Why Read (1000 words)

As most of you will know I am not one for conventional advice, and this goes double when it comes to health and fitness. Everyone has an opinion and the experts make a lot of money telling people how to lose weight. Well here is one of my theories on keeping a decent body, loosely backed up by photographic evidence, and which also happens to include a lot of icecream.

Read on if I have spiked your sweet tooth.

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Well This Is Me

Ok, so this is the results of the high fat diet (when implemented as part of a healthy lifestyle). It’s not the best body in the world but then it’s not the worst either…and I get to eat vast quantities of chocolate cake.

I have to apologize for the aggressive face though, I must have had a falling out with the mirror. It should also be noted that by putting this picture up I realize I am in line for some serious stick from my mates if they ever read this blog but as not one of my mates do, I think I should be ok.

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The Theory

So, here is my theory on how the high fat diet works, it is not backed up by anything scientific just by the fact that I have noticed it works.

Losing weight at it’s fundamental is a very simple equation, you need to burn more calories then you eat.

Eat more calories than you burn and you gain weight, eat less calories than you eat and you lose weight. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

As I try to do at least some exercise every day, (a run, some gym work or MMA), am pretty active, work hard and walk everywhere I probably burn more calories than the average 24 year old so I have a few more to play with than most. That being said I still can’t eat more than I burn or I will get fat. Ignore high metabolism and other excuses, most of it is rubbish, it is just simple math.

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Why It Works Part 1

I think on average I burn around 3000 calories, around 500 more than the average male. In all likely hood it is probably slightly higher so if I eat less than 3000 calories a day, I will start losing weight. The principle way the high fat diet works is that I don’t eat anywhere near 3000 calories a day.

On a high fat diet, which I usually implement for 3-4 days, as any longer and you are depriving your body of decent nutrition, it will be rare that I eat even half of 3000 calories.

For example, yesterday, on a high fat diet I woke late and had a slab of rich chocolate cake and ice cream around 11.30am. This was probably between 600-800 calories which is a lot for breakfast.

However, because of this I was then feeling pretty sick the following first few hours and then very full for the rest of the day and didn’t feel like eating again until the evening when I had a double scoop ice cream sunday with all the trimmings. This again was probably another 600-800 calories, which is a lot for one sitting. However, I didn’t eat again that evening either because I was too full. I did however work long into the night as I was on a sugar high.

So on the high fat day I only ate twice consuming between 1200-1600 calories. A lot for two sitting but less then half that I burn in any given 24 hours. When I am eating normally I eat around 3-4 times a day and probably consume the best part of 3000 calories in total.

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Why It Works Part 2

In addition to consuming less than half the calories I burn in any given day, having a high fat diet for a few days every so often has another more subtle advantage.

A high fat diet, when your body is generally not used to it, ramps up your metabolism into overdrive.

Because I generally eat reasonably healthily on a daily basis, when I go on a high fat diet my body is thrown into shock and starts ramping up my metabolism to compete with the flood of sugar and fat. This in turn helps me burn more calories per day and the great part is that the effect last a few days after my binge, so even when I am back to normal eating my metabolism is still higher than usual for a while, which results in me losing more weight.

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Why It Works Part 3

One a high fat diet you are eating very few carbs, as it is mainly just fats.

However, carbs are the first thing your body burns to acquire energy. During a normal diet, a lot of my energy is consumed in the form of carbs and so the body burns these first before the fat which makes it difficult to burn off fat because I have to use up all the carbs first. On a high fat diet very few carbs are coming in and the body uses them all up very quickly, usually within one day. This means the next 2-3 days are purely spent burning fat, I think, at a higher rate than I am putting fat into my body and thus I am not only losing weight but also body fat. Wins all round.

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To Sum Up

Now some of you may not believe me in what I say but the evidence speaks for itself. I go on a high fat diet about once a month and I see serious results. I don’t know if it is just me it works for but I seriously doubt it. All I know is that I look more ripped, weigh less and have a smile on my face after a 3 days high fat diet.

Peace.

How I Lose Weight On A High Fat Diet is a post from: thelifething.com
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Life will try and run you over so don’t get caught in the headlights.

I am sure we have all seen roadkill before, the poor unfortunate animals that have completely mistimed something and been pasted to the tarmac – not a pretty sight and neither very beneficial to the animal in question or its environment. That being said many people in the world act just like road kill and have been completely flattened by life and thus are no good to themselves or anyone else. Here are a few tips to ensure you miss being crushed by the juggernaut of life.

1. Find Your Passion

If you have a  clear goal you are less likely to be wandering aimlessly on the highway and thus less likely to be crushed under wheel of the system.

Being passionate about life is the greatest defense you have against becoming roadkill and lost in the system. Having a passion and pursuing it relentlessly makes you COME ALIVE and gives you a reason for getting up in the morning. You passion could be your work, your ideas, your family or friends, a calling etc Whatever it is, if you find what makes you come alive and bounce through life you are less likely to be struck by oncoming traffic.

2. Develop Close Relationships

I am pretty sure the more social of road dwelling animals have a better chance of survival than the lone fox on the highway.

Life at it’s core is all about relationships. What is happiness if not shared. A key way to resist becoming a smear in the history books is to develop great and lasting friendships that grow and develop through your lifetime and through each of your seasons of life. These can be business, social and family or anything in between. Never neglect the power of great friendships and always focus on developing the relationships in your life with the people that mean the most to you. Happiness is enhanced when shared, sorrow is less painful when there is another arm around you, success is sweeter in a groups and failure stings less with more backsides to soften the blow.

3. Constantly Grow

The biggest killer on the highway is a fast moving 4×4, the biggest killer of someones lust for life is stagnation.

