I’m about to share my experience of playing sport for fun, and tell you about its benefits that extend way beyond just a healthy body. Did you know that exercise makes you smarter?

Studies Confirm That Sport Makes You Smarter

“One new study suggests there may indeed be a connection between sports and intelligence. Findings from the four-year study at Albion College in Michigan indicate that twice as many children who exercised regularly scored higher in math tests than those who did not.” - Source

“”Exercise in many ways optimizes your brain to learn,” says Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston who’s at work on a book about exercise and the brain.” - Source

“With colleagues, he rounded up 259 Illinois third and fifth graders, measured their body-mass index and put them through classic PE routines: the “sit-and-reach,” a brisk run and timed push-ups and sit-ups. Then he checked their physical abilities against their math and reading scores on a statewide standardized test. Sure enough, on the whole, the kids with the fittest bodies were the ones with the fittest brains, even when factors such as socioeconomic status were taken into account.” - Source

Some Of The Many Benefits Of Playing Sport

Obvious Health Benefits

The most obvious benefit of playing sport is that it is good for your body and will contribute to your good health. Your heart and lungs get strengthened, your blood and oxygen is circulated through your body, your muscles are trained, fat is burned, your skin is cleaned through presperation and toxins and waste are removed from your body.

Good health is an essential part of a good and enjoyable life, so that is one reason why playing sport is good for you!

Reduce or Remove Stress

Our daily lives are full of external sources that give us stress, like our jobs, driving on the road, relationships, business etc. Stress is very bad for the body and mind, and a really good way to get rid of stress is by exercising and playing sport. After exercising, endorphins are released into the bloodstream (the feel-good hormone) and your muscles are often no longer tense.

Meet People

A great way to meet new people is by playing sport. Your shared interest for the game is something you have in common and thus you are not total strangers to each other. There will always be opportunities to play with or against somebody else, and often it is quite possible to form friendships or business relationships with these people.

Strengthen Relationships

You can strengthen a current relationship or bond that you have with somebody by playing sport with them. Whether it be a friend, a colleague, a business partner or your lover, the activity of having fun and playing the same game together often works to bring you closer together. It is an experience that they do not share with many others, and that adds value to your relationship with them.

Encourage Creativity

When the body is healthy and stress-free, creativity and ideas seem to come more natural. Not only is this proven by studies around the world, I have also personally experienced it. I feel good and relaxed after working out or playing sport, and this often allows me to be creative, work harder or more focused and get a lot more done.

Have Fun

An often over-looked benefit of playing sport is that it is fun. You have one life, and I think it’s best to have as much fun as possible. having fun doesn’t mean taking vacation, because it is very possible to have fun while you work, while you exercise or while you do boring chores.

Tennis – The Sport Of My Choice

I love playing tennis. I learnt how to play in primary school but stopped playing for quite a few years. Recently, a few friends of mine were keen to play tennis and that is how I got back into it.

The reason why I enjoy tennis so much is because it requires skill and only needs two players. This means that it is very easy to just invite someone to play and meet them at the courts. You also don’t need to be incredibly fit to play tennis, and it takes a lot of skill to become good at serving and hitting unreturnable shots.

It’s also pretty fun to watch tennis on TV, especially when you know how difficult it actually is to play in real life. Watching the best of the world compete in massive tournaments like Wimbledon is absolutely amazing.

There are of course lots of sports that are enjoyable, and besides tennis I enjoy sports like squash, hockey, soccer, martial arts, running and swimming. Whatever the sport is that you want to choose, there are always many people available to play with. I prefer sports that I can do alone or with just a few people, because it makes the orginizational aspect of playing a game so much easier.

Be Healthy And Smart – Play Sport

To be honest, I did not stick to the challenge as I initially wanted to. However, I wanted to give you my honest experience and feedback because there were quite a few readers that joined me in this challenge.

I welcome all of you who started this challenge with me to email me and send me your experience as well as progress photos if you like, and I will add them to this post.

