rich in malic acid which gives ACV its anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.</li> <li>May help improve bowel irregularity and helps to remove toxins from the body at a faster rate.</li> <li>It can help clear up skin conditions and blemishes.</li> <li>ACV helps with weight loss by breaking down fats so that your body can use them rather than store them.</li> <li>A few lab studies have found that ACV may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth.</li> </ul> <strong>My recipe:</strong><br /> I drink 2 Tablespoons of ACV a day, in the morning, and add 6 ounces of water, 2 ounces of cranberry juice and a splash of lime juice. Then suck it down fast with a straw! LOL!!<br /> <br /> If you’re interested in learning more about ACV here are a few links that are worth checking out:<br /> <ul> <li><a href="http://toscareno.blogspot.com/2011/05/raw-apple-cider-and-ab-definition.html" target="_blank" title="Tosca Reno"><span style="color: black;">Raw Apple Cider Vinegar and Ab Definition</span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span></li> <li><a href="http://www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar?page=2" target="_blank" title="Apple Cider Vinegar"><span style="color: black;">ACV Uses, Benefits and Risks</span></a> </li> <li><a href="http://altmedicine.about.com/od/applecidervinegardiet/a/applecidervineg.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Apple Cider Vinegar: What should I know about it?</span></a></li> </ul> <br /> <em>Disclaimer –  please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements. I’m just sharing my research and experience.</em>

Apple cider vinegar, belly fat, clear skin, detox, health benefits, weightloss

Health Benfits of Apple cider vinegar

I first learned about the benefits of ACV through Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Diet . This book was my bible when first learning to eat clean. I h...

The best and worst times to eat fruit

I love, love, love a bounty of beautiful fresh fruits. They are Mother Nature’s ultimate multivitamin and a powerhouse of antioxidants and enzymes, but did you know that there are optimum strategies and times to eat fruit?<br> <br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJZFOTFzFUs/UhZ4I0S0oVI/AAAAAAAAByg/Z2cOlvdN4jY/s1600/All-Fruit-Wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJZFOTFzFUs/UhZ4I0S0oVI/AAAAAAAAByg/Z2cOlvdN4jY/s640/All-Fruit-Wallpaper.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br> <br> Fruit is a carbohydrate which means that it is converted to simple sugars for immediate energy. Essentially, when these sugars are not used they are converted and stored as fat. To fully utilize this energy, eat fruit around these times:<br> <br> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Breakfast</span></strong></span><br> <strong><u><span style="color: #3366ff;"></span></u></strong> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPp40ScubJw/UhZ5Iab_qAI/AAAAAAAAByo/2Re-_D6kTXQ/s1600/Fruit-Salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CPp40ScubJw/UhZ5Iab_qAI/AAAAAAAAByo/2Re-_D6kTXQ/s320/Fruit-Salad.jpg" width="320"></a>When you are breaking your night’s <strong>“starvation” cycle</strong> and the stomach is fully empty. This is especially important because your body will be able to fully absorb all of the vitamins, fiber and healthy carbohydrates that it needs to function in good health. <br>  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Pre-/Post- Workout</span></strong></span><br> <strong><u><span style="color: #3366ff;"></span></u></strong> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another fantastic time to eat fruit is either right before, right after, or both pre- and post- working out. Our bodies will use fruit sugars for immediate energy and for refilling depleted energy stores.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b></b> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: blue;">When NOT to consume FRUIT</span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: blue;"></span></u> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like previously stated, when energy from fruits is not used, it leads to weight gain. For people striving for weight loss it may be best to avoid this possible side effect by not eating fruit during these sedentary times:<br>  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">Before Bed</span></strong><br> <strong><u><span style="color: #3366ff;"></span></u></strong> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Obviously you will not need quick energy while you are sleeping. Some people find that they have restless sleep if they eat fruits and carbohydrates too close to bed. A good rule of thumb is not less than 3 hours prior to lights-out.<br>  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">During Weight Loss Plateaus</span></strong></span><br> <strong><u><span style="color: #3366ff;"></span></u></strong> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are really struggling overcoming weight loss issues it may be a good strategy to employ a “<span style="color: red;"><strong>no fruit after lunch</strong>” <strong>rule</strong></span>. This might just give your body the edge and caloric deficit it needs to utilize fat stores as energy.  With this being said, look for other weight loss inhibitors within your diet and don’t necessarily blame fruit right away. <br> <br> <!-- google_ad_section_start --> <br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CmyUuVE4pu8/UhZ771JZopI/AAAAAAAABy0/MlE2Hflilk4/s1600/sugarinfruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CmyUuVE4pu8/UhZ771JZopI/AAAAAAAABy0/MlE2Hflilk4/s320/sugarinfruit.jpg" width="270"></a></div>Five fruits to avoid if you want to reduce belly fat are bananas, pineapples, mangoes, dates and grapes. These fruits top the chart for highest sugar content. Excess sugar in the diet is stored as fat in the body and tends to show in the abdominal region<br> <br>  </div><div style="float: right; margin: 4px;"><a href="javascript:void((function(){var%20e=document.createElement('script');e.setAttribute('type','text/javascript');e.setAttribute('charset','UTF-8');e.setAttribute('src','http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinmarklet.js?r='+Math.random()*99999999);document.body.appendChild(e)})());"><img alt="Pin It" class="aligncenter" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/green_tea/pin.jpg"></a></div>