When people stop growing and stop learning they start dying. I am sure many have seen or know people that have given up on life, it is difficult as an outsider to observe. Be a fighter in life and constantly take the time to grow and develop yourself so that you never lose your lust for life. Constant movement will ensure your life follows the path of a healthy, vibrant stream and not the green, smelling skank of a stagnating pond. I have know some incredible people in my life that never gave up and never gave in, even in the face of overwhelming odds they never let life beat them. Don’t roll over and play dead but keep moving forward and growing, then inspire others to do the same.

4. Constantly Scare Yourself

Counterintuitive perhaps but the more you choose to live life on the edge the more alert to the oncoming danger of dream killers – those things that suck the life out of you not just run over it.

It is painful to watch someones dreams die and for them to give up. A lot of the time it is a gradual process and it starts when people become complacent and forget that they need to constantly push and scare themselves. When life becomes safe, it also becomes boring and very soon this boring, safe life becomes habit and once that habit is ingrained then passion, excitement and growth die and give way to lazy, bored and self destructive behavior. Protect yourself from this by constantly scaring yourself, doing things that push you out of your comfort zone and into new challenges. Keep yourself on edge so that you do not slip into apathy, as it is one of the greatest killers on the highway of life.

5. Hold things lightly

Sometimes holding onto the goal of crossing the road is going to get you killed.

Learn to laugh at yourself and at life. After all life is not that serious, it really is just one big game. We don’t have much time to play it so why bother too much about playing by the rules, playing it safe all the time or being a stickler for how things “Should be”. Who is to say how things should be? Believe strongly in your dreams and your goals but hold onto them lightly. Plans change, perspectives develop with age and goals and dreams are flexible. Embrace this fact and try going with the flow a bit more or you are going to find yourself getting very frustrated with this thing we call life. If you are determined to get across that road at a particular time but the traffic is just too heavy it is best to wait or change plans. If you don’t it is likely that you are going to end up as a metaphorical splat on a large vans windscreen.

In summary

I don’t want to be roadkill and I am pretty sure you don’t either, but you must realise that it is easier then you think to make a mistake on the highway and sometimes only one mistake unchecked is all it takes before life crushes you. However if you think about some of the suggestions I have made and perhaps rethink some of your habits and current actions then maybe this post might just save some potential accidents – I hope so anyhow.

Peace all.

Don’t Become The RoadKill Of Life, Rabbit is a post from: thelifething.com
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It takes me less than an hour to write blog posts. Most of my posts are around 1000 words.  Usually they make sense. This is how I structure and write them – I create elephants.

The Elephant Within

My post are elephants. Yep, big grey ones with trunks and floppy ears.

I treat my blog posts very much as an elephant because there are five major stages I go through when writing them: These stages are the Heart, Skeleton, Flesh, Skin and Polish stages. It is a very effective system for writing well structured, informative blog posts with the minimal amount of time expense.

My blogs usually take me less than an hour to write and I split this time up into two time boxes of 25 minutes each with a 5 minute break after each one. I use a countdown timer to keep me focussed.

Here is how I build my elephants to act as a guide for building your own.

The Heart

The heart of your post, like the heart of the elephant is critical to it’s survival. Without a heart the elephant dies and without a heart your post too will die. Try not to cry, there are ways to prevent it, your post will be fine.

The heart of your post is the title. Have A strong title and you will have a strong post. The structure of your post will flow from the heart and it is core to forming the strong message of your post.

Personally I tend to come up with good titles for posts at odd times of the day when I am out and about and so I save them to my ipod for writing at a letter date. I then have a section called “Pipeline Elephants” where I setup page documents with simply the Heart, (the title) of each elephant (post) on it.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BUILD AN ELEPHANT WITHOUT A GOOD HEART.

You cannot perform  an open heart transplant on a elephant after it is being created without leaving brutal scars than run though it.

The Skeleton – 5 Minutes

Once you have a good heart, your elephant is going to need a strong skeleton to support the massive weight of your message. This is usually the largest section of creating your elephant.

The skeleton should only take about 5 minutes to build but creates the foundation and structure on which you will build the rest of the elephant around and so is critical.

In creating the skeleton you need to create the major bones of your elephant and you need to get them in the right order and ensure the flow of the post is clear and understandable. For example the skeleton of this post looked like

Writing The Perfect Blog Post: Heart, Skeleton, Flesh, Skin and Polish Your Elephant

The Elephant Within

The Heart

The Skeleton

The Flesh

The Skin

The Polish

The Parade

Sometimes something as simple as this is all you need, other times more detail might be needed.

Imagine if your were building the skeleton of an elephant, you need to get it in the right order and built sturdily so you don’t end up with the head coming out the ass.  The skeleton will always flow from and around the heart. The heart is your core message and the skeleton is the structure for taking that message to your readers.

Flesh – 20 Minutes

Once you have a secure skeleton build around your strong heart it is time to flesh things out. This is where you add the bulk to your elephant – the content to your post.

The trick I find here is to start bulking out the major section around your skeleton without rereading what you have written. Basically brain dump everything you are thinking onto the page, ignoring bad grammar, spelling mistakes and anything else that stops you from concentrating. All this can be corrected and improved int he subsequent sections.

The idea is to have your skeleton and fleshing out section complete within the first 25 minute time box. This might sound like  a huge challenge but with practice it becomes easier and easier as your mind gets used to focussing on the time boxes you have in place. I rarely check my work count and timer when fleshing out but more often than not it always comes close to around 1000 words and within the 25 minute deadline.

Don not underestimate the power of the subconscious. In this time is is best to be in a place where you are less likely to be distracted or have to have your attention divided.

Remember, you have a limited amount of time to build your elephant and you don’t want to leave it half complete. That would be horrendous and probably scare small children.

Skin – 15 Minutes

So you have a strong heart, a solid skeleton and some meaty flesh around the bones. It resembles the shape of an elephant but it still looks pretty bloody.NOw is the time to skin  the elephant and give it it’s distinctive look.

The skinning stage should take about 15 minutes and is the time to re-read over your bulking sections making your corrections to the way it flows and changing any content to make it flow better and ensure you message is getting across.

