Posts Tagged ‘Don’

The Simple Guide to Optimal Health & Fitness

March 17th, 2010 The FLHC

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” -Theodosius Dobzhansky

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple.

As wild animals with massive brains and the ability to respond to sensory stimuli with more than just base instinctual behavior, we humans have the tendency to overthink pretty much, well, everything.

Don’t blame yourself. You can’t escape your head. It’s always there.

Everything you perceive or ponder is filtered through a dense network of constantly firing neural synapses. And whether you’re a strict materialist who thinks it’s all meaty wiring and circuitry up there, or you’re of the opinion that consciousness exists independently of your physical brain, we’re stuck with that consciousness filter – whatever its origin. It’s a blessing and a curse. Technology and science begat both the Internet and the atom bomb, after all. Or, both Youtube and the Youtube comments section.

Our hyper-consciousness often separates us from our surroundings. It erects a barrier that severs the pleasure and immediacy of visceral experience. Imagine the bird watcher who spots a rare woodpecker and immediately buries his nose in his bird ID handbook to confirm the find. The bird flies away. He gets to add a bird to his logbook, but he missed out on seeing a rare animal peck for grubs, stretch its glorious wings, and take flight in search of the next tree. Does a checkmark in a bird logbook compare to the memory of a majestic feathered beast? Ever take a literature course that was so chock full of analysis and essays that you were never able to actually enjoy the great books you were reading? Ever go to the movies with that guy who simply cannot suspend an ounce of disbelief and won’t shut up about the admittedly glaring plot hole the entire ride home? Seeking a deeper understanding of a fascinating and important subject is one thing; over-analysis is another entirely, and it can remove us from the enjoyment of a pleasurable pastime.

Human health and physical fitness are important, crucial things to consider, and millions find them fascinating subjects to discuss, analyze, and optimize. I’m one of them. Millions more overanalyze; they make things harder than they need to be, and they generally get poorer results in the long run. Or, they may get objectively good results, but their lives are consumed by the minutiae of calories, miles, reps, and nutrient counting. I’d say there’s got to be an easier way to do things. There has to be a path that utilizes our big brains without them getting in the way. There’s got to be a balanced, rational method to obtain optimal health and fitness that successfully marries our tendency to think with our animal instincts. Getting fit and being healthy should be simplistic, intuitive, and, most importantly, enjoyable.

Does wildlife obsess over calories eaten or reps performed? How do deer maintain their trim figures and impressive athleticism without a dietitian and weekly personal training sessions? Conversely, why does the house cat grow obese and lethargic, while a bobcat with nearly identical genes stays fit? It isn’t just the simplistic calories in/calories out model. It couldn’t be. Wild animals don’t count calories. They don’t worry about eating before bed, or getting enough exercise to burn off that squirrel they had for breakfast. They just are. They simply exist in an ecosystem hundreds of thousands of years in the making. Evolution has made sure, by its impartial, unconscious hand, that the flora and fauna live in harmony with each other and internally. The bobcat thrives on rodents and small birds because its digestive system and metabolism evolved eating these things; the house cat gets fat because its digestive system and metabolism aren’t suited for grain-based kibble. If the balance is upset in a given environment, organisms die out or move on, but things always reset. This is simply how nature works. When thinking about how to optimize our health and physical fitness, perhaps we should consider how animals do it – and how our ancestors did it.

We’re animals – no one disputes that. We are subject to evolution and natural selection – that one’s a bit more controversial, but it’s true nonetheless. If you keep those two facts in mind while noting the lesson of the fit, lean bobcat, a thread begins to emerge. Shouldn’t the same concept hold true for us? Isn’t there an evolutionarily suitable, effortless lifestyle for us humans, too?

There is, and I call it the Primal Blueprint. It eschews complicated workout regimens, tedious calorie counting, and weight loss gimmicks. My Primal laws are based on a rock solid foundation: evolutionary biology and anthropology mixed with modern human ingenuity. I take what worked for tens of thousands of years throughout human prehistory and incorporate contemporary science to confirm its veracity. When you go back and look at the fossil records of our hunter-gatherer, pre-agricultural ancestors, you find that they were healthy, strong, and largely free of degenerative diseases – especially compared to the health of post-agricultural and even modern humans.

The result is an incredibly simple, incredibly effective way to live, move, and eat: eat the things our ancestors ate, get the amount of sleep our ancestors used to get, and