bed, best time to eat fruit, consume, diet, energy, fat, fruit, post workout, pre workout, sugar, weight gain, weightloss

The best and worst times to eat fruit

I love, love, love a bounty of beautiful fresh fruits. They are Mother Nature’s ultimate multivitamin and a powerhouse of antioxidants and e...

Stripped down meal plan

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PgBz7xieF7Y/UZlmuPFvSII/AAAAAAAABfg/2IFrkHRppUo/s1600/summer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div><br> <br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ8e2Hu3ZKI/UZlq3aSNXsI/AAAAAAAABf4/_6mKuP2-D2k/s1600/summer8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ8e2Hu3ZKI/UZlq3aSNXsI/AAAAAAAABf4/_6mKuP2-D2k/s400/summer8.jpg" width="400"></a></div><br> The sun is beating down and many of you are probably pulling out those summer clothes. Hopefully you did your homework over the past couple months and are ready to hit the Beach and pools running. However, sometimes are BEST efforts can give sub par results. If you have hit a plateau, need to lose the last 10 pounds, or want a special program to get you looking your best for a upcoming wedding or event then I have an OPTION for you. The  group that I am starting this month is exactly what I did last year to get into the VERY BEST shape of my life!  Everyone should feel their best whether it's vacation season or porchville for you this summer!<br> <br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kz0I1GfWm6M/UZlrAPmHAFI/AAAAAAAABgA/o-nNiWDqdU8/s1600/Summer_diet_h_633_451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kz0I1GfWm6M/UZlrAPmHAFI/AAAAAAAABgA/o-nNiWDqdU8/s320/Summer_diet_h_633_451.jpg" width="320"></a></div><h3>On <b>May 20th and June 3rd I will be kicking off a 30 Day Shakeology and Clean Eating Stripped Group.</b>  </h3>This group will run for just that, 30 days!  It is a closed online support group where I will help you develop reachable health and fitness goals for yourself.  We will start out with a week of planning and preparation.  We will discuss using food as fuel, pairing lean proteins with complex carbs to give you energy all day long and discuss the importance of making healthy eating a lifestyle and not a crash diet!<br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4VgJMpkXNf8/UZlqzBfutxI/AAAAAAAABfw/_0DMSrm0GQc/s1600/summer7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4VgJMpkXNf8/UZlqzBfutxI/AAAAAAAABfw/_0DMSrm0GQc/s320/summer7.jpg" width="320"></a></div><br>  The point of this 30 day program is to teach you how to strip it down so that you can break a weight loss plateau, trim any excess fat and look your best in 30 days.  This program in conjunction with Shakeology and regular exercise will give you the best bang for your buck!!!  I have done it and I know it works!!<br> <br> <br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:schomakeralyssa@gmail.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BD8d9gVrKdg/UYmp0_c7P5I/AAAAAAAAAoY/EkB0SAhjQjM/s320/take-the-beachbody-challenge.png" width="320"></a> </div><br> <h3 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, but what does the challenge entail? </h3><br> <ol><li> You must be a member of my Teambeachbody Site.  You can do that clicking <a href="http://teambeachbody.com/alyssaschomaker" target="_blank">HERE</a>  and creating a user name and password.  Then I will contact you to start the process of choosing the right program to meet your needs and answer any questions that you may have about the challenge group. <br> </li><li>Then, together we will pick a discuss your current fitness goals. <b>Note:  Choosing a Beachbody workout is optional for this challenge. Although, I encourage all participants to workout with one of the many Beachbody workouts, it's summer!  I know that many of you may be getting your workouts out of doors!</b><br> </li><li>You commit to replacing 1-2 meals a day with <span style="color: #2187bb;"><a href="http://myshakeology.com/alyssaschomaker" target="_blank">SHAKEOLOGY</a></span> for the duration of the group.  I require shakeology because it is one meal that you don't have to worry about.  It's the one thing that is going to give you the energy to give your workouts your all, curb your cravings, control your hunger and boost your immune system and keep you the healthiest that you have ever been.  