Stop Enabling Yourself

What comes to mind when you think of enabling someone ... healthy or unhealthy?  The recent definition refers to providing help that perpetuates a problem rather than fixes it.  You know, the reasons and excuses we make to justify a person's behavior or actions even sacrificing our own health and well-being in doing so.  It can develop into such dysfunction where we actually believe we are helping a situation.   "The reality, though, is that enabling not only doesn't help, but it actively causes harm and makes the situation worse."  When an enabler steps in to help an addict for example, they take away their motivation and desire to get help or change. According to Psychology Today, "enablers help addicts dig themselves deeper into trouble."  

What does this have to do with fitness?  Well, it happens to pertain quite a bit to health and fitness.  Are you making excuses and justifications not to start a fitness program?  Not the right time?  My spouse is keeping me fat?  My friends sabotage me?   Lying to family and friends about a "fake" fitness program? What unhealthy beliefs do you create preventing you from getting fit and why are you enabling that?  This is my point and yes, I strongly disagree with enabling behavior.  It is time to stop enabling yourself.  Being a healthy and fit person will take breaking the cycle of enabling.

When you stop enabling unhealthy behavior, you will see an improvement in your mental game, motivation to exercise and eating right.  Continuing down a path of excuses will only make things worse and illness will eventually come knocking at your door.  We have only one body and playing around thinking our behavior will not come back to bite us in the backside is well, negligent.  Life is too short to entertain enabling behavior further and it is time to make a shift toward healthy decisions.  We can no longer hide behind our justifications that keep us digging a deeper unhealthy hole.  I know this is an in-your-face blog, but it is also what I call tough fitness love.  So, are you ready to stop enabling yourself and get serious about your health and fitness?

Don't miss out on my sport nutrition and fitness articles!  Newly published this week are "Eat Dark Chocolate to Improve Your Workouts" and "Why You Should Eat White Potatoes."   Take some time to peruse the site because it is chalk full of helpful fitness and nutrition info!

Turn Your Brain Back On and Stop Mindless Eating

Mindless eating is ugly and what it does to your body is even worse.  We are

walking around with our brains turned off and grabbing whatever food items in our grazing path.  No rhyme or reason but doing an auto-pilot action of putting something in our face. You know the glazed over look watching TV and mowing through a whole bag of chips. How about the work break room crap we bring to our desks and continue back for more as we plug away at our computers. We're not hungry, not thinking but we're surely eating ... and it's not good.

What the heck is going on and why?  It's no wonder America is plagued with the highest obesity rate and enormous doctor bills for self-induced illness.  Mindless eating needs to stop and instead have enough self-respect to take care of our bodies.  Living to eat is not what life is all about but eating to live, and this does not include processed "fake" food.

Emotional eating can play a role in the whole mindless eating issue, and I would recommend getting to the bottom of what is going on internally.  There is no amount of tasty donuts or pizza fixing an emotional problem.  What it will do is add fat to your body and another reason to be stressed.  Seek out professional help, go to a counselor, see a minister or talk to a trusted friend.

Most of the time, mindless eating is done out of habit and convenience.  If it's there, put it in your face and so on.  We're the true "Walking Dead" existing in our zombie like state and feasting on gross things doing gross things to our body. It's time to turn your brain back on and break unhealthy habits.  

Start the process of mindful eating by doing food inventory.  Toss the junk food in the frig and pantry and replace it with healthy "real" food.   Get off your butt and start working out instead of sitting on it so much.  Stop blaming your spouse, significant other, friends or circumstances for mindless eating.  Just because someone in your home brings in crap food doesn't mean you have to eat it.  

We have choices and mindless eating is like being brain dead.  Wake the hell up and take responsibility for what you're doing.  Get your sh*t together and start thinking before eating.  Make a plan to eat healthy and stick to it.  Keep a food journal and be honest with yourself.  Turn your mindless into mindful eating and you will start down a path to a healthier you.  Straight talk but all in fitness love! Be well and Stay Healthy. 

Read my current articles on eating for the body you want and put the information into practice!

          

Don't Fall for Fake Health Food

Health food marketing is big business and just so happens to put me on a ranting soap box.  We have been hit hard with "no fat, no sugar", gluten free and now unhealthy organics are making headway. Whatever current health food trend is happening, food companies are figuring out ways to sell, sell sell.  Come on now, organic Ruffles, Doritos and Cheese Puffs?  Really!?

Even worse, consumers believe them to be healthy and loading grocery carts full of unhealthy organic food items.  Chips are chips, organic or not and probably one of the worst things to put in your body.  Other food items try to squeak by stating they are minimally processed, but processed is processed.  Store shelves are lined with convenient organic items and granted some may be fabulous, but most are not.  The ingredients tell the real story for anything in a box, bag or wrapper.  If you can't understand or pronounce what's on the ingredient label, you better believe it's a chemical sh*t storm.

Many fitness enthusiasts rely on protein and energy bars.  Have you looked at those labels?  You just as well picked up a Snickers Bar.  Health bars are also available in organic versions now but does it make them any better?  Probably pesticide wise, but nutrients remain the same.  Rely on the ingredient label and look for understandable quality food.  Less ingredients is more when it comes to packaged products.

