The Mind is What the Mind is Fed (Its More Than Just Food)

Feed the body AND the mind what it needs every day.
Feed the body AND the mind what it needs every day.

Having my superfood shake after a good MMA Plyo workout this morning… I started thinking about how important nutrients are to our body. Superfood nutrition is essential for maximal energy, to aid weight loss and to boost sense of well-being. Nutrients we take in are only part of the story for the health of our mind though. Our mind needs healthy information fuel as well!

They say “the mind is what the mind is fed”.. mind food doesn’t come in packages though and you can’t buy it at the store. Mind food is your environment–all those countless things that influence our conscious and subconscious thought.   The kind of mind food we take in determines our habits, attitudes and personality.

The mind reflects what its environment feeds it just as the body reflects the food you feed it.

Is this really true?

Habits and mannerisms that we have are typically picked up from other people.  Just try to find one that isn’t!  Even weird little things like the way we walk, words we use, hold a cup, the way we dress, preference for music are all influenced by what we experience and pick up from others.

The most important point here is that even the size of our thinking, our goals, attitudes and personality are formed by the environment.  If we have associations with negative people, it makes us think more negative!  If we have associations with petty people, it will also develop petty habits in us too!  On the other hand…association with people who are big thinkers and ambitious people, can bring those things out in us too!

Certain types of people tend to discourage others and tell them that what they dream of cannot be done.  These types of people usually are unsuccessful and are often only mediocre in terms of what they have ever accomplished.  Don’t let these type of people discourage you from your dreams!!

The late Jim Rohn, a mentor of mine, states that we become the 5 people we spend the most time with… and if you think about environmental influences and how they affect our behavior and habits, its totally TRUE!  “Birds of a feather flock together”…and since how we think is directly affected by the group we are in, be sure you are in the flock that things right!

Besides being around the influence of people, the kind of information we feed our minds every day is also important and influences our brain chemistry, positivity, and belief in ourselves and the world.  Watching world news  and reading the newspaper full of negativity can be draining on our emotional energy (and we do not realize just how much!). Spending time playing mindless video games, reading fiction and watching extended amounts of TV shows all waste mental energy and all have an impact on our thinking and our potential for success.

So, what would good mind food be?

Listen to motivating podcasts, read inspirational books (or listen to audio books) about how to think bigger and to improve yourself and read inspirational stories of success.   Use these stories and books to inspire you, to throw all of that thought poison out of your environment…to help you stay positive and to be a good person.  Learn positive ways of being and have your new attitude be your ally towards a happy and successful life and to encourage others!   Making the switch to positive mind food for me has completely changed my life, my relationships, my attitude, my belief in the world and myself …and my zest for life!

Overall, clean eating and superfood nutrition are essential for our physical and mental health, to have a healthy weight, avoid chronic disease and to have healthy energy levels.  We often forget that the food for our mind is just as important to feel happy, accomplished and positive.  Take some time today to think about what you can do to rid yourself of negative influences and to implement some more positive habits to feed your mind in a good way and work at being a good example for others.

COMMENT on this post in the REPLY section of this page with your thoughts!

As a reward for joining the Athletic Grandma community, get a free download containing 7 tips to help gain more self-discipline in your life, CLICK HERE!

P.S.   A couple of great starter book ideas for you!

“The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy

“The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz

 

 

Strength is Worth the Sweat (and how Professional Programs get the Best Results)

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This morning’s agility and strength workout really got the sweat moving! On day 16 of my 30 day fitness challenge and I am feeling stronger and more capable of pushing my body weight every day. This program is heavily focused on core work, so I can feel my midsection really firming up as well (bonus!!)😁

Committing to completing a specific program really helps to boost motivation and results! To push yourself for a 30-day stretch and give yourself rewards for completion is very satisfying and then is motivating to do more!

For me, just being generally an “active” person versus completing a professional program is far too boring! I need the vigour and excitement of always achieving new things and testing myself to see just what I am capable of! Plus, with professional program challenges, I have achieved far better results than I ever did in the gym.

I remember those days in the gym with a semi-structured program (check off sheet), waiting for machines, dirty equipment at times, inconvenience of travel and excessive use of my time …all of this and the results were just not there!

Professional programs are specifically designed by trainers to give us total body conditioning, strength, agility, flexibility in a totally balanced and thorough manner and we can do them in the convenience of our home and for only 30 min per day! (…and yes, there are even beginner programs too!)  The professional programs we have come with very simple and easy to follow nutrition programs which definitely work to maintain energy, lose weight and get amazing results!

Ultimately the message for today is that professional programs WORK!  …and it is totally worth trading sweat for strength to not only get results, but to feel awesome! 😊

Hope you have a wonderful day!

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Do What Exercises you Love (Be Happy While You Lose Weight!)

It is so important to find a workout that you love and enjoy in order to have long-term success in health and fitness.

If you are trying to make yourself do a program that you hate, it is going to be very difficult to complete it and to be successful in the long run.

I tried quite a few programs before I found one that I truly LOVE that gives me a full body workout, nice muscle tone and that I feel I can really connect with.  This MMA style fighting program is right up my alley and makes me happy, smiling, sweaty and feeling killer awesome every single time!! It’s not easy, but it comes with a simple nutrition plan, I love the challenge and it keeps me moving forward with great motivation!😊

Check out my MMA Power from this morning! 🙂

 

If I think over the last 3 years and the vast number of programs I bought in order to find “the one”, it is crazy how much money I spent.

What is an easier answer to this?

Guess what?  There is no need to buy a bunch of programs any more!! There is a new option available where there is ONE fee per year that includes every single program in the system!  This will allow you to pick the one you love without having to buy each individual one to test them out!  What a great concept!  See more info below on this!