If you choose to discontinue Shakeology after the Challenge that is perfectly fine with me!  But it definitely was the missing piece when I was stripping it down.  Remember, cutting calories usually meals cutting nutrients:  this is exactly why diets don't work!<br> </li><li>You are an active participant in the challenge group.  This means that you log into the closed facebook support group at least once a day to see the daily post and to also post your daily check in.<br> </li><li>You can request to join the challenge group <a href="mailto:schomakeralyssa@gmail.com" target="_blank">HERE</a>  I would be happy to answer any questions you have.  </li><br> <br> <br> <br> </ol><br> <br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's only a 30 day commitment and there is a money back guarantee.  I promise you will be changed forever!!</div><br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: cyan; font-size: small;">So are you interested in joining the group?  What do you need to do?</span></b></div><br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: cyan; font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1.  Go to <a href="http://www.beachbodycoach.com/alyssaschomaker" target="_blank">HERE</a><span style="color: #2187bb;"> </span>and sign up for a free account.</div><br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beachbodycoach.com/alyssaschomaker" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Laaa7wlme_o/UYmihO7STtI/AAAAAAAAAn4/J9Kk-dsnwes/s320/Johnny-Karstadt-Beachbody-Make-me-your-coach-button.png" width="320"></a></div><br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br> <div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2.  If you have more questions send me an <a href="mailto:schomakeralyssa@gmail.com" target="_blank">EMAIL</a> and I would be glad to either discuss the program in more detail or give you the directions to sign up.</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3.  You can go ahead and purchase your Shakeology by clicking <a href="http://myshakeology.com/alyssaschomaker" target="_blank">HERE</a>  Then, choose the Shakeology flavor you would like (my favorite is CHOCOLATE) and then the bag or packets.  Personally I think the bag has more in it than the packets so I would go with that option!!!  Then, make sure you choose the HOME DIRECT option.  It will save you at least $15 in shipping.  The good thing is that as your coach I will remind in 3 weeks to either change your flavor, quantity, or to cancel your order. There is no penalty for canceling so it's totally worth the savings!!!  </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Once you place your order, <a href="mailto:schomakeralyssa@gmail.com" target="_blank">MESSAGE ME</a><span style="color: #2187bb;"> </span>and I will contact you to set your goals and get you started with the group!!!</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>I will be giving you weekly meal plans, recipes, tips, motivation and accountability! This group is for those that are ready and willing to take their nutrition and fitness to the next level!!!</i></b></div> </div>  <br> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qsoIoF8irk8/UYmpLlCZq_I/AAAAAAAAAoQ/pUB5ldkqt34/s1600/summerishere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_163384945="2" height="142" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qsoIoF8irk8/UYmpLlCZq_I/AAAAAAAAAoQ/pUB5ldkqt34/s400/summerishere.jpg" width="400"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div> </div><div style="float: right; margin: 4px;"><a href="javascript:void((function(){var%20e=document.createElement('script');e.setAttribute('type','text/javascript');e.setAttribute('charset','UTF-8');e.setAttribute('src','http://assets.pinterest.com/js/pinmarklet.js?r='+Math.random()*99999999);document.body.appendChild(e)})());"><img alt="Pin It" class="aligncenter" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/green_tea/pin.jpg"></a></div>

beach, beachbody, body, challenge, clean eating, exercise, lose weight fast, shakeology, stripped meal plan, Summer, weightloss

Stripped down meal plan

  The sun is beating down and many of you are probably pulling out those summer clothes. Hopefully you did your homework over the past co...