David Virgo's Lifestyle Improving Blog

Make Christmas healthier by including basil

2009-11-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

Now that summer is on the way and the days are heating up. I am excited to report I can smell Basil in the air. There is something about Basil that really excites me. Says a lot about my life doesn’t it. But just to justify my exuberance about the health properties of the humble herb basil I am going to let you in on a few of the many health benefits of the essential oils found in basil.

It turns out its qualities play a huge part in reducing inflammation. This is important when we are fighting or trying to reduce the chances of developing cancers and cardio vascular disease. Basil helps stop inflammation by blocking the cells excretion of proteins called cytokines and also a chemical called nitric oxide which when cells are able to exchange these two components, inflammation results.

Also essential oils found in basil can effectively inhibit bacterial growth especially disease causing bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Shigella species, Salmonella species, Mycobacterium species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pathogenic strains of these bacteria can cause illnesses like food poisoning, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and dysentery. Just the names themselves sound bad enough don’t they?

Anyway you get my point and if you don’t I will spell it out. Basil is good for you and you should be making the most of it right now and all through summer. In fact researchers say it is worth noting that herbs and spices contribute significantly to the total antioxidants obtained from the diet. Basil is virtually calorie-free and, in addition to antioxidant vitamins and phenolics, is a rich source of vitamin K, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium and dietary fibre. It adds a lot of flavour in a way that’s waistline-friendly.

I can see it now on your Christmas lunch table in a pesto dip, maybe a tomato salad or even in the marinara or Neapolitan pasta sauce.

Take a leaf out of a cow's habitSSS.

2009-10-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Don't worry I aren't saying you should follow a cow to the letter, or you are a cow. What I do like about a cow is it chews it's food up so well and then re chews again and again. The irony is all they are eating is grass compared to us meat eaters (most of us). We need to look at what they are doing and reap the health benefits of their actions.

Next time you eat just take note of how quickly the meal has gone. Unfortunately the majority are time poor individuals so eating is fast and furious, just like your lives. The only problem is by the time any food has touched the sides it has gone and you are still hungry aren't you? So you feel like you need more but make it quick. Sound familiar? Then about 20 minutes later you are full, bloated and feeling lethargic. Still sounding familiar? Well let's look at ways to fix this.

You need to get conscious and follow this formula to allow the digestion process to start in your mouth rather than in your stomach with half eaten foods.

Sit down to eat away from computers, papers or books. Just have your food and eating utensils. Mine is usually my hands - typical bloke.
Slow down and chew your food to smithereens. Try chewing every bite of food 30 times and see how the food ends up before you swallow. It is harder than it sounds to count 30 chews when you are used to bite, chew a couple of times and then swallow.
Stop eating when you are slightly full. Because in ten minutes or so you will be satisfied and ready to go. The energy saved listening to your stomach will astound you. Plus you will actually enjoy the taste, texture and flavours your food offers. As long as it is natural and unprocessed.

So following the SSS model will be very hard to follow, trust me I struggled and continue to do so but like everything if it was easy everyone would be doing it. But the rewards will be remarkable. Energy, amount eaten, regularity, stomach bloating and yes the main one everyone is concerned with; fat loss due to calorie restriction and a metabolism kickstart.

Size does matter, even for the ladies

2009-09-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

We have all heard of the term thunder thighs right. And some of you unfortunately would of been ridiculed by others by being called thunder thighs. Well I am here to tell you the size of your thighs could help determine how long you live. It seems that small thighs under a certain size are linked to heart disease and premature death.

A study found on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) website has revealed having thighs around the 60cm measurement mark means you are less susceptible to disease and premature death. Providing you are carrying out a healthy lifestyle of course. The Copenhagen Uni Hospital revealed that after twelve years of research thigh size is an even bigger risk factor than waist circumference. In measures if you have thighs less than 55cm you may be at risk.

What does this mean for you? Most people equate big thighs to fat but this study may highlight the bigger the thighs the more muscle content which in turn means better metabolism. More lean muscle stores we have the more blood supply needed and nutrition to feed it. So why not take the studies advice, it can't do you any harm. Focus on doing more lower body activity such as walk, ride, resistance training focusing on lower body (squats, lunges and so on).

This may help if you are such for ideas to increase lower body activity.

Increase steps taken in a day . In essence get your legs moving and carrying your body weight around
Bend your knees more when you are standing up. This may mean focusing on correctly bending to pick things up or sitting down. Stop falling into the lounge, picking objects up with a straight back.
Use your hips more by whenever bending or lifting occurs learn to activate your gluteals (butt muscles) to save you loading up your back and increasing the weight taken by your legs.

Hopefully these tips can start you off. If you require any more assistance lease feel free to contact me anytime, it may lengthen your life.

Busy? You need some EPA in your life

2009-09-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Placing extra and inflexible fitness regimes on already busy people is setting everyone concerned up for failure. In my experience you need to resist a one size fits all approach and try the individualised approach. The only way to do this is empower the busy and often out of balanced individual to look for a way that he can employ into his routine and then offer professional fitness advice from there. It flips the thinking but has massive results in terms of you the busy person’s conformance. Use EPA to get you to this point.

1. Get Emotional. Empower yourself to see why it is you need or want to fit in or keep a fitness regime into your already busy lifestyle. What is most important to you, health, six pack abs, performance in your career, family (if you don’t keep fit and overwork, sickness and disease may take you away from your family). Also find out what it is you enjoy in an activity sense. Again what are your values; do you like adventure, weights, running etc

2. Prioritise fitness. If you are already busy you will perceive there is no time for exercise or activity. Once you feel you want to do it for the right reasons (Point 1) then you would be well advised to book it into your weekly schedule or make a date with yourself. Just like a meeting, book in another meeting only this time it is to invest in yourself. Put it in a diary; tell your Personal assistant that you will be busy for these times in the week.