My Routine for The 90 Day Challenge

The initial guidelines I set for my challenge were:

• Eat healthy (fruit, vegetables and lean protein).
• Go to gym 3 times a week.
• Run once a week.

I started off rather enthusiastically by going to the gym and working out hard, and this gave me very sore muscles for the first week. In fact, it hurt when I lifted my arms or when I took a step. This resulted in me going only once a week to the gym for the first 3 weeks.

After those 3 weeks, I started going to the gym around 3 times a week, combining my running with the gym sessions.

Throughout the whole 90 days I ate fairly healthy during the week, lots of salads, vegetables, chicken and fish and little junk-food. I drank mostly water and green tea and no juice or sugary drinks full of fizz. My only times of sin were on the weekends where I ate as much of what I wanted, which was often take-out (but I tried to keep even the take-out healthy).

About half-way into the challenge I got sick. I didn’t do any exercise for 2 weeks because I felt terrible and had no energy at all. When I started to feel better again, I resumed my exercise schedule. However, work started getting hectic and for the remaining days of the challenge I only went to the gym 1-2 times per week, and doing a few exercises at home when I could.

Results of My 90 Day Challenge

Even though I did not do the challenge as intensively as I wanted to, I did get some good results.

When I weighed myself before I started I was 73kg and after the challenge I’m at 71kg.
It’s hard to say if I really lost much weight because of the daily fluctuations of around 1-2kg but I can say that I definitely did not gain any weight either.

I think there is a very slight visible difference muscle-wise (personally I think a bit more abs).

From Here Onwards

I enjoyed the challenge thus far and am happy to keep it as a routine.

It is great to feel healthy and have lots of energy while at the same time being in good shape. My plan is definitely to continue eating healthy and to keep exercising a few times a week where possible.

I recently saw the movie Ninja Assassin which I thought was a totally awesome kick-ass movie. However, if you don’t like martial arts and you can’t stand violence and lots of blood, I would not recommend that you watch it.

Hey everybody! This is just  a short and sweet update to my 90 day fitness challenge. I mentioned that I would give an update every 30 days and this is the first one.

90 Day Challenge Objectives (Theory)

• Get healthy
• Get in shape
• Go to the gym 3 times a week
• Run once a week
• Eat healthy

The above points are the outlines of the 90 day health and fitness challenge that I set out for myself when I started 30 days ago. I thought it was a reasonable routine to follow and in theory it should yield good results.

The First 30 Days (Reality)

• Ate healthy 5 days a week, induldged (junk food) on the weekend
• Went to gym 2 times a week
• Did situps and pushups on the other days at home

Reality is awalys a little different to theory. The fact that I was rather unfit got in the way of the exercise plan and sometimes work kept me a little occupied. Here is a more detailed description of the first 30 days of the challenge.

Difficulties and Obstacles Encountered

The first time that I went to the gym after I announced that  would be starting my 90 day challenge was fun. However, since I hadn’t been to the gym for 2 months, that one gym session resulted in every muscle in my body being rather sore for an entire week. Lifting my arms and moving my legs to walk would be painful. Needless to say, that first week I only went to the gym once.

The second session was a little better but also resulted in sore muscles for a few days. It took me about 2 weeks before I was going to gym twice a week without feeling all worn out for the days following the gym session. I had not taken a day especially set out for running, instead I have been combining it with my gym session and adding 10 mins on the treadmill every time I go.

As far as eating went, I managed to eat rather well during the week. Tuna, chicken, veggies, salads and fruits with extremely minimal junk food during the week. On the weekend I like to relax and take time off to enjoy myself. Mostly once a week, sometimes twice a week on the weekends I would eat fast food, pizza, burgers and whatever else I was in the mood for. I feel this is justified for all my healthy eating during the week.

On the days that I do not go to gym I do a few basic exercises at home like pushups, situps and some boxing with my punching bag. This is just to make sure I don’t slack off and still do some form of exercise every day.

Progress

I don’t think there is much visible progress in these 30 days that I have been on the challenge as you can see from the picture above. (Please excuse the blank expression and unprofessional pictures).