Throughout the fleshing stages, no doubt new ideas have come to mind on better ways to get your message across and these can now be implemented at this skinning stage. The skinning stage help ensure that everything is kept in place, just like the skin of a real elephant does.

Polish – 10 Minutes

Now now you have a good looking elephant on display with about 10 minutes to spare. Best to spit shine that bad boy and get it looking good for your readers. Perhaps put a bow on it or something, whatever floats your boat.

Use the last 10 minutes to check grammar, correct spelling, give your elephant a quick final once over to make sure you hare happy with it and then give it a quick, playful slap on the ass and it is ready to go out the door.

The Parade

Now as it happens I like to work in batches so I tend to write batches of up to 10 posts over a few days and then set them up to automatically to be posted over the next few weeks.

This help free my time and also is required when traveling and I cannot be confident of internet access so I parade a whole load of my elephants at once. You may be different, do whatever works for your.

I have just finished the fleshing section of my post current word count is 1,0002 and time is exactly 25 minutes. Without looking, I promise. It gets easier with proactive.

*As it happens I am now skinning the elephant and the word count is 1165 but I finished with 8 minutes to spare so total work time is 45 minutes.

Writing The Perfect Blog Post: Heart, Skeleton, Flesh, Skin and Polish Your Elephant is a post from: thelifething.com
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Thanks to Kait Curran Palmer for the Photo.

I guess everyone want to be a little more carefree in life or at least look like it to other people. I am also sure that many of us are just the slightest bit jealous of those that seem to be very carefree, especially those that are also seem to have done everything as well at the same time as being annoyingly carefree.

The Carefree Secret

Well here is a little secret. If you analyze a lot of successful carefree people you will find that actually underlying this happy go lucky surface is usually a very systematic and process driven structure for achievement. Sneaky I know but before you go out and lynch them I want to share some insights into this underlying structure that can be adapted to you own life.

Appear Carefree Through Carefully Planned Systems

Personally I am an avid promoter of systems, especially ones which are used to structure the repetitive tasks in your life allowing you to appear more care free and spontaneous on the surface. Systems are great for saving time, removing stress and being productive.

If you asked anyone who knew me for a short or long period of time they would generally be more than readily enthusiastic in highlighting how rarely I seem to plan things and generally act in very spontaneous ways and seem to drift through life in a very carefree manner, rarely letting issues or problems derail me. This is a great brand and one that I strive to develop every day but is also easy to achieve.

What also surprises people most is that under this carefree, devil may care approach to life I actually do an incredible amount of stuff and get through far more workload than most. I owe this mainly to the systems and processes in life that I am constantly honing and tweaking to allow me to get the very most out of each and every hour I invest while still living a great spontaneous life.

It is all down to Structure and Systems

It is all down to how I structure the day to day running of my life so that I can focus on the unexpected turns of the journey. After all, that is where the real fun happens and I want to have as much time available to me to enjoy LIFE.

To help paint a picture of the systems I use to make my life easier I have highlighted some everyday ones below.

Systems I Use To Free Time And Be Productive

• I always check email, blogs, social and stats once a day in the morning – NEVER more than once.
• I Always backup work once before shutting down in the evening. ALWAYS last thing in the evening so I don’t feel tempted to wait for 10-15 minutes till it completes so that I can work.
• I Leave Saturdays unplanned to finish off any outstanding work. If there is nothing to finish, then I take the day off. This gives an added incentive to complete all my work during the usually Mon-Fri.
• I use my 7Life system to structure my days to ensure that I am getting the key tasks I need done to achieve the vision I have for my life and the goals to get there as well as factoring in time for a social life, entertainment and continued learning.
• I worked out that I operate most effectively on 6 hours sleep so I have timer that ensures I get exactly 6 hours a night. If there is a deposit at the end of the week I catch up on Sunday.
• When I travel, I travel light with a single rucksack and I have a place for every article and I know everything I have an where to find it. This saves untold amounts of time when I don’t have to constantly check every pocket to  find something make sure I haven’t left anything.
• I always keep my wallet, phone and ipod in separate pockets and always the same ones so there is no fumbling around. I also place them in the same place and the same order when not in my pockets. I have never lost my wallet, phone or ipod in years because of this system. While in India I have adapted the system and now always carry a few rupees in my back left pocket to give to the beggars in passing instead of fumbling around my wallet.
• I spend exactly 1 hour on almost all blog posts – 30 Minutes to Skeleton and Flesh out the post, 15 minutes to skin and 15 minutes to polish. I time box it with a Countdown timer.
• I work in 2 hour productive pies. 25 minutes followed by a 5 minute break, 25 minutes etc as studies have been shown that this is the most effective way of working. Generally I do two pies a day, one in the morning and one in the evening focussing on just 2 key things I need to get accomplished.
• In any given day I tend to focus an hour on reading, four hours on 2 key “Work” tasks, another two hours on a non work related task, around an hour on “Housekeeping” and the rest of the time on entertainment and social activities. It works well for me.
• Sundays are for organizing, improving systems and washing etc. I don’t work on a Sunday as I believe a day of rest per week is essential to a happy and productive life. On Sundays I like to spend time alone, organize my room, improve the systems and sort out washing as well as catch up on some reading, watch some movies and spend a few hours planning the next week and update my ipod with new podcasts. Basically relax and take some time off.

Developing Your Own Systems For Success

These are just some of the systems that I use and are they are constantly adapted and tweaked depending on the situation. Hopefully they give an indication of how being structured and systematic on the back end of life allows you be appear more carefree and spontaneous on the front end.

You no doubt have your own systems to a degree and I would suggest developing more to help reduce the time and effort that does into running your life on a daily basis so that you can dedicate more time to focussing on what is really important to you in life.