3. Be Accountable. Now you are emotionally charged and want to keep fit and healthy for all the right reasons and you have booked it in your diary. All that is missing is accountability. It is too easy to say when the time comes I am too busy. So getting accountable means getting a personal trainer, a fellow worker or a mate to meet you and even do the run or the training session with you. You will feel less inclined to let someone else down than yourself. And don’t think paying for a gym membership will solve the problem – you only have to look at the drop out rates for gyms.

We are all time poor which make us all time poor so the last thing we need to do is force ourselves to do something that is going to make us busier. But if you associate the benefits of an activity to your deep inner core values then you may stand half a chance of making it a priority and factoring it into your weekly routine.

What's up with this alcohol thing?

2009-09-04T03:02:00.000-07:00

In my local neighbourhood recently I saw a hotel building that had been revamped ready for business again but there was no indication as to what the new venture would be. There was shopping trolleys out the front so I automatically presumed it would be a mini super market or something to that effect. 2 weeks later I saw it had opened as a discount liquor store outlet. The car park was full and a steady trickle of people coming in and out with purchases.

What is my point? Why can a new shop instantly create a mild sense of hysteria selling alcohol and yet a gym which is a mini version of a discount liquor store except the product is health, fitness and wellness not have that mini hysteria effect? The only reasoning I can put it down to is the sensation and release alcohol gives the user. But exercise and activity can offer the same effects just not as quickly. Maybe it is the huge marketing dollars the alcohol industry spends but again the Government, the media and the fitness industry itself also spends big dollars on marketing and actually gets lots of free publicity. So I can only put it down to the fact that alcohol is a quick fix release that people perceive will take them away from their troubles and create happiness for them.

Now please don't judge me as a wowser as I enjoy a drink, in moderation of course, as much as anyone. But it was just something that made my little brain start working overtime. And I also don't begrudge operators from making money out of selling alcohol. But what is the attraction?

I want to leave you with a pitch and a plea for your health and wellbeing. Please try and get as passionate about your health and wellbeing as the masses and maybe you get about alcohol. Remember these important points.

Physical activity stimulates your feel good hormones and can give you the feeling of euphoria afterwards without the hangover
Physical activity will improve your performance and will be cheaper in the long run. If you add up health compared to medical complications, accident costs etc as a result of excess alcohol consumption.
You will look and feel better in the real world rather than looking and feeling invincible in an alcohol fueled haze.

Something to think about and I would love to hear your views. Maybe I am way off the mark here and don't mind being told so.

Counting calories isn't as cut and dry as it sounds

2009-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

The common misconception for anyone trying to lose body fat is that exercise is the key and will do it all for them. They join a gym which is a great step but commonly this only serves in giving a false sense of security as far as calorie or energy expenditure goes. A lot of the time visiting the gym even 5 hours a week by itself will not be enough activity for most people who are otherwise sedentary. In this day and age a minimum of 7 hours a week physical activity should be undertaken in a week for good health and to help the fat loss process.

There are usually four main problems associated with the way we think of achieving fat loss in my experience.

They count calories but don’t realise that anything that is heavily processed and unnatural is not an equal to a fresh and natural calorie packed full of nutrients. They aren’t getting the food value their bodies require. This is especially relevant today with low fat, diet and heavily sugared or artificially sweetened foods.
They commonly skimp on breakfast to save calories. This is the easiest way to stop fat loss in its tracks. Metabolism doesn’t function optimally and again quality nutrient dense foods are sacrificed for less valuable foods nutrients wise.
The portion sizes of their food can usually cut by ¼ to ½ . Even eating bad food options with a reduced size serving will still increase their capacity for fat loss. Unfortunately anything that gets binged on is usually heavily processed and sweetened so reducing the size down to half can save a lot of excess calories being consumed.
Move more in any way you can. Physical activity is needed for energy expenditure.

In summary quality should always take precedence over quality or lack of it in a weight loss campaign. The more nutrient value a food has the better effect that food will have on fat loss.

Warning: You need to start building up your immunity.

2009-08-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

If you were fortunate enough to hear our 'Back up a Little' interview with Dr Steve Wilson you would know how badly out of shape our health is getting. As a race we are becoming more reliant on medication and neglecting to address our own lack of natural barriers to disease and sickness. If you are serious about removing restrictions from your life then you need to start building up your own defence barriers to illness. Get your immunity muscles bulging so to speak.

To highlight to me how well we are going, we had to take Tyrone (our son) to the Doctor recently to get him checked as he had a cold and his ears were starting to hurt. turns out he had an ear infection and was prescribed an ear drop form of antibiotic. We tried every chemist in the vicinity but no stock of the drug for 2 weeks. Another prescription fared no better except one outlet had one batch left. running out of drugs isn't uncommon these days but you don't hear of nature letting you down in this way do you. The Laws of Nature don't run out - they keep on keeping on.

That's my rant here we need to keep getting back to nature to stay healthy. Don't fight it join it because it can't be beaten. Fire won't beat a forest it just makes it come back stronger. Buildings can't stand in the way of water for too long before they get reduced to ruin. Our bodies can't sustain constant poisoning with unnatural substances for long before warning signs start appearing. As an Australian the first inhabitants of our land lived with nature and introducing unnatural substances into their lives didn't do their cause and health too well did it? So why not start getting back to nature? I have given 4 great starting points if you want to start your own natural journey.