However, I do feel stronger and I can do more repetitions with heavier weights than 30 days ago. There has definitely been a noticeable effect and I am happy with my progress so far.

Summary

Eating healthy and exercising the way I have been for the last 30 days has had a good effect on my energy level and my overall mood. I feel pretty relaxed and the fact that I’m working to keep my body strong and healthy makes me feel good.

I hope that those of you who I encouraged to join me in the 90 day fitness challenge are still doing it and making good progress. I have received a few emails from readers who sent a photo and a short bio as a ‘before’ picture and after the 90 days they will send me an ‘after’ picture. I am going to make a seperate post after this 90 day challenge and feature those readers (if they still want to be featured). I would like to invite anyone who has not done so to join us on this challenge to get healthy and get in shape, and if you want to be featured feel free to let me know. (You will need a ‘before’ picture and an ‘after picture’).

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I believe we are all born with an amount of time on this planet. The choices we make and the way we choose to live our lives can either take away or add to the amount of time we have in good health. Things like nutrition, exercise, happiness, stress and love all play a big part in our longevity.




How to Grow Old:


4 Lessons To Take From my Grandparents:




Recently I have visited and spoken to all my grandparents. They are all in their late 80′s. My great grandparents have reached ages of way in the 90 years old. This is a really good age to reach, one that many people never see.

I see my grandparents just about every year. After spending a few hours talking to them this year, I wanted to see if there were commonalities between them and the ways in which they lived their lives that have attributed to them reaching the age where they are at now.

Hard work was normal:
Working 12 hour days was nothing exceptional and sometimes even expected. Back in those days people started working hard when they were young and worked mostly until retirement age. Working hard keeps the mind fresh and occupied and the body in action. This means no time to build up fat and lose your fitness.

Eating healthy:
Not 100% raw, and nothing exceptional. My grandparents enjoy their bread, cheese, yoghurt and chocolates as much as anyone, but all in moderation. A balanced but healthy diet is what helped to get them to the age where they are now. I rarely if at all see them snacking on a Big Mac burger.

Alcohol & Cigarettes:
My grandparents don’t smoke. They hardly drink alcohol with the exception of wine and even this is in moderation. A glass or two with dinner and that is all.

Zest for life:
Things were not always easy. My grandparents experienced the second world war. Things were tough. Yet they worked hard, spent time with the ones they loved and enjoyed life. Stress, sadness and anger take a heavy toll on your body.




Centenarians




A centenarian is someone who is able to celebrate their 100th birthday or birthdays after that. There are actaully quite a number of centenarians around the world, with the USA having the largest number and Japan comes in second.

With today’s medical care it is possible to cure a whole lot of ailments that were never possible to cure before. However, many of these ailments (cardio vascular, diabetes, obesity, cancers) are caused by modern lifestyle of fast food, little exercise and stressful jobs.

Japan has the highest number of centenarians. This is attributed to the vast amount of fish the Japanese consume in their traditional lifestyle / diet. We all know about the essential fatty acids and Omega 3′s found in fish. However, with today’s pollution, heavy consumption of fish is not recommended as a way of reaching an old age. Eating too much polluted fish results in all sorts of ailments and cancers due to the presence of mercury and other poisonous substances absorbed by the fish from the ocean.

How Old Can A Human Become?




The oldest recorded person that has lived on our planet was a woman that reached an age of 122 years and 164 days. Under the right circumstances it is speculated that humans could reach an age of 150 years old.

Medicine and technology is advancing, and we are slowly learning more about the aging process. However, our environment that we are living in right now comes with its drawbacks. Fast-food, polluted waters and fresh produce sprayed with pesticides. Polluted air and stressful lifestyles. These things all make it difficult for our bodies and work against our good health.

There are things you can do:




Work hard:
It does not matter what you do, as long as you stay busy. Of course, if you are building up your business or trying to get something done, then do it effectively and with a plan. Boredom and laziness is what ages the body and mind. If you are not working for the money, then work by doing something you love. Start a project or help others, but just keep busy.