We can't fall for fake health food marketing schemes anymore.  Eating a bag of organic chips post workout isn't muscle recovery food.  Reaching for that energy bar may not be the best choice, and forget the organic pasta.  Real organic food is just that ... real in it's raw state.  Sometimes organics can even look ugly with blemishes and it ripens quickly.  We need to get back to and understand real and whole organic food is what will keep us healthy.  We obtain optimal fitness, improved athletic performance, fat loss and muscle gain when we feed our body the good stuff.  Just because the label says organic, fat free, gluten free or any "free" doesn't mean healthy.  Be a wise shopper and eat what you understand. Keep it real and Stay Healthy!

Don't miss reading my newly released articles "What Your Poo Says About You" written by Dr. Alison Chen, ND and "Food Quality Counts More than Calories".  The site is full or informative reads to help you with your fitness goals.

There are No Free Rides to Fitness

Nothing happens without putting in some effort.  Sorry, no free rides to fitness. The choice is ours to make and we must accept the consequences of that decision.  We can either choose to be miserable and unhealthy or healthy and happy.  Our body will represent our choices.  The answer seems so simple but many fight being healthy tooth and nail.  People somehow feel it's a burden and ruins all the fun in life.  Really?!

How is feeling sick, tired, and in pain all the time a fun daily existence?  Doesn't sound like a party I want to attend.  Why is offering up some time, sweat and healthy food looked upon as the worst thing ever?  Let's wake up America and embrace loving our body with what needs to be done.

Fitness happens when we make it a priority, feed our body the right stuff, and exercise a few times per week.  It's not rocket science nor does it cost lots of money.  There's also room for indulgence, rest and play.  The vicious rumors of fitness not being fun are myths.  The quick fix marketing schemes blasted everywhere want you to believe these myths to get their hands on your hard earned cash.  Sadly, consumers fall for the unregulated snake oil companies are serving up with a smile.  Fitness isn't about quick anything but a lifestyle of consistent healthy habits.

Ready for the fitness secret not a secret?  Get your backside to the gym and workout, eat some greens, grains, lean meat, and drink lots of water.  This is the payment for health and fitness.  Not hard and actually enjoyable once you get your mind right.  Also, if you want a cookie, eat a darn cookie.  Being fit is not a brutal life of diets and exercise punishment.  On the contrary, it's working out and eating right because it makes us feel good and healthy.   Straight talk but all in fitness love. Be well and Stay Healthy!



Want more fitness info? Head on over and read some of my recent articles: "You Can Get Lean Eating Full Fat Foods"  and "6 Clean Eating Myths You Should Stop Believing".  You will definitley find something nutrition or fitness related that's on your mind.

Stop Over Complicating a Simple Process

The only hard thing about fitness is our negative thoughts.  We convince ourselves a disgusting diet is needed and endless hours of exercise are required. We go as far as considering it a burden and  a "cramp my lifestyle" occurrence. Instead of turning our nose up at the very thought of getting healthy, we need to stop over complicating a simple process.

Do you think people decades ago farming for a living to survive and working hard from sunrise to sunset worried about a diet?  They may have spent hours doing physical labor, but it was life and eating healthy.  Nothing complicated, just some sweat, and eating home cooking straight from the garden. Their bodies represented how they lived which unfortunately now is replaced by couch potato channel surfing and stuffing our faces with processed food.

Every nutrition source out there is going to tell you the same story about what is required.  No need to jump from diet to diet searching for some secret.  The problem is within our thoughts and unrealistic expectations.  You want to lose 20 pounds in a week and look like a fitness model.  Not going to happen.  We also want the process to be an easy quick fix requiring no workouts and drinking magic shakes while remaining on our sofas.  Wake up America!

Being fit and healthy is really simple.  Eat greens, grains, lean meats, healthy fats, drink lots of water and exercise at least 3 times per week.  Nothing hard about it and it's not a diet.  Why is this process considered boring, tasteless, and the end of fun in life?  Society and marketing have done a great job brainwashing people to believe a load of crap.

Eating a fresh organic crisp apple or perfectly grilled chicken breast are not what I call horrible.  Are you kidding me?  Remember eating celery stuffed with peanut butter?  Now that's a healthy treat full of flavor and fun.  Being fit will take tossing the food myths and getting real with your thoughts about health.  It will also require you to move your butt off the couch and into the gym.  Exercise is what you enjoy.  Love basketball?  Start playing.  Enjoy dancing?  Look into a Zumba class.  I like to use the kids jungle gyms at parks and play around on those doing pull-ups, step-ups, and triceps dips for example.  No more excuses or beliefs fitness is complicated and time to embrace the simplicity of the process. You can do it ... will you?  All in fitness love and Stay Healthy!

More great reads by yours truly "Parties, Food and Maintaining a Lean Body" and "Food Quality Not Calories is What Counts"

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Aptoyu LED Plant Grow Light 7W Desk Grow Lamp with Spring Clamp and Gooseneck Arm for Indoor Plant

Aptoyu LED Plant Grow Light 7W Desk Grow Lamp with Spring Clamp and Gooseneck Arm for Indoor Plant

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