Remove added sugars from your diet. Sugar, artificial sweeteners can be taken out of the diet in so many ways. Cool drinks, fruit juices (commercial), most commercial cereals, cakes, pastries and so on. replacing any drinks you may purchase with natural substitutes will be a great help. Water, freshly squeezed juices and herb teas are great liquid replacements
Consume fruit and vegetables at every meal. Make this a ritual and you will be getting such a great natural boost of nutrients at every meal.
Lose the low fat mentality. Our bodies need fat for survival and energy and replacing good fats and oils with low fat alternatives deprives your body of a vital ingredient for health and well being.
Think quality not quantity. By sticking to the 3 tips above this will be easier but just remember we aren't moving as much as we used to so we don't need as much energy. As an example for most of us an entree size meal is big enough and sometimes even too big. Put in the nutrient dense foods and take out the heavily processed unnatural options.

These simple steps will do wonders for your immunity and stop you relying on a staggering health system due to our inability to take responsibility for our own health.

So you feel like it can't be done?

2009-07-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite past times is spending time with my family and it is something I plan into my week. What I want to pass on today is the reinforcement of the need to set goals but more importantly the need to break them down into a step by step process. It may sound like an extra job but taking the time to do this will be a vital part of your success. My daughter is going to be used to highlight my point.

Sabina (eldest daughter) was casually remarking to me how it would be so hard to count over 100 and how she couldn't do it. I calmly took her to the number chart on the wall and highlighted to her how easy it was to count to 1000 if she could count to 100; and how easy it was to count to 100 if she could count to ten - which she can do. From that point on she started counting and made it right up to 200. This was monumental for her, small for you I know, but there is a lesson to learn from this.

Are you trying to lose weight, get fitter, strengthen your back, prevent disease, stop illness or make a million dollars on the stock market?

Where ever you are in life the big dreams can seem too big and out of reach. In reality it is only a matter of breaking the dream down into achievable segments that will take you to your destination. The power is in the process as Sabina found out. Once she new counting in blocks of ten could lead to making it to 100 she worked on counting to ten, then 20, then 30 and so on. Same with you, break it down and you have the motivation to go and achieve because you can see a path to take you there. The key is making your path clear and visible.

Try it get your goal and follow these steps.

Think big - get your goal out in the open of your mindset and don't disbelieve it. When your thinking says it can't be done, correct it to be, "it is possible and I will find the way"
Break it down - what is it that you need to address that will allow you to get that dream or outcome. There is always three or four things if not more you need to attend to.
Get a strategy- Four each area of challenge or concern put together 4 or 5 (or more) strategies that will help you improve the areas needed to be addressed that will drive you to your end point.
Commit to you and honour it - by following the strategies to the letter and all of a sudden the points to come out of the 'Break it down' phase are being improved and addressed. Then sticking to the strategies consistently will drive you to your dream.

There you have a simplistic and broken down approach to getting your desired outcomes. Constant attention to the process and details will ensure massive results, guaranteed.

What is the attraction with sin?

2009-07-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Las Vegas I saw things from a totally different perspective. As I have been fortunate enough to have been there a few times before I could look at things from a different perspective this time and ponder a question that the answer still alludes me. But after reading a book titled 'As a man thinketh" and then visiting Vegas I feel the answer to my question is nearer. The question by the way is, 'Why do we continue to indulge in practices that we know aren't good for us'?

Witnessing Las Vegas from a parental perspective, plus being in a completely different place in the self development phase forced me to view things differently. Seeing gamblers in action at all hours of the day and night, drinking, smoking, violence, stealing as well as sex, drugs and homelesness openly displayed really made me ask why is this place so appealing? Not to mention the cheap and nasty food options on tap. My findings are that the majority of us (humans) are fixated with satisfying our desires by indulging in what is perceived to be pleasurable and satisfying past times. Unfortunately the satisfaction is short lived so we go back again and again for more in a bid to feed our desires and try and find happiness. Only to find that feeding desires makes us more unhappy and unsatisfied. I feel the only form of happiness can ever come from within and when this occurs we will never have to rely on external sources and indulgences to satisfy us.

Learning to control our mindsets, to be one of complete abundance and to serve, rather than to desire, want and indulge ourselves and promote our importance in front of others, only serves us to continuously keep seeking external sources of satisfaction that will never fill the missing void of internal happiness. Do you constantly feel like there must be more to life? Well I reckon there is but it isn't external; it's internal. I won't go on too much but I feel if you can follow a few guidelines to start with you may start to see what a difference changing your mindset can make and sinful desires will slowly lose their appeal.

Become a servant to a cause or others
Don't get angry learn to forgive instead
Drop the opinions - who says you are right all the time
Learn to be happy inside before looking for happiness externally

If you begin to implement these four principles into your line of thought your actions will follow suit just as the fruit follows the seed.

What a Waste of Energy

2009-06-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Holidays, travel, adventure, I love them all and even getting up at two in the morning didn't bother me to get to the airport in time. I'm off to America for three weeks to stay in San Diego - California with my sister in law. But it's not all about me, in fact I am here to tell you about a situation I witnessed at the airport that was so petty and avoidable yet it consumed 7 people directly and others indirectly and started a day off horribly wrong for those involved.

Whilst lining up to check baggage in a mother and daughter were patiently waiting in front of a mother and son. All was quiet as you would expect until another young girl rushed up to the mother and daughter combo to embrace and get ready for their voyage together. Then the issue arose whereby the father (not in line) of the mother and son combo waiting behind the girls rushed up to confront and take the lady to task for pushing in. Well as you can imagine emotions were out of control and all were left scowling, shaking heads and in general emotionally disrupted. What was worst the father then walked off to leave all involved to feel very uncomfortable with each other.

What's my point? I'm big on living your life according to principles and guidelines and one very important one to me is 'first things first'. Well this was first thing in the morning and if this was the way they all kicked off their day and no one was prepared to see the others point of view, admit wrong doing, apologise or even agree to disagree, the rest of the day for each and everyone involved would of been filled with resentment and anger which may well eventuate in angry or resentful actions at some stage. Outcome being a wasted day and by constantly repeating this pattern of emotional unconsciousness lives will be marred by blaming others, resentment, revenge and the notion that the world revolves around them and their situation.