Eat Healthy:
Like I mentioned before, you do not have to eat 100% raw food. Try to avoid junk-food, sugars and processed foods where possible. Having some of those in moderation is not a bad thing.

Avoid Alcohol & Cigarettes:
These are both poisons for the body. They can be nice, and sometimes really hard to give up, but it’s for the better. There are people who smoke and drink daily and reach their 90′s, but I feel that these people should be viewed as exceptions rather than examples. Alcohol and cigarettes cause many types of cancer and take years off your life.

Be Happy & Stress-Free:
Easier said than done of course. Try to reflect on your life every now and then and ask yourself if you are living in a way that is causing you a lot of stress. If so, try to reduce it. Do things that make you happy. Being happy and stress-free is a good way to ensure that your body and mind reach an old age.




Conclusion:




There is no guarantee that by following these steps that you will become a centenarian and reach 100 years old in good health. Life is pretty unpredictable and that is what makes it fun and exciting. I do think that by following these steps I outlined above, you will greatly increase your chances of reaching an old age in good health.

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I have a confession to make:
I have a weakness for junk food. Sweets, candy, chocolate, pizza, hamburgers,chips,ice-cream.

I think many people in the world share the same weakness.
“Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese. “- Source – American Obesity Association

I do enjoy the taste of it, but I don’t always feel so great after I stuffed myself with junk food. Actually, mostly I feel bad and regret eating so much of it. The reason I regret it is not because I worry that I will turn into a fat slob, because right now I’m still young and thin and have no weight problem at all, I regret it because I know better. I have read so much about nutrition and the effects of sugars and processed foods, and I feel bad that I voluntarily put this junk into my body. It is taxing and stressful for the body, and as you may know, processed foods and sugars are the cause of many conditions and illnesses in today’s society, like diabetes,heart conditions, obesity, cancers and many more.

The problem with addictions, not just food, but many in general, is that at the time when wanting to give in to the addiction, you feel perfectly fine. Take the junk food example. When you are about to pig out of hamburgers and fries, you are not having a heart attack or dying from cancer right in that moment, so the risks and consequences seem far away and unreal, while the short term enjoyment you will get from the food is much higher, so the obvious choice is to indulge.

Another bad habit when it comes to eating that many people have, and that is a big cause of becoming overweight is “Anxiety Eating”. If someone has a stressful job, or a stressful relationship, it can cause some people to turn to eating as a way to lessen the anxiety and stress. They are not really hungry, often not at all, but they find that food, and often junk food, helps calm them down and makes them feel better and takes away the stress. If the stressful conditions remain for long periods of time, all the excess eating can cause serious health problems and obesity.

What I found is that the easiest way not to get tempted into doing something you don’t want, is to remove all conditions that allow you to give in to the temptation.

Sounds really simple doesn’t it? I know, when I buy a shopping cart full of junk food, chips, snacks, chocolates and whatever else is good but bad, I KNOW I’m going to eat it all at some point or another. So I just don’t keep junk food in my house.What I do instead is I’ll buy healthy snacks, things like pine-nuts, almonds, beef-jerky, cherry tomatoes, tuna, soup and other similar things. It’s not the intention that I starve myself, or deprive myself from food that tastes good, I just want to eat as healthy as possible, so when I get the urge to snack or pig out on something, then at least it will be good and nutritious for my body.

I used the example of junk-food because it is a personal weakness that I have, and I would rather cut it out of my life as much as possible. I think many people have the same weakness, so they should be able to relate to this post in some way or another.

I think it is the same with any addiction or weakness. Temptation for things that are bad and that we know we shouldn’t do but when we come into contact with we cannot resist. The same solution replies. Remove yourself from any situation or condition that allows you to be tempted.




5 Delicious snacks – Nature’s Super-foods




There are certain foods that are called super-foods, because as a single item they contain an incredible amount of nutrients and vitamins that can greatly benefit our bodies. Here are 5 of them that are easy to keep in your kitchen and snack on whenever you get the urge to binge on something:

Avocados

Avocados are my personal favourite. They are jam-packed full of nutrients. Contrary to common belief, they are NOT fattening, they actually reduce cholesterol levels and are really good for the heart.