Get Super Structured To Be Craftily Carefree And Awesome is a post from: thelifething.com
Thanks for subscribing, you should now be at least twice as attractive to the opposite sex. Loyal reading of these articles increases your sexiness further. (Just so you know) r. thelifething.com - Life Design For A Designer Life...or something

So, it is time to hack sleep, or more accurately – BECOME BETTER THAN SUPERMAN

Now I don’t mean hack as in the slasher/horror movie sort of way as this blog is far too upper class for that sort of cheesy, predictable depravity. Instead, to hack the art of sleep and the process of sleeping in order to find the optimum amount of sleep to get a night, what you can get away with having, what is way too much and how to best use the hours you do get. Basically, how to get one up on superman and wipe the smugness off his face.

You spend almost a third of your life on average asleep, a lack of sleep during old age nicely counterbalancing a ridiculously high amount while pretending to be a student. Surely then, it is worthwhile to optimize it? This is a rhetorical question, the answer is yes.

I spent 4 hours researching the studies on sleep to create my own optimized sleep plan, ironically due to not being able to fall asleep from jet lag… and also because I wanted to better superman. Now this may not seem like a lot but allow me to raise two very valid points:

1. Screw You – 4 Hours of research is better then 3 hours of research and

2. I have a sneaky time saving way of researching so my hours count more

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My Super Sneaky Approach to Research

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Basically I steal/borrow talented peoples incredible legwork on any given subject without remorse.

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Now I know what you are thinking and I don’t care because generally I am 1. Less committed to scientific study then they are, 2. Generally less inclined to dedicate my life to one subject and 3. Have been banned from experimenting on humans for at least the next 30 years.

You may remember the above Pictomin from the previous post, it is one I use a lot in life. There are a ridiculous amount of research studies out there on sleep and therefore I don’t bother reading every study ever conducted, actually I don’t bother reading any.

Personally, I simply search for the studies from other hard working individuals that collaborate and summarize all the other research. I then compare and contrast these summaries over a coke to pull out where most people agree and disagree. I then put these ideas through my own filtering process of what makes sense and how many letters the researcher in question has after his name and then finally draw my conclusions taking credit for everyone else’s hard work. It’s the 80/20 of research, unfortunately without the charitable giving of credit. (I apologize for this as I know it is a really bad habit…don’t judge me, we all have them.)

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The Terrible Truth From My Research About Sleep

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The first thing to say, I guess, is that there is a lot of research out there and almost all of it doesn’t agree.

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I like to imagine heated discussions that took place between researchers and collegues that quickly got out of hand and turned to violence and hot coffee injuries.

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This disagreements between studies actually makes deciding what is accurate quite a challenge. The other things to say is that I have not bothered to summarize and link all the surveys, facts and figures I came across and I have written this post in layman terms from my collective understanding. Therefore hopefully making it easier for you to action but also requiring you to trust my summaries or use them as a base to do your own research. Your choice punk, go on, make my day.

To start I went to the guru of life hacking Tim Ferris to see what he has to say on the subject. With almost a third of ones life taken up with sleep I was pretty sure he had worked out an optimum plan. Unfortunately this was not the case and Tim was decidedly less helpful then I had thought he would be. You can see what he has to say on the subject here.  Poor show Tim, poor show.

As it happens the very best ebook I found was “40 Sleep Hacks: The Geek’s Guide to Optimizing Sleep” This well organized and written book seemed to have done a good job of summarizing the major research on sleep and, having put the time in already into researching the studies independently, would suggest it is the only thing you need to read to give yourself a very good and balanced overview of research backed hacks. It is basically doing what I was planning to but better.

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Why Sleep Well?

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Benefits of sleep (You Become Super Human)

Good sleep throughout your life will increase your lifespan, help the body to repair, focus the mind, increase productivity, reduce stress, increase happiness, aide weight loss and promote development of body and mind.

Problems associated with a lack of sleep: (Like carrying a backpack of Kyriptnyte)

By cutting down on sleep we learn less, we develop less, we are less bright, we make worse decisions, we accomplish less, we are less productive, we are more prone to errors, and we undermine our true intellectual potential!

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How To Sleep Well

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As I mentioned there are an incredible amount of studies into sleep and the effect of sleep, much of which is counter intuitive and also contradicts other research.

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I would definitely not sleep with an onion, a lemon or a roasted horse chestnut under my bed.

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No matter how much research backs up the above statement I will not be following it – I wish to have and keep a girlfriend at some point in the future.

Therefore you have to put the research through your own filtering system and draw your own conclusions, this can be scary for some people but don’t worry that is what teddies are designed for. Having done this myself I came up with the key principles of optimizing sleep, feel free to steal them and pass it off as you own work. Fairs Fair after all.

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3 Things That Most People Seem To Agree On About Sleep That Also Make Sense

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1. Around 6-7 Hours of sleep is optimum for adults. More or less significantly increases tiredness, drowsiness and mortality rates.

2. Ideal time to go to sleep is when you naturally feel drowsy ideally at least 15 hours after previously waking.

3. A good diet, good eating habits and regularity as well as a comfortable bed and complete darkness will make the most of your sleep hours.

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An Optimized Sleep Plan That Might Actually Work

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This plan will definitely work for life hackers already free from the rat race or those with a lot more flexibility with their time but I am aware it will not work for all. For the others, read the ebook and create your own. This plan is based on all my research and heavily on the three key points mentioned above.

As it happens this is sleep pattern I have been generally using for some time now to great effect with just a few tweaks here and there.

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1. Shower, brush teeth and change into comfortable clothing before midnight
2. Work in the early hours of the morning until natural drowsiness sets in.
3. Eat a very small 150-200 calorie snack just before getting into bed.
4. Record sleep duration and journal.
5. Don’t set an alarm but aim to wake naturally around 6 hours after getting into bed.
6. Eat breakfast within an hour of getting up.
7. Use weekends to catch up on sleep ensuring weekly average is between 42-47 hours.

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The Morning After

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Later on when I have the habit ingrained I will also start including elements of Lucid Dreaming Theory and Sleep Based Problem Solving.