Enjoy your Monday and work at finding a fitness program you LOVE!  It is so worth it, it will change your life and help you to achieve your fitness and weight loss goals much faster!

I am feeling accomplished this morning!  Day 15 out of 30 of my MMA challenge is complete! 😁

The beauty of an all-access system is that it includes EVERY program through digital streaming that has ever been created from Tai Cheng to Yoga, to Insanity and P90x and also includes the newest programs such as Hammer and Chisel as well as Core de Force (my favorite!).

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!   Have a good one!!  🙂

To become part of the Athletic Grandma Community, be sure to enter your name and email address HERE and get a free download of the 7 ways to improve your self-discipline!

 

The Benefits of Core Work (and How You Can Improve Your Life Too)

Working the core can be SUPER fun if you find the right program
Working the core can be SUPER fun if you find the right program

There are many benefits that I have noticed from working on my core strength. I used to have intermittent severe back pain that would incapacitate me for days, back aches, hip soreness, and even knee and neck pain.

If you have experienced this you will know what I mean here… Lower back issues that are acutely flaring up can cause the pain and muscle tightness to spread all over the back and body even leading to neck issues, headaches and more! In addition, having pain issues even intermittent, can lead to decreased mood, frustration and the use of pain killers which come with their own wonderful side effects to endure.

So what can be done about this?

Core strengthening leads to greater stability of the muscles surrounding the spine, hips and abdomen. By having greater stability here, it reduces movement within the spine that can lead to inflammation and pain.

I am currently on round 3, day 12 of this core blasting program and I notice a huge change in how I feel, my core feels super strong and agile and having no more back pain! What a relief this is! Being without pain is totally life changing!

Why strengthen Core?

The “core” is a term used to describe just about everything on your body that isn’t your legs and arms. This means you can think of your glutes, hips, abdominal muscles, inner abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and scapula as your core. Your core is where your power is generated in order to carry out any movement. While abdominal and inner abdominal muscles do play a large roll in core stability, they don’t make up the core all by themselves.

Beyond the management of pain and disability, working the core can really improve our performance in other activities as well.. with a strong core, we will be a better runner, horse back rider, jumper, court sports performer, hockey player plus have more stability in every-day activities such as picking things off the floor, lifting children or grandchildren, hauling in groceries, cleaning the house and so much more!  To be able to do all of these functional activities with power, confidence and without injury is what we want, isnt it?

Tips to Strengthen your Core…

If a person is just a beginner with core work, the exercises should look a little different and please don’t focus only on the ab muscles in the front with crunches.  Only doing crunches in the setting of an already weak core can have a negative impact on your spine!

It is important to start gentle if you are a beginner with core work.   Timothy Bell does a good job giving you 5 exercises to start with to get your core muscles working for you…Check out the 4 minute video below that explains each exercise for you.  Perform each exercise back to back for the below prescribed time and reps and do this every day for the most benefit

  1. Bird Dog – 10-second holds, 8 reps per side
  2. Band Anti Rotation – 10-second holds, 8 reps per side
  3. Dead Bugs – 8 reps per side, alternating sides each rep
  4. Clam Shell – 10-second holds, 10 reps per side
  5. Tummy Vacuums – 5-second holds, 8 reps

Once you have built the strength of your core and you would like to consider more advanced core training, you may want to consider joining a Core Blasting Fitness Challenge with me.  CONTACT ME once you are feeling ready for this.

Working on and optimizing your core strength can totally change your life.  It has for me and to no longer be suffering with pain, or use of medications is a much better existence overall!

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Essential Hydration Tips (and Why I Need Help With This One Today)

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It took everything I had to get my dynamic strength workout done this morning.. My muscles kept powering out, had a nauseating sweat going, felt weak and slightly dizzy. After the workout, I did not have my usual energy, and had to lay on the cool floor afterwards totally spent. I was thinking to myself…what the HECK is wrong with me!?

I took a minute to think about it and realized something! During my whole clinic shift yesterday, I was quite cold, so instead of drinking water, I turned to hot drinks instead…and it was coffee! This created a problem in more than one way. Firstly, I normally only have one cup in the morning, so all of that extra caffeine affected my sleep, plus I most likely got dehydrated as well with the large amount of caffeine and not enough water! A double whammy! 😳

I certainly felt the awful effects of the dehydration and lack of sleep this morning with the fatigue, muscle heaviness and no energy!

Time to remind myself (and you) of the critical importance of proper hydration and why our body needs it!

Our body is composed of 75% of water for good reason!  Why is adequate water so important?

Water helps to convert our food to energy and helps body to absorb nutrients and carry the nutrients and oxygen to our body’s cells.

Every cell in our body is constantly producing waste products and toxins that need to be flushed out and without adequate water, buildup can occur. Water helps our body to get rid of waste.  It also helps our digestive system to move properly

Water regulates our body temperature…even mild dehydration can affect this.

Water boosts energy, makes brain feel clearer and boosts productivity

Water reduces risk of cancer by getting rid of (flushing out) oxidizing materials and more.

Water can help us lose weight and promote better hormone signalling in the body and better transportation to various organs.

Dehydration can result in headaches, depression, memory loss, chronic fatigue and muscle weakness….and loss of energy to exercise!!

I have learned my lesson today.  I need to stay hydrated!

OK, so how much water should we be drinking each day?   Take your body weight in pounds and divide by 2.   That number tells you how many ounces of water you need each day.  So, for example, if you are 150 lb, you will need 75 oz of water daily which works out to 2.25 litres!  BUT, if you drink coffee or take in other caffeine sources or alcohol, water intake needs to be even higher!

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