Eat them plain, or with some pepper and salt. Eat them on brown bread. Mash them up and mix them with lemon juice and some pepper.

Almonds,Brazil Nuts and Pine Nuts

Crunchy and tasty and full of essential vitamins,minerals and fibre. Very good for reducing hunger cravings and a few handfuls a week have shown to reduce cancer and heart disease.

Eat ‘em just like that, raw and crunchy.

Bananas

Bananas are great for quick energy. They are NOT fattening and high in vitamin B which is good for the skin and hair, and potassium, which is good for lowering blood pressure.

Eat ‘em just like that, blend them into a smoothie or chop them up into a fruit salad.




Blueberries

Blueberries are the single food highest in anti-oxidants. This is great for preventing cancer, and is said to help with memory and concentration. Besides, they are deliciously refreshing.

Mix them in a fruit salad, eat them just like that or mix them through some plain Bulgarian yogurt.






Salmon

Salmon is delicious!The Omega 3 and essential oils found in salmon are incredibly good for us. Just watch out that the salmon you buy doesn’t come from polluted waters otherwise it may contain traces of the poisonous mercury.

Eat it just like that or put in on a piece of toast.




Green Tea

Green tea contains polyphenols, which could reduce heart disease, cancer and stroke risk. Green tea supports brain health and memory, likely due to a compound in green tea called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate)which is thought to boost the immune system and prevent tumors. I added green tea because I like drinking it, but also because I laughed out loud for literally 2 minutes when Glen told me about his addiction to green tea.

Aim for at least two cups daily.

These are just some very healthy foods that would be beneficial to your health to get into the habit of eating. Use them to replace foods that you normally binge on that are not as healthy or just plain unhealthy.

Another way to resist temptation is to set incentives for yourself. For example you may be tempted to not exercise at all, and prefer to sit at home watching TV. You know you would really love to have a fit and healthy body, but it just seems so much effort to get in your car and go to the gym and work out, while all you have to do is plop down on the couch and turn on the TV to have an evening of entertainment.

As an incentive, take out a gym membership, and pay in advance for an entire year. This may cost you $500 or more, so now every day that you do not go to the gym and make use of this membership, it is costing you money. This is just an example and of course you will have to set incentives that actually mean something to you and will make you want to resist the temptation.

All I would like you to remember from this post is that temptations CAN be overcome or avoided, and you are not a slave to them. You CAN live how you want to live, just take a few simple steps like I have described and it will make a big difference to your life.

Personally I am a big supporter of a raw food diet, meaning eating a diet that consists of as many raw fruits,vegetables,nuts, seeds and protein (salmon or sashimi) as possible. Find out how to live ‘Raw’ with the Raw Food Diet Secrets.

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I absolutely love martial arts of all types.

I wish that I started when I was 5 years old, because it is truly one of the best additions to life that i can think of. Martial arts are not about fighting, or violence or aggression, they are about so much more. Martial arts are primarily a way of life, discipline, conditioning, perseverance, training, freeing the spirit and of course as a side-effect: self-defense.

I’m sure that there is at least one reason for everybody to learn a martial art, even if it is for exercise or for the social aspect of meeting like minded martial-artists.

Some Common Misconceptions about Martial Arts:

You have to be strong to do martial arts.
You have to be young to do martial arts.
You have to be fit to do martial arts.
You cannot do martial arts as a woman.
It takes decades to become good at martial arts so why bother.

These are all false. There is a type of martial arts for everybody, young and old, male or female, strong and fit or weak and unfit. There are aggressive and striking martial arts like Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing), and there are passive martial arts with grappling and using the opponents force against him like Aikido (Aikido was used by the Japanese Samurai).It does indeed take many years to become a true master at a martial art, but in one or two years of dedicated training you can learn many moves and techniques that you will be able to use efficiently.

I’m going to explain in detail about 4 of my favourite martial arts, each for a different type of person, so there will be at least one that will suit your style. Enjoy!

