Carbohydrates and Petrol

Most people nowadays have a car. And I bet on a regular basis you fill it up. You drive to the petrol station, and put enough in it to either a) get you too and from your destination with a bit extra or b) you keep filling until it makes a clicking sound and you can't fill no more. And that is how you should treat carbohydrates.Your muscles need the energy that carbohydrates provide, they provide the energy that enables them to move. For basic brain function you need around a minimum of 100grams per day. To put it into perspective that's about 2-3 slices of bread. Roughly an average male should have around 250g-300g a day based on 2500 calories. I say roughly because there's a lot of other factors that need taking into consideration to make it accurate. E.g. physical activity level.

Treat carbohydrates as you do petrol. Put enough in before the start of your day and less at the end of your day, exactly like your car. So eating carbohydrates in the morning is good because you will use that energy throughout the day, the same as you would put petrol in your car before your journey. Most people do the opposite, their biggest meal is after 6pm. That's the same as filling your car up and then not using it. It makes little sense. It only takes making minor adjustments, like having a small handful of rice, cutting out bread after 6pm, reducing your portions of pasta and so on. You will actually find if you reverse it a little you will have much more energy during the day. So remember carbohydrates are like petrol, don't overfill your tank, and fill up before your journey.

Creating your own luck

We all know those people who seem to be incredibly lucky. They seem to get all their own way and all the fortune comes to them. For some people this is truly a stroke of luck but for many it is due to their internal optimism, their positive outlook on life and the belief that everything is good.

The brain is an extremely powerful tool. We learn in Neuro Linguistic Programming that your brain can only ever focus on 8/9 cues at any one time. Probably three as a main focus, sometimes one and the rest remain in the background until one requires your full attention. To add to this each individual will be looking at different cues. So for example if you ask two people to look out of the window and ask them to say the first thing they notice. It is highly likely that each one will be completely different. It could be what they see, what they hear or even what the feel.

Our cues can be determined by past events, our experience our likes and dislikes. And this in turn can affect what cues we assess first. For example if you have financial concern money worries and the like your brain will focus on these. So the next time you drive into town, read a newspaper or watch the TV, your brain will focus the most on adverts, stories and articles that involve financial problems. Before you know it you start to feel down like the whole world is against you.

That's why when someone says to you have you seen that new product which has just been released and you say No. You then spend the next week seeing it everywhere.

You see, those people who get all the luck think positively. Say for example you start to focus on being successful, maybe earning more money. Your brain will start to highlight the stories, articles, advertisements all which are about success/ earning more. When you keep this up for a while you will start to notice opportunities arising and lots of them. Before you would have thought it's lucky I saw that job advert. It must be my lucky day. But now you know that just be thinking positively you can create your own luck.

Are you losing weight for yourself or for someone else?

Losing weight is no easy task. Many people have tried and failed. One of the main reasons for this failure is the fact the individual loses weight for someone else. What we mean by this is that as a result of someone else’s words or actions the individual may start to lose weight. Now this can have a varying effect depending on who is directing the words. This usually happens when a partner makes a comment on their partner’s weight. The result is the person goes to extreme levels to lose weight, initially loses it but then puts it all back on. The same if something is said at work, or by a friend. The key factor here is that the individual is not losing weight for themselves. Only losing weight to please other people is problematic. To really change your life and to make a commitment to weight loss you first need to want to lose weight for yourself. But you need to really want it. You need to want it that much that it becomes one of your main priorities. This will then stop it being overtaken by your busy schedule. Then that Monday evening run is no longer dropped at short notice for a meal out with a friend. So ask yourself the question who have I started this weight loss journey for? If the answer is not for yourself then our wasting your time. Once you commit to weight loss, and want it badly you will be surprised how easy it can be.