I would like to end by saying I will let you know how it is getting on but in all honesty and I am feeling particularly honest at the moment for some reason, I will probably forget so I will simply end with.

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Good night, sleep tight and I hope the bedbugs of your lucid dreams don’t tear your face off – apparently it can happen.

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Kidding, kidding….ok, i’ve lost a lot of readers now.

Night.

How To Habitually Hack Your Sleep Cycle To Become Benchmarkably Better Than Superman is a post from: thelifething.com
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It’s January again, A New Year and another go at completely redesigning your life and reducing the amount of chocolate you consume. I am kidding of course, if anything one should be increase the amount of chocolate consumed, the redesigning life bit still stands though.

So to help you out I have spent the considerable time it takes to read all the articles on this site to put together for you a reading list to help you kickstart your 2010. Happy New Year.

* Also don’t be shy to comment even on old articles as I am interested to hear your opinions, views or gripes. Don’t make me come over there and make you comment.

If you are short of time I have starred my more favorite posts.

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What Life Do You Want In 2010?

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So tell me then, what do you want out of this year. Do you know? Have you even though about it? 2010 is not a year to be wasted so have a gander at these posts to get inspired and work out what you want your 2010 to look like and how you want your perfect life to be designed.

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I Am Going To Tell You About One Of The Worlds Biggest Problems And How It Can Be Solved

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At the beginning of 2010, be inspired by ordinary people that have done extraordinary things. Will 2010 be the year that you become EXTRAORDINARY.

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Deliberately Make Your Life Remarkable *

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“Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin and then end, with no lasting memories or anything of significance in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a persons life.” In 2010, will you be Indian Jones or Mr Jones from accounting?

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The Road “Most” Traveled Is Frikin’ Dangerous Man *

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Before you run headlong into 2010 take some time to reflect on what the key to a full and successful life actually is and make sure you are traveling the right path. If you are not sure, then you need to read this.

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Why Do You Fear To Be Great, You Yellow Bellied Coward?

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Have you DONE something with your life? Do you have a STORY worth telling?

Are you GOING to do something with your life in 2010? Will you HAVE a story worth telling in 2010? Read on if you want one.

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Soap.Lather.Rinse.Repeat – The art of living free in the moment while naked in the shower *

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One of my favorite posts and one that I will be rereading many times over this coming year. However successful your year is going to be in 2010 always remember to put life into perspective.

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No Gumpy Boy, Life Is Like A Thai Massage

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Just remember that, unlike the 70s films of past years, the goal is not to have a happy ending, as by then it is too late. The real goal is to have a happy journey, however you work out the best way to ensure that.

Here’s to your happy ending, I mean journey. Ahem.

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Improving Yourself In 2010

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Make 2010 the best year to date and enter Christmas next year a greatly improved specimen.

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Chocolate Coated SuperMagnets -The Practical Art Of Making Yourself Irresistible *

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If you want to make the most of 2010 then you are going to need to be irresistible – and here is how to do it. Five core rules that are easy and practical to apply to ensure your social life gets ramped into overdrive in 2010.

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The Five Killer Rules For Assassin-like Effectiveness In Your Work *

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Don’t waste 2010, become hyper effective instead. This is one to print out and stick up.  If you want to become substantially more productive in 2010, waste less time AND become a Ninja then you need to read this.

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How To Talk To Strangers Without Wetting Yourself.

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Become a social animal in 2010 with these 7 incredibly simple and practical tips for engaging anyone, anywhere.

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Beating the “Internal Conflict” for Long Term Weight Loss and Habit Change

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Ever tried giving up weight and failed? Ever attempted to start a new habit and found yourself petering out? Ever tried setting an achievable goal only to not achieve it? Let this year be different to the last…seriously this time.

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1 And 1 Make Eight Hundred and Eighty Six Thousand – 3 Things Necessary For Success That The School System Neglected To Teach You.

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10 Ultimate Tips to Supreme Health and Fitness

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Become a lean, mean, only fight when absolutely necessary machine in 2010 with this practical rules for great health, fitness and figure.

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Finding Success In 2010

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2010 could be the year of great things for you and these post will help give you the best possible chance to find that success.

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Guaranteeing Blogging Success Without Shooting Yourself in the Head *

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If you are or are going to be a blogger in 2010 then, like the instructions on a parachute, this is a must read. Failure to do so will have catastrophic consequences. You have been warned.

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A Story Of A Life Designers First Time *

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In 2010, Do not let life pass you by. Be forceful, make life play ball, make life work for you. Get your hands dirty, get sweaty, get involved until you physically can’t give any more and you collapse exhausted but content, safe in the knowledge that you gave it your all.

Another of my favorite posts, don’t miss it.

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The Guinness Advert Got It Wrong – Good Things Come To Those That Don’t Wait *

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Procrastination, they say, is the killer of progress, creativity and small puppies. In 2010 make this the year you get off your backside and do something.

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5 Lies That Society Shouts At You And 5 Truths That It Keeps Quite On *

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In 2010 society WILL lie to you and it WILL keep some things from you. Here’s a heads up moving into the New Year a little wiser than most.

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Time isn’t money so relax– It is far more important.

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You are only going to have one 2010, you will never get a chance to repeat it so worthwhile making sure you are investing your time effectively. Another one to print out and keep over your desk – 5 Investment tips for your time.

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Some Super Sneaky Suggestions for Selling Yourself AND Your Brilliant Ideas without Resorting to Violence and/or Blackmail

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Looking for success in 2010? Then you are going to need to get people to understand how brilliant you are. Unfortunately, not everyone may appreciate your brilliance or the brilliance of your ideas straightaway, and thus it is your duty to enlighten them. Here are three incredibly effective tips to allow you to do just that.

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The Leap – How Three Simple Changes Can Propel Your Career From Good To Great

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Planning to kick your career into overdrive in 2010 then let best selling author Rick Smith give you come guiding.