Aikido:

Aikido is one of the more recent martial arts. Having personally done Aikido for 2 years, I can say it is one of the most enjoyable and least stressful martial arts. It is a passive or defensive martial art, using the opponents force and strikes against him and immobilizing him in swift,short movements, with the option to just pin him down or to go full force and break joints or ligaments.

Since Aikido involves a lot of throws and pins, you really learn how to handle attackers. You learn how to fall and how to move your body when you get thrown around so that you get hurt much less than a normal person who doesn’t know the poper ways to fall.

Aikido is the one martial art that really caters for all types of people, from very young to very old. I know of 80 year old people still practising Aikido on a weekly basis, and they train with 20 year olds. It is also fantastic for women since it requires no strength in order to take your opponent down. I have seen demonstrations of a Aikido Sensei (teacher), a woman in her fifties, who took on 4 different big bodybuilders with little martial arts skills,she told them to attack her with everything they have, and she got them tapping out without even being hurt herself. I wish I had this on a video to show you!

Aikido would be my martial art of choice to recommend to most people for all the reasons above.

Muay Thai:

Muay Thai is Thai Kickboxing. It is consensus that it is the best standing-up martial art in the world. Muay Thai makes use of all sorts of strikes,kicks and punches, but also includes a lot of elbow strikes and knees.

It is a brutal martial art, definitely one of the more aggressive ones. Another benefit of Muay Thai is that fitness training is taken to a very high level. It involves jump rope, pushups, situps, sprints, weight training and much more, true and total conditioning of the body.

I ahve never taken Muay Thai yet, but being a guy, it appelas to me very much and I am waiting for a Dojo (training hall) to open up near me so that I can start taking classes.

I really got into liking Muay Thai after I watched the movie Ong Bak, which is a horrible story-line, bad acting, but incredibly good and real Muay Thai fighting. For any martial arts enthusiasts this movie is a must-see!

Muay Thai is a martial art I would recommend mainly for guys under 40, and for girls who don’t mind getting a little rough and want to get seriously fit.

Capoeira:

Capoeira is AMAZING. It is a Brazillian martial art developed by the slaves in captivity.
It is designed to look like a dance, because slaves were not allowed to train to fight, thus it contains many faints, creeping movements, flips, somersaults and trick movements.

It is almost a combination of gymnastics and breakdancing, and people who are good at this martial art are very fit, toned and flexible. For me, the gymnastics aspect alone is enough of a reason to learn it, but it is physically stressful and requires a lot of training and conditioning, so it is definitely not for everybody.

For self defense it is also very effective, but I would say less than Muay Thai. Of course, the question of What is the best Martial art is irrelevant, because it various depending on the level of skill of the two adversaries. I haven’t done any Capoeira yet since I do not have a dojo near me, but it’s on my list to learn.

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu:

Brazillian Jiu Jitsu focuses on grappling but mainly on ground fighting. It is similar to judo, and is rated the best martial art for fighting on the ground.

Just like with Aikido, it uses the principle that you do not need strength to defeat a bigger and stronger opponent. All you need is proper technique, and usually opponents are defeated with joint locks and choke holds.

Personally I do not know much about this martial art, but since it is an essential martial art needed in UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships), I have done quite a bit of research about it, and will at some time take part in lessons. I remember seeing a documentary about BJJ on the Discovery Channel, and they interviewed a master Sensei (teacher), who still practised BJJ on a daily basis, even though he was in his seventies, and he was still able to defeat opponents much bigger,stronger and younger than himself.

A video to make you go Woooooooooow:

Joe Eigo is an insane martial artist. Enough said.

Finally…Muay Thai vs Capoeira:

This is one of my favourite martial arts fight scenes :

I hope you enjoyed this post along with the videos, and i hope it inspired you to take up a martial art.
I know that it is hard to choose a martial art, but these 4 should have given you some idea of what style you would prefer. For the majority of people I would say Aikido, for guys, Muay Thai,for those wanting to learn flips, somersaults and breakdance moves then it is Capoeira and for those looking for a fun and effective martial art Brazillian Ju Jitsu is it!