To avert the problem I feel they would of been better off

Understanding each others point of view before putting their own case forward.
Look for a win/win solution rather than just a win for themselves.
Then apologise or at least move on and forget about the issue as no more could be done. If nothing else forgive the other and feel sorry for them for being so arrogant and ignorant to others and their situations.

If conflict is a constant in your life please think about this. Your thoughts control your actions and until you control your thoughts you will never control your actions.

Are you digging deep enough?

2009-06-14T02:26:00.000-07:00

Waking up today I was a little hazier that usual and then reality hit me. My family has deserted me or I have deserted them maybe more to the point. As I write, Adriana (wife), Sabina, Tyrone and Daniella (kids) are all on board a Qantas flight to Los Angeles and will be ushered down to San Diego to spend a month with Adriana's sister's family. I decided to stay a week longer at home to get some business dealings all sorted and then I will meet them there in a weeks time. Now that I've explained myself I'll get to the point. My greatest and deepest core value is my family and I already miss them but there is an upside; as we must always find in times of adversity.

I have some deadlines that others want me to meet for my own business interests and I can now devote the next week to solely satisfying my business/hobby needs and the other parties. If the family was here with me now I wouldn't be dedicating the time required to meet the deadlines others are requiring of me. Notice I didn't say couldn't. Because I work for myself this may seem strange but I have committed to an agreement that requires me to produce a product that someone else will sell for me!!!

The point being I was prepared to miss their required deadline because I was satisfying my family values and in turn keeping my passion for life as high as a kite. At the end of the day if I wasn't happy with my life (by not satisfying my deepest and dearest values) my output will be substandard, my relationship with my family substandard and my drive and purpose would lose its sting pretty quickly. Opportunities to make money will always be there but you and your values may not be so make the most of them.

What's my point? Are you aware of your deepest inner core values and if you are; are you satisfying them on a daily or weekly basis? If the answer is no to any of the questions above you are probably not as satisfied and as passionate about your life as you could be. You do have a choice and it's about time you started making the right ones for you - not for others or to satisfy others needs. Ask yourself theses 3 questions to start digging deep to find your own deepest core values.

If you were guaranteed success in anything you did what would you like to be doing right now in your life - and what emotions does the thought of you living this life stir up for you?
Do you hop into bed at the end of each day knowing your actions during the day have scratched the itch your values create and do you wake up in the morning looking forward to attacking your day passionately driving your satisfaction levels for living to an all time high.
What would you like said about you when you retire or as we all will; move to another life -what would you like to be remembered for most in your life?

Answering these questions is not a 5 minute exercise but if you are serious about living a life with passion and fulfilment I suggest you ask them and take the time to record your answers. It will start you on the way to getting your own personal mission statement. Answer the questions in order otherwise the exercise will not be as effective. Leave a comment so I can see how you went.

Have you ever heard of mood proofing yourself?

2009-06-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

Wow I have just finished listening to an unbelievable interview via a podcast I subscribe to and boy was it good. So good I want to share the message I took out of it. Basically my take on it is, no matter where you are in life; at the top of the success ladder, the bottom or somewhere in between, the same battles and challenges are still going to appear. The interview in question was between a mentor of mine Scott and a pracademic (practical academic) William Sukala who is just about to complete his PHD. His studies and research involve special at risk populations and empowering them to use exercise to counter and stop these conditions.

But the two big factors I took out of the interview to share with you is to do with your mindset and how your actions are ruled by it. Anyone involved in our wellness coaching program will know the importance I place on our mindset and William reinforces this. He has consciously mood proofed himself which simply put, means he is totally aware of his mind when things get tough. And in these tough times he makes sure his processes are right and reassures himself he is on the right path and to keep persisting. He also has Emergency Standing Orders (ESO) which he follows when his outlook and positivity is tested. Again his process is checking his personal mission statement (PMS) and making sure the path he is taking, when the struggle mentally begins, is in line with his PMS. Combining these ritualised tools in his armoury safe guard him against anxiety and worry. To quote him, "the future isn't here yet so why worry about that and the past has gone, so there's nothing you can do about that now".

I took so much out of this interview and I hope my message gets through to you in the same way. But to assist you to mood proof your mind and start making your own Emergency Standing Orders try following these steps when anxiety and worry starts to toxify your mindset.

Stop and listen to the messages you are broadcasting to your subconscious mind
Qualify those thoughts and ask yourself are the thoughts which will control my actions helping me achieve my desired outcome in life
Make a choice whether you entertain that thought further or disregard it totally and put a consequence to the choice you make
Take absolute responsibility for the choice you make and don't deviate from this responsibility. Don't become a victim.

I'll leave you with a famous Einstein quote that William the great repeated. The definition of insanity is seeking a different outcome yet taking the same course of action over and over again. Is that you?

William Sukala's website can be found at http://www.williamsukala.com/

Is scarcity making you unwell?

2009-05-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

Let's face it not many of us really enjoys getting mad, angry or upset. And from a wellness perspective being in these far from harmonious states is not going to help you achieve wellness and well being. I've mentioned it before but scarcity can be a huge factor in allowing these negative emotions to enter your world. So to set the scene for where I am headed I want you to open up your mind and recall how any conflict, difference of opinion or how someone's actions has upset you and what caused the negative outcome. Then I will get you to back up a little and investigate.

Let me give you a couple of examples to highlight what I'm getting at. Say the poor old mother in law has come over and whilst you were out or busy on some other task she has put draino or bleach in the washing machine and washed your favourite clothes. Obviously they will be damaged and apart from being favourites you will have to go spend more money replacing them when it wasn't even your fault. Another one is you may not have left instructions to someone who is assisting you on a task in fear of sounding directive or forceful and then finding out the job hasn't been done right. Anger and resentment may kick in. Both highlight scarcity as fear has dictated how you approached the situation and how you felt about the outcome.