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Structure Is Like A Strong Wind…Flow is Like A Frikin’ Hurricane  *

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Learn how to harness “THE BEAST” (who incidentally goes by the name of Joe) in 2010 for incredible creativity and productivity like a hurricane on steroids.

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4 Concepts For Kicking Ass In Life Learn’t From Mixed Martial Arts

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Mixed Martial Arts isn’t all about kicking ass first and taking names latter. This 2010 apply the principles of Respect, Playing to your strengths, Understanding that Position Isn’t Everything and That The Key Is Balance for a successful year.

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A Happiness Fundamental: The Social Spiderweb

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2010 is a time for friends, families and loved ones. Here is a great tool for benchmarking whether you are spending your time with the right people and how to change things if you are not.

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The Indescribably Pleasure of Doing Nothing and then Resting Afterwards

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2010 need not be all about productivity and moving forward, some times, like a stag party at a nudist colony, it is good to sit back and let it all hang out – Find out how here.

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Escaping the Rat Race In 2010

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Whether literally getting out of a job full time or becoming financially independent outside of a paycheck here is how to escape the Rat Race in 2010.

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Why Its Worth It

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A Day In The Life Of A Traveling Entrepreneur *

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Self explanatory I think but the “Day in the life of” posts are my most popular on this site so if you need some inspiration to kickstart 2010 then here is the place to get it.

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Cubicle With A View: The Office Of A Traveling Entrepreneur

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Need some inspiration in 2010 on why exactly you are wanting to leave your current office behind. Well here it is, 2010 could be the year that you move into offices like these.

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3 Months In The Life Of An Entrepreneur

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3 Months, 5 Currencies, 6000 photos, 150 Restaurant Meals, 40 Hours of Wake boarding, 3 Police Bribes, 2 Seven Foot Bull Sharks, 1 Elephant and more massages than can be safe for one man – Here is 90 days in the life of a traveling entrepreneur.

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Proof That Experiencing The World Doesn’t Have To Cost The Earth

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For anyone doubting that venturing abroad in 2010 might not be worth it then stick this in your pipe and smoke it. Seriously though, check out what £122 will buy you in Thailand. I mean it, it’s insane.

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How To Do It In 2010

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How To Bankroll Traveling The World And Living Your Dreams Without Being A Freeloading Little Rich Kid

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Drastically change your life in 2010. Here is basically how I got to being able to escape the Rat Race and live my current lifestyle – minus the odd awkward relationship, dodgy curry and missed plane takeoff.

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How I Live How I Do Without Having To Rob Banks

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What exactly was my 9 to 5 job before ? What sort of business provides my passive income? How much does [living in Thailand] cost me monthly ? How much do I earn? Find out here.

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How To Live An Awesome Life Abroad Without Having A Job *

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Learn the secrets to gaining 300% Interest On Your Money, Hiring 10 Guys For The Price Of One and Reducing Your Workload by 80%. Oh, and the reason why I tend not to wear pants. 2010 could be your year for moving abroad.

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Quitting Your Job In James Bond Like Style Without Ending Your Career

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Is freedom from the Rat Race calling you in 2010? If so, make sure you read this article before flipping the bird to the man. Yes quit, it will probably be the best thing you ever do, but do it with style with 5 proven pointers.

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Own Nothing…Experience Everything

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Do you seem to own everything but have done nothing. Join the debate and see if the ONEE approach to life will bring you a more stress free 2010 full of experience.

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Becoming Rich In 2010

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Interested in leading a richer life in 2010? Then the Rich Series post will help you achieve that goal.

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Stage 1 – Understand What It Means To Be Truly Rich.

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On your journey to a richer 2010 start by understanding the five core areas for benchmarking a rich life: Financial Security, Freedom, Good relationships, Health, and Identity. Time to live the rich life.

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Stage 2 – Understand The Three Financial Equations Of Wealthy Living

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Are you a Happy Fish, An Unhappy Fish or A Dead Fish. If you don’t know then you need to if you want to become richer in 2010. Better scan this post and make sure which one you are hadn’t you, go on, you know you need to.

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Stage 3 – To Come

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So there you have it – An almost comprehensive list to make sure your 2010 goes off with a Bang. Have a Good One.

An Almost Comprehensive Guide To Knowing What You Want, Improving Yourself, Finding Success, Escaping The Rat Race And Becoming Rich In 2010. is a post from: thelifething.com
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Ever tried giving up weight and failed? Ever attempted to start a new habit and found yourself petering out? Ever tried setting an achievable goal only to not achieve it? You are not alone. Everyone has been there.

Setting goals, creating new habits and losing weight seem to be aspirations common to all of us at some point in our lives and equally common is our ability to fail. The process is the same; you start enthusiastic, it gets tough very quickly and inevitably you give up. Not through lack of trying though, it just seems inevitable, and in many ways it is. Heres some thoughts on understanding why that is and how we can change things.

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So why do so many people fail so often?

People fail because of something I call “The internal conflict”

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The Problem.

The problem is, this new life you are aiming for – the new habits, eating styles or goals – is not what you or your brain is used to; it doesn’t fit with the image you have of yourself, it doesn’t fit your personal brand (See BrandYou post for more on this).

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If you are trying to act in a way that doesn’t fit with the image you have of yourself then there is going to be conflict. It is this conflict that causes you to fail.

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For example, if you are trying to lose weight but see yourself as the type of person that eats high fat, sugary foods; takeouts and large portions without doing any exercise, because that is what you are used to, then sitting down to a small salad and a glass of water once a day is going to cause problems. It will be a constant struggle every single hour of every single day fighting this self image of someone who doesn’t eat salads but is trying very hard to. Unless you have Zen like self-control this is not a viable long term solution and is why people usually fail within a few weeks.

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The Solution

An easier and much more successful way of achieving your goals, keeping your new habits or losing that weight is to get rid of this internal conflict.

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Simply put, you need to align the personal view you have of yourself, with that of the person you wish to become.