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Give me an E
Give me an N
Give me an E
Give me an R
Give me an G
Give me an Y

What does that spell???
ENERGY!!!

Do you have enough of it? Does the day seem long and tiring, and you are just wishing you could be fast asleep right now? Many of us have adopted some bad habits through our lives that have a huge impact on our energy levels. Luckily, there are a few small, simple and free things that we can do to boost or energy permanently and spice up our zest for life, because when you have lots of energy, nothing seems to difficult to do.

1 – At the start of your day drink half a litre of water

During the night when you sleep, your body works at full speed to filter the blood, process any toxins and to get back into full health. This dehydrates you and when you wake up, half a litre of chilled water kickstarts your body and energizes you like crazy. Try this for a week every morning, you’ll be amazed on the effect of this method.

2- Cut out Caffeine and Junk Food

Not completely, but reduce your consumption of caffeine and junk food. In fact, take 5 days without any consumption of these, and see what a difference it makes to your energy. Caffeine and the sugar from junk food always gives that initial boost or ‘energy high’, only to have your energy levels drop to below where they were before you had the boost. This is because all the sugar causes an excess of insulin, which creates the energy, but is toxic to the body, so the body has to work overtime to remove the insulin, which is the slouch and drop of energy you feel when the effect wears off.

3- Do a Lemon Juice Fast, the Master Cleanse

Our bodies are like a well-oiled machine, like your car engine. It needs a service every 20000 km or else it packs up and stops working. Our bodies also need a service and clean-out from time to time. Actually at least once a year.

There is a technique to do this, and it’s called the Master Cleanse, which involves you fasting on a home-made lemon-juice diet for 7 days, eating no solid food and drinking only water and this lemon-juice, together with a few supplements to ensure optimum cleansing.(Lemon juice is made from freshly squeezed lemon juice, water and maple syrup)

The idea behind it is the following:
Our intestines are responsible for absorbing nutrients and vitamins from food after it has been broken down in the stomach, and expelling the excess waste. Over the years, the intestine’s ability to absorb nutrients decreases, because it becomes dirty,blocked, and lined with waste. This can be a massive energy drain.
With the Master Cleanse, first you get rid of solid foodstuff still in your body. Then you start removing all the waste that is hindering your nutrient absorption.

Some questions you may have are if you will get hungry or how you can go for 7 days without food, or if you will have no energy from not eating.

I did the cleanse myself last year, and I didn’t get hungry at all. The lemon-juice keeps you totally satisfied and you have no hunger cravings at all. People can go for three weeks without food so 7 days is very doable.
For the energy part, you actually have MORE energy while on the cleanse. Did you know that 30% of your energy is dedicated to digesting your food? So, no food to digest, means 30% more energy for your body!

You don’t need to do the full seven days, start with one or two days. Most people do this and like it so much that they want to continue for the full seven days.I’ve only covered the basic principle of the Master Cleanse, for a full instructional and informative guide I suggest the following books:

4-Wake up and Dance to your Favourite Song

Kick-start your day by putting on your favourite song and dancing to it. You get your body moving, your heart pumping and a smile on your face. Nobody is watching, so go a little crazy, do a handstand if you want.
This will only take 4 minutes of your day and put you in a good mood for the rest of it! Try it!

5-Get Enough Sleep and Wake up at the Same Time Each Day.

Getting enough sleep is crucial to having energy during the day. After applying the concept of drinking water at the start of each day, and even the Master Cleanse, you will find that can do with less sleep than you did before. It is also important to have a regular sleep pattern, waking up at the same time each day, whether it be 8am or 1 pm, that you body gets used to this cycle. Choose a time when you are happy to wake up, and make it a habit to wake up at that time every day.

Have a wonderfully cool weekend!

Have a Rockin’ day
Diggy

In life you always have 2 (or more) choices, there is an easy way and a hard way, but there is also a right way and a wrong way to do something.

The ‘easy’ way or the quick-fix way usually ends up being more work down the line anyway, yet the majority of people choose this quick fix because it initially seems like it is much less effort.

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