These outcomes and feelings could of been avoided by simply changing your mindset from scarcity to abundance. We know scarcity is living in fear of or a lack mindset and abundance is a mindset of plenty, opportunity and empowerment don't we? Back to the mother in law the situation is not going to change and holding onto the anger and resentment over the result stems from the fear of spending money then you are thinking subconsciously that there is a lack of money. This thinking will block any opportunity of earning, winning or attracting more money to come to you. With the job example, your fear of losing friends or sounding bossy stops you making your position known. You can't ever be in a leadership or entrepreneurial role as your scarcity mindset will block these opportunities from appearing to you and hence your ability to grow and develop yourself. These are just two of millions of examples I could of used but the underlying factor is - it is your choice as to whether you live in scarcity or abundance.

Here is a guide to get you to change over and start thinking abundantly.

Monitor when you shy away from situations or when you feel negative emotions invading your head space.
Identify what the underlying factor is that is doing this to you. Is it money, belief, ability or just that it is different and uncomfortable.
Challenge the identified factor that is causing all the fear. Ask yourself or even better write it down and get the logical part of your mind disputing your thought patterns that take you into scarcity.
Flip your mindset and get uncomfortable. Now you have identified and challenged the scarcity causer turn it around and you have the abundant mentality causer. Push through this part as it takes courage and persistence to change.

Find out why oppostite is great.

2009-05-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

Be different is what I am saying. And what's more be proud about it. My reasoning for saying this is the world would be a really boring place to be in if we were all the same. And on reflection and generally surmising my circle of influence too many individuals are conforming to the mentality of it's the way things are done, it's how it is or it's what everyone else is doing so it must be OK. I'm here to encourage you to branch out and discover you and what it is that you can turn around in your lifestyle that will make a world of difference to your fulfillment, performance, enjoyment, success and wellness. Back up a little and start smelling more roses.

How many times do you hear someone say I don't have time do do that or I can't fit it in I already do to much. It is very common isn't it. Well let me say one thing - If you haven't got the time to do it, you need to do it more so. Meaning if you haven't got time to play with the kids, do some activity, go and meet a friend for coffee, have a massage or anything else that you would like to do just for you and your mindset is telling you you haven't got time. You need to make time and realise what is more important in this very short lifetime of yours.

A great example of thinking differently or outside the box is something I recently read about Donald Trump. His father discouraged him to build and develop real estate in Michigan (USA). He had the odds stacked against him and everyone told him he was nuts. He thought the opposite to them and the difference is he acted differently to them also. Look at the success he has had since and you would say his decisions were justified. His quote to illustrate his attitude which he calls going against the tide is, "Great minds have purposes, others have wishes".

My point being; everyone is busy. Everyone can justify not making better lifestyle choices by quoting work or other commitments that aren't as important as you and your wellness creation efforts. But at the end of the day is that reason going to make you happier, more fulfilled and give you the total freedom you would like? If not make some changes today that will take you closer to a more fulfilling and better quality existence.

Are you a happiness bounty hunter?

2009-05-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd slip in a quick thought that has been with me for a while. And If I am completely up front about it what I am about to talk about here is something that has caused me a great deal of uncertainty in my short but eventful life. It is the materialism conundrum and where you sit with it all and more importantly why do you feel like you do about it. Lets explore it more and then I will let you explore it more in your own head space.

In today's society it is not uncommon for people to shift around in their jobs, houses, girlfriends, wives and cars. It would be fair to say a lot of the toing and froing is in order to get something bigger, better that will in perception make your life more complete or better. My thoughts are this causes undue stress and creates the never happy syndrome (if there is one). Because buying the better car, the better house, the designer label sunnies and so on will only keep you happy for so long until the next big thing in your eyes hits your world. Where as if you look at constantly investing in your internal happiness and fulfillment the perception that you need materials to keep you satisfied will quickly dissipate. Not to mention the money and stress it will save you.

As an example you can go on a trip to the other side of your country or another country and get so much joy and fulfillment from the mere fact that you are there seeing another way of life and experiencing the culture. Or you can go out and look at the material things in your vicinity or go chasing them in a bid to satisfy yourself. I call it internal versus external happiness hunting and I am not saying one is right or wrong but I want you to think which category you fall into and beware of the alternative. Open up your mind to the possibility that you can have your cake and share it yet still be fulfilled and then don't feel the need to go looking for a bigger or better one to show the world how good or successful you are.

Do you want to break free?

2009-05-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

I may be showing my age here but the title brings memories of Queen (rock band) flooding back however that isn't what I'm here to talk about sorry. Maybe another day.

Self limiting beliefs and thoughts hold you back whether it be in a physical, mental or even spiritual sense. The more we repeat an action or a thought the more the body or mind learns and remembers how to carry it out. So taking that on board if you are continuously thinking negative, lack or scarcity then this is what your mindset is always going to replay. And unfortunately this is always going to be replayed as it’s already been played so many times it’s going to be on auto pilot in your mind.

So whenever you get put under pressure and you could either take the positive route or the negative route autopilot will kick in and negativity is back without you even knowing about it. Dr Howard Cameron an a natural health scientist and chiropractor says try brushing teeth with your non dominant hand and see how foreign and difficult the task feels. Same goes with the mind, try thinking positive or upbeat about a particular situation and see how hard it is to maintain (if you have negative tendencies already). But as stated earlier the more you can reinforce and stick to positive and upbeat thinking then the more it becomes part of your normal thought processes.