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Using the weight loss issue as an example again; if you wish to shift two and a half stone and more importantly you wish to keep it off then focussing on dieting is not going to work. You will need to change your lifestyle and this starts with changing your view of yourself. Lets say you currently weigh 13 stone. At 13 stone you are living the lifestyle of someone who weights 13 stone, what you need to be doing is living the lifestyle of someone who weighs 10 and a half stone.

What would this look like? What would that person eat? What would that person do with their free time? What choices would that person make? These are important questions because you need to be that person.

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How to solve the “Internal Conflict” for effective habit changing

Fortunately this is not that difficult.

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Effective habit changing is greatly helped by remembering and acting on the phrase “If I were…I would…”

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Focus on people that weigh 10.5 stone, or seem to embody some of your goals. What is their lifestyle like, what do they eat, when do they not eat, what exercise do they do? In order to achieve your goal and not relapse, this is the type of life you will be leading. If this seems like an impossible dream then possible your goals need to be reassessed.

After reading the post on “BrandYOU”, you should have a good idea of how to create the lifestyle brand you want.

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The “If I were…I would” Rule

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If I were (such and such) I would (act such a way)

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With this brand in mind you need to apply the “If I were…I would” rule to your life. It’s not difficult, and it gets easier with time. The “If I were…I would rule” is the question that you should be asking constantly throughout the day. Every time you are presented with a choice you need to ask the question with regards to the BrandYOU.

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For weight loss every time there is a decision regarding food make sure you ask yourself “If I were…I would.”

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For example; you’ve just come back from work and your hungry, ask yourself “If I were a fit person weighing 10.5 stone I would be eating a balanced meal of protein, carbs and vegetables instead of ordering in that takeaway. Then make sure you do it.

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“If I were…a risk taker…I would…ask her out, damn the consequences.“

“If I were…someone who takes new challenges…I would except my work colleagues offer of doing the marathon with him“

“If I were…a successful guitarist…I would be making sure I made time to practice because this is what I love to do.”

If I were A confident speaker…I would be taking control of this room with a smile with my head held high and making strong eye contact with people.

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Simple, ask the question on every decision you make, don’t worry if you crack on a few, just not to many. The more you take positive action towards the brand you want and start to think, feel and act like the person you want to be in the future, the more your mind will believe that this is actually who you are, and very soon your actions will start to naturally mimic the lifestyle of this person you wish to be and you will start to become that person.

Trying to fight the “Internal Conflict” is just not sustainable and you will fail or be miserable doing it. Get rid of the internal conflict and you will have a much higher success rate and a much more enjoyable journey.

Have a strong brand. Make the decisions that fit that brand. Ask yourself constantly “If I were…I would”. See changes that last.

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If you have enjoyed this article, please let me know and leave a comment, or better yet, leave a comment and let others know by bookmarking it below or sharing with friends. You help is alway welcomed and  greatly appreciated..

Beating the “Internal Conflict” for Long Term Weight Loss and Habit Change is a post from: thelifething.com
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The SAS, Endurance Runners, Pro Athletes and Extreme Adventurers have one thing in common…there are incredibly physically fit. Here’s how you can easily share that level of fitness right from the get-go.

If you’re looking to get fitter, buffer, lose weight and reduce your risk of health problems then you need to read this.

Most of us would like to be fit and healthy, it comes part and parcel with living a full and successful life, however the first major problem most people hit on the road to fitness is the tidal wave of information that is available to you. Information overload right at the outset. Well hopefully this post should give you a simple start.

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Simple Beginnings

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I have been keenly interested in fitness all my life and have been a sportsman from a young age. Recently I have gone into overdrive in the last few years as I have stepped up own personal challengers joining the Parachute Regiment and competing in multiple marathons.

My list of 10 ultimate tips is compiled from training with the Para’s and the SAS, observing Pro Athlete diets and fitness regimes first hand, talking with top UK marathon runners, firemen and sportsmen and reading first hand accounts of endurance athletes and their advice.

The ultimate tips list is a perfect setup for hitting the ground running on getting fit; it’s not easy but it’s not impossible either. Incorporate these 10 things into your life right now and you will see immediate and lasting effects on you health, physique and fitness. Later, when you get more confident you can start to experiment, try new things out and adapt it to your personal style, read on and bring that new dimension to you life that you have been missing.

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1. Run, Run and Run some more.

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For now, forget the gym, expensive memberships, personal trainers, workout routines and all other fads being rammed down your throat. Get yourself a good pair of fitted running trainers, (Asics are great) and get out there.

While training with the Para’s and the SAS you come into contact with a lot of very fit individuals each with their own training regimes and diet plans. Want to know the secret of the fittest, strongest, most ripped man currently training for the SAS?

He runs. Everyday. And that’s it. No specific diet, no gym, no calorie counting, just 10-15 miles a day running. He currently has multiple UK marathon wins, has been a Para Reg and is now looking to join the SAS.  A quick tip – Don’t attempt 10-15 miles straight off the bat, start small but push yourself. I find the very best way to do this is to build running into your everyday routine. If you drive across the city to work, leave the car, pack a backpack of spare clothes and get running in. Most people commute less than 5 miles, which after a while should take you no longer than 30-40 minutes, usually less time than the commute. Simply doing this will rack up 10 miles a day and show almost immediate results. Always remember to jog very slowly for 5 minutes or so until you get a warm sensation before stepping up the intensity and to stretch each individual leg muscle for a 20 second hold after running to avoid injury. A link to some stretches.

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2 Muscle-building weight loss orbs a day.

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No, these are not some kind of special, new and extremely expensive supplement. These are Boiled Eggs.

Other than being high in protein, these muscle-building orbs have a secret weight loss ingredient – selenium.

Selenium regulates your thyroid, which keeps your metabolism high meaning higher calorie burning throughout the day. I have seen a direct correlation between people who religiously eat two eggs a day and their relative percentage body fat. A quick tip – I find it easier to buy a dozen eggs at the beginning of the week, hard boil them all and then replace them back into the egg box with the shells on. In the morning, just grab two and shell.

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3. Early Riser.

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From now on 5am is your new start to the day. To some of you this will be a huge shock to the system, others less so. Don’t groan, it’s not as difficult as you think and it will completely change the dynamics of your day.

Research has shown that how you start your day has a fundamental impact of how the rest of it pans out. Start right and stress free and you should be in for a productive one, start wrong and you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle.

It amazing how much you can accomplish with those extra couple of hours in the morning and your stress levels are greatly reduced when you have time to have a long shower followed by a leisurely breakfast reading the paper. This allows you to slowly get mentally prepared for the day.

Of course there’s always the alternative; waking at 8 in a blind panic running around trying to get everything done, stuffing a quick snack down the gullet before falling into the car only to get stuck in traffic during your commute. Stress levels are high, your day is generally ruined because of the bad start and you’re usually going to find yourself late to the office no matter how many road laws you break.

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4. Breakfast.

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The most important meal of the day. You’ve probably heard this before but do not underestimate the importance of a good breakfast in the morning. Stay clear of the “kids” cereals and cereal bars as they are packed with sugar and a high proportion of fat, don’t fall into the trap of thinking they are healthy. The long and short of it is that you would almost be as well off eating a mars bars or Twix.

A top breakfast – The following breakfast I have every morning religiously and I love it so much it’s almost like a desert first thing in the morning and it incorporates a fair few power foods to get your day off to the best possible start. Get yourself a cup of steel cut oats, Tesco’s organic are excellent and very well priced, not the quick cook stuff as they lose most of their goodness and cook with a cup of semi-skimmed milk (use skimmed if you’re a die hard). Stir any combination of raisins, Blueberries, or nuts as well as anything else you might fancy (malteasers do not count) into the mix and the whole lot into a plate. A heaped teaspoon of +10 Manuka honey tops it off. Leave the spoon with the honey resting on top for a few seconds to make it all runny and stir in. This delicious breakfast will having you looking forward to mornings again.

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5. Water, Water and MORE Water

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If running is my single biggest exercise tip then water is my top health and diet tip. The 8 glasses a day is a great benchmark but try and go above and beyond this, you can never really drink too much water, and your body will pretty much stop you if you do so drink as much as you can.

The benefits of water are numerous and I’m not going to go through them now but if you are serious about leading a healthy lifestyle then you have to get this fundamental right.

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6. Pasta and Chicken.

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I used to work as a chef at Melwood, Liverpool FC’s training ground so if you want to know what the players are eating to keep them in top condition it is this. Pasta Pasta, Pasta, Pasta and some chicken and they are insanely religious about it. Your muscles are about 4/5ths carbohydrate to 1/5 protein so your diet needs to reflect this.

Diets that reduce your carbohydrate intake are dangerous because your muscles need carbohydrate for energy in the form of glycogen; this is where a majority of your energy will come from with the deposit made up from fat. If you take out the carbs the body will go into starvation mode and start to store body fat as a precaution, your cravings will also become monstrous as your body seeks out sources of glycogen.

Cutting out carbs is fundamentally why 9 out of 10 people who diet put the weight back on within 12 months as the cravings just become far too much.

The only real way to lose weight is to be burning more calories then you are in taking which means a healthy diet and regular exercise. Calories come from carbohydrates and fats however carbs are used up first and more quickly than fats so try and base most of your energy foods on carbs. Cereals, breads and pasta’s are all great sources of carbohydrates.

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7. An hour between fruit.

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Fruit is great, no doubt about it and getting your 5 a day is very important in leading a healthy lifestyle however there is just one major rule you need to be aware of with fruits and that is to do with mixing foods.

On their own fruits are great but combined with other foods they can cause disruptions in the digestion and causes food to start to ferment in your stomach due the high levels of acid they contain.

This goes against our traditional eating habits of having fruit after a meal, try to resist. You can find out which foods do not combine well with fruit but it can all get a bit complicated, an easier rule to follow is try and leave an hour either side of eating fruit and you should be fine.

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8. 8 o’clock Lockdown.

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After 8 o clock…STOP EATING. Obviously don’t be too religious about it, if you’re at a friends for a meal don’t stop abruptly midway through the main course but in general, when at home, try and stop eating after 8.

Between 8pm and 4am is your bodies natural time for digestion and is also usually when you are least active so if you put a lot of food, especially high calorie food in at this time your body isn’t going to use it, it’s just going to store it…as fat.

Having a decent meal around 6 should ensure you don’t need to eat after 8, just fight the “want” urge.

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9. Become less sweet.

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I mean this purely in terms of diet obviously. You need to reduce the amount of sugar you take into your system. There is not two ways about it, this is a hard step and takes a high level of self control. For me, this is the hardest thing in the world to do as I have a massive sweet tooth.

The problem with our modern diet is that we are all too accustomed to the amount of sugar in our food.

Try this if you dare, go one full week without any sugar at all, the next time you pick up a biscuit after that and your likely to spit it out because your body is shocked at how sweet and sickly it tastes.

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10. Benchmark.

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Do not overlook this step. It may seem clichéd but it is extremely important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Do not get religious. Once every week of every fortnight is enough.

The best thing to do is splash out 50p and get a proper readout from one of the machines you can find at almost all gyms.

This will give you your Height, Weight, Percentage Body Fat, Blood pressure and Ideal targets in one handy printout.

Well that’s it from me. If you’re serious about changing your lifestyle get stuck into the above points and get prepared to see the benefits.

There really is nothing better than being in good health. As long as you have your health, anything is possible.

10 Ultimate Tips to Supreme Health and Fitness is a post from: thelifething.com
Thanks for subscribing, you should now be at least twice as attractive to the opposite sex. Loyal reading of these articles increases your sexiness further. (Just so you know) r. thelifething.com - Life Design For A Designer Life...or something