A great way to start the process is by

Dreaming about a real life situation that you would like to be a positive experience for you.
Imagine accurate images of this situation.
Extract the feeling or emotion from this image and
Act on this feeling strongly and remember the stronger the image and the emotion the stronger the action

Reinforcing why energy management is superior

2009-05-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie as my energy is about to run out. Does that sound funny to you? You would usually expect me to say I am rushed for time wouldn't you. Well I am here to reinforce to you why time management is quickly becoming redundant in my world. I know through my own experiences as an entrepreneur, wellness coach, fitness professional, father, mentor and soon to be online youth athletic development coach if I was to time manage solely I wouldn't be as efficient as I am now that I manage my workload according to energy rather than time. I still work in time slots but I now manage my energy to make sure I am at my best for the times I need to be. Clear as mud?

The inspiration for my little reinforcement quickie is after just returning home from my regular Saturday morning hangout with my 3 kids. Sabina my eldest was the lucky or unlucky one whichever way you look at it who got to walk home with Dad while Tyrone and Sabina rode in the pram. Sabina as expected was tiring (physical energy) so we stopped at every bus stop on the way home. Once we began walking again we powered on to the next stop. We arrived home and the result was as follows. The time it took was actually less than our normal walk and Sabina was ready for the adventures our wonderful family home life offers our kids.

The wonderful Sabina

What's my point; if I had been fixated on time management I would of pushed Sabina to keep going or even carry her on my back or something ridiculous like that. It would of taken me longer and worn me out. But because I applied energy management my time management actually improved as well as my energy levels and Sabina's. Everyone was a winner.

What's with White Carbs?

2009-05-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether you have heard but lately I have been hearing a lot about white carbs and how you should be avoiding them. Firstly I will state categorically blanket statements in nutrition don't work. Making blanket statements such as the white carbohydrates are bad for you just don't apply. It is like saying there is a right and a wrong way to do something and no in between. This kind of thinking is for people who live in a world where there aren't any opportunities, the rich are all crooks and lotto is the only ticket to freedom. Now I've got that off my chest i'll move on with white carbs - sorry.

Carbohydrates are a necessity in your diet and that includes white ones. Foods such as onions, oats, cauliflower, spring onions, mushrooms and even chick peas are all white carbs and they are definitely good for you. What I feel the white carb scare campaign is aimed at is heavily processed items such as white breads, donuts, sugar, breakfast cereals and even ice cream. But i'm sure all of you knew this already. Carbohydrates are vital in your diet and I don't think people realise that fruit and vegetables are classed as carbs.

To be sure you are eating the good carbs in future follow these guidelines and you can't go wrong.

Buy foods in their natural form. Fruit and vegetables have their own packet (their outer skin) so resist carbohydrates that need unpacking or unwrapping from a packet or a box.
Include a natural and unprocessed carbohydrate source at every meal.
Eat at regular intervals to ensure the goodness from these natural and unprocessed carbohydrates is put into your body throughout the day.

Please put the carbohydrate myth to bed and maybe reply to all of your friends and associates that it isn't the carbohydrates we need to reduce in your diet it is the processed foods that are making us horrible unhealthy. Two great quotes I've heard are - If your ancestors didn't eat it 1000 years ago neither should you and If it doesn't rot don't eat it. I would advise consumption before the rotting phase!!!!!

What's so good about getting corrected by a 5 year old?

2009-04-27T03:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been held to account? There is a good chance you have been and if so there is a fair chance next time you were much more conscious of doing the job or activity right. The point of my message is accountability and how you and I need it to become better and achieve success. I don't care who you are this is one thing we all have in common - we need to be held accountable.

To prove my point by using a very simplistic story; my daughter who is only 5 years old and in pre school is learning the alphabet, sounding out words and so forth. All very exciting for her and she's doing very well. She is doing so well I am constantly being corrected in my grammar. I have fallen into the horrible habit of saying yeah and she without fail stops me and makes me repeat the word properly. "You said Yeah Dad say it properly". Of course I follow orders. Same goes with the word what instead of pardon. At first it was a little bit of fun but she aint stopping and guess what? I am improving my speaking especially around her. True accountability isn't it.

What's my point? Well just think if you had someone you were accountable to as far as your lifestyle, business or anything really. You can't hide or fudge it and you have to answer to someone when you aren't pulling your weight. You then are forced to make serious choices as to whether you conform, make sacrifices and succeed or realise you aren't ready to take the task seriously enough. Either way you get a result or a realisation and you stop beating around the bush.

For me I have just been told my coffee is ready by Sabina and of course I replied with a, "yes thank you sweety". Only 5 but she's got me wrapped around her little finger.

Do you make your bed?

2009-04-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Why on earth would I be asking you this question especially as I am putting myself out to the world as a Lifestyle / Performance Enhancement coach? Glad you asked because I believe the answer is pivotal in making and maintaining long term behavioural changes vital if you are looking to improve not just in your lifestyle but any area of your life. If you don't already know, I am driven to find the solution to why so many of us humans don't take every step possible to ensure our own health and well being. We all profess to know that exercise and activity is good for us and eating the right foods will keep us healthier but we still struggle to follow through on this. Why?

Look familiar

Well I am a long way off getting that answer yet but I will explain why I asked the question put to you in the title. And that is because so many people have the greatest intentions to improve themselves in numerous ways and take off at a hundred miles an hour only to end up back at square one within a month or two. What's even worst their motivation levels are probably even lower due to the fact that they have only succeeded in reinforcing that improving yourself is hard work and near on impossible. Well all of this type of thinking is floored and totally unfounded. Because you haven't taken the time to do the first things first. Hence making your bed. If you follow the principle or guideline of doing the first things first, this will be your first duty every day.

So basically whatever self improvement vision or goal you have you need to start at the beginning. You only have to see the amount of gym memberships that are left unused. The amount of treadmills left idle in the lounge. The proper foundation hasn't been laid before action has begun. Sounds easy enough and you may think you know this but do you do it? So develop your self awareness and question if you do complete the first things first. Would you build a house without laying a solid concrete slab foundation to lay the bricks on. Definitely not so why start a lifestyle improving plan without laying the foundations.

Maybe the builder here didn't apply the first things first principle

Here's some tips to help you start with the first things first. Apply this formula to every task you undertake and success will be heading your way more often than not.

Take responsibility for your actions and realise you are the only one who makes change work or fail - stop making excuses
Have a vision or a dream so strong that you can almost touch it or smell it. If it isn't this strong you don't want it enough yet.
Plan and execute it to achieve your vision. Construct a plan that is solid and exercise self discipline and self regulation to help carry it out. Be true to yourself and do what you said you would.

Now go and make your bed!!!!

Have you been on a date lately?

2009-04-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

The dating game can be a frustrating, exciting and even extremely rewarding. And even though I am very happily married with 3 wonderful kids I still go on dates. How about you? When was the last time you went on a date - with yourself!!!! That's right with yourself. As part of my mission as a Lifestyle coach and a performance enhancement coach I am not surprised to hear that this is one thing that is sadly missing from the lives of the majority.

By making a date with yourself you are reinforcing to your subconscious mind that you are special and important. Why do you think singles are so proud and eager to let out to their friends and associates that they are out on a date tonight or on the weekend. Whether it is because their ego has been stroked I don't know but it signifies that they are important enough for someone to give up time to be with them. and this what you should do for yourself. Give up time to be with yourself completely and without distraction. This may be a cafe date where you read the paper and enjoy a flat white. Or it may be a massage, a pedicure, a shoe shine, a pedicure, a foot spa or just a plain old sit in the mall and watch the world go by. Whatever the date is you would be well served to make it fun, mentally relaxing and soothing so it takes you away from your usual routine. Spoil yourself for once and start training your mindset to believe you are important.

If this concept sounds corny or totally wrong to you, try it and see what you think. Here's some tips to get it happening.

Book it: Confirm it by putting in your diary the twenty minutes, hour or two hours you need to have a great date with yourself. Write in the time the date, the place and prioritise it.
Prepare for it: If you need to book in for your date do it immediately you have booked your own time. If you are leaving work prepare anyone around you that you are unavailable at the time you will be away. You don't have to tell them what you are doing, just tell them i am unavailable for an hour. You will be surprised how empowering that action is.
Honour yourself: Make sure you follow through and do it. If you are like most people you already put yourself at least second and possibly last, this stops here and you prioritise your date time. If you are looking for an excuse to get out of it you will find it on the other hand if you look for ways to ensure you keep the date you will find it.
Love it: Live completely in the moment, turn off the phone, and totally engage in yourself. If you are reading a book or paper get fully engaged in it. If it's a massage go to sleep, a foot spa go to sleep or zone out. You get the picture - this is your time use it for you only.

If you are still finding this concept hard to embrace, try this on for size. If you don't take the time and rate yourself importantly enough to structure in time for yourself someone else definitely will. But it won't be for you it will be so they can have more dates with themselves. Make this a priority today and take the first step now. It won't get any easier the longer you leave it.

Are you easily inflamed?

2009-03-31T03:25:00.000-07:00

Inflammation is a much maligned term just the same as cholesterol is. The reality is both are vital for survival. However too much of either of them can be a recipe for disaster. Focusing on inflammation there are diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, joint health, cancer, Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, and much more related to excess inflammation. Another important factor is it may be playing a role in you holding onto that stubborn hard to remove body fat.

There are two types of inflammation.

Acute: Vital in the recovery from illness, injury and healing wounds

Chronic: This is the dangerous one type that is the underlying issue in a lot of the conditions mentioned earlier and holding onto excess body fat stores. To reduce Chronic Inflammation you should be focusing on removing white flour products from your diet. Increasing the quality of your calories not just focusing on the number of calories consumed. Eat a wide range of coloured natural foods and consume good quality fats (that's right research tells us good oils can make us leaner and healthier).

Good oils aren't found in any of these items and will definitely contribute to chronic inflammation

In a nutshell cleaning up your diet will not only reduce dangerous inflammation but also improve your physique. Follow these steps to stave off chronic inflammation.

Eat a coloured diet: Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables will increase the colour and quality of your diet. Not to mention the fibre quantity.
Eat more omega 3 fats: As a reminder, omega 3 fats are found in fish, tuna, anchovies, nuts, seeds and others. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least regular servings of cold water fish each week. And consider a high quality, pure fish oil supplement. The healthy fats in fish oil act like Draino for your blood vessels; they keep your blood flowing smoothly and don’t allow them to become sticky, like other unhealthy fats do.
Eat less omega 6 fats: Decrease your unhealthy fats, like those found in fried foods, pastries, French fries and the like…but also decrease the vegetable oils in your diet. Adding omega-3’s without decreasing inflammatory omega-6’s is like simply putting a band aid on the problem. The fats found in these foods can be compared to putting sludge in your gas tank; probably not something that would be too wise.
Keep moving: You would of heard the term move it or lose it. Same applies here if you aren't keeping active there is no chance you can keep joints lubricated, metabolism firing and removing metabolic wastes from your system. Staying inactive is a great way to attract inflammation and in turn disease and sickness.

We all have some level of inflammation regardless of how well we eat; the key is to control it to the best of your ability, which comes from living a clean lifestyle, exercising regularly, and simply taking care of your body in every way possible

Bridge the gap anywhere, anytime.

2009-03-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Bridging the gap is something you may hear more commonly used in sporting circles where a team has the advantage over another the term bridging the gap may be mentioned in conversation. Bridging can also be commonly heard to describe an exercise that is used to increase core strength. Not a commonly used method of bridging at Lifestyle Improvers training sessions and please don't try this at home.

The context bridging is used in this article has nothing to do with any of those references at all but does refer to a useful tool you can utilise to increase the quality of choices and decisions you make everyday in your life. However achieving this outcome will need conscious effort, it won't just happen automatically.

To become a more effective and adaptable human being you would be well advised to look for ways to counter any inefficiencies you may have that cause you to make choices and decisions that aren't pulling you closer to your dreams or desires. Things like looking for excuses or someone to blame every time something goes wrong (as they will) or reaching for that can of heavily sugared cool drink when you are thirsty. Those scenarios are very basic but for the purpose of this article they will serve a purpose. In both scenarios there is an occurrence (something going wrong and getting thirsty) also a response (blaming someone or making an excuse and drinking a heavily sugared cool drink) but the most important point I want to highlight is the gap between the two. This gap always presents; sometimes it's shorter than others but it always presents. Once you start developing an awareness of the occurrences that constantly pop up in your life, you can then start the important process of bridging that gap and hopefully reducing the impact of the occurrence by internally systematising a response.

Follow this process to see if we can bridge the gap between occurrence and response.

Identify Occurrences: This is fundamental, because not being aware of the occurrences that present the most challenge to you and your goals means you will never have the ability to change any destructive actions that you may be unconsciously participating in that are undermining your desires to achieve outcomes.

Wait, Listen to and then Trust your Instincts: Learning this action in itself will teach you to start slowing down and listening to the dialogue that is going on inside your cranium. It will also show you that not making decisions immediately won't mean the difference between life or death - in the majority of cases!!!

Choose responses based on consequence and intuition: Attach a consequence to every choice you make due to an occurrence. If you listen to your intuition and then place consequences to your choices then you become fully aware of the direction you are deciding to head because of those decisions you are making.

Own Your Response: If the outcome turns foul or golden, be true to yourself and claim responsibility. This way if the outcome wasn't ideal you will learn from it and do it differently next time and move on. And if the result was good reward yourself so you keep acting in this manner and aspiring for a reward.

This is the way you can bridge the gap between occurrence and response whether it be work, relationships or lifestyle. It doesn't matter where you apply it the formula still stays the same.

Why Do I Keep Falling Off the Cart.

2009-03-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

Are you a person that has tried everything and anything to lose weight, keep healthy and get into shape but never sticks with it? Well I've compiled a list of reasons why you have done and will continue to keep on doing what you have done unless you address some of these factors.

Another common factor in why people fail to plan and execute health creation plans effectively and for the long term is they get all caught up in what the right type of carbs to eat are or which exercises should I be doing? Instead of worrying about the bigger issues such as the ones below. You would be well served to start looking at the bigger picture than trivial little details that in reality will change all the time anyway. Look at the following 7 reasons and see why you may be failing to adhere to a long term health creation exercise regime.

1. NO MINDSET CHANGE: you may have set a goal, but you didn't put it on or near the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal is six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend is higher on your priorities list than having a flat stomach.
2. NO SUPPORT SYSTEM: you tried to go at it alone; no training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going gets tough.
3. NO PERSISTENCE: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 kilos a month or 5 kilos a week or 3 kilos a week, so the first week you lost "only" 1 kilo or hit a plateau so you gave up.
4. NO PLANNING: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you didn't plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn't have a menu on paper, you didn't make time (so instead you made excuses, like "I'm too busy")
5. NO ACCOUNTABILITY - you didn't keep score for your own accountability - with a progress chart, weight record, measurements, food journal, training journal, and you didn't set up external accountability (ie, report to someone else or show your results to someone else)
6. NO BALANCE: your diet or training program was too extreme. You went the all or nothing, "I want it now" route instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.
7. NO PERSONALIZATION: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn't suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, situation or body type.

If these are the reasons why you aren't succeeding in losing kilos or getting healthier then get some focus, prioritise your health and think long term and see what difference it makes.

Are you sending mixed messages?

2009-03-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

I recently took a train ride with my youngest daughter and my son to Fremantle, a harbour side suburb in Perth. This isn't rare for us as the kids love the train and any outdoor excursions we take them on. What happened on the train reinforced something I am becoming more and more aware of. It is the perception others get from your body language and the way you conduct yourself in the public arena.

The instance that captured my attention was on the way home in the afternoon when the train was picking up passengers on the way back to Perth. Things became a little crowded but nothing too dramatic and one young fella hopped on and made an impression immediately. His phone was radiating offensive music and he was draped in an Aussie flag from the waist down. Hair cut extremely short but had a little rats tail at the back of his head, wore a shearers type tank top and track suit pants and would of been all of 19 or 20 years old. Immediately he started looking at people with intent if they touched him or got to close to him. He wasn't aggressive or rude but the perception was, this kid's trouble. Purely from the visual signals and the body language and also hearing his choice of music. But I have no idea if he was a bad kid or not. Yet I began to form an impression based on what I saw, heard and perceived.

My point being this kid was going to attract a certain type of person, action or behaviour into his life. We all do, but his actions, body language and other cues put out the signal to start attracting negativity of some sort. It wasn't anyone on the train but later on it may have been.

Are you aware of what you are attracting into your life? Do your actions and your behaviours match the sort of life you want to be living. For example are you hoping to be trim, taught and terrific in a bid to stay healthy and maybe attract friends with similar interests. But on reflection you are possibly eating the wrong kind of foods to stay healthy and thinking extremely negatively about your body image which may be manifesting your current state of poor health and negative body image. Hence are you having difficulty attracting the kind of friends you want into your life.

Pretty deep huh but worth thinking about. Just begin to exercise the self awareness muscles you already possess by writing down a few thoughts you have every day. By introducing this action into your daily routine you can start to become aware of how you are talking to yourself. If you find your self dialogue is destructive may pay you to address it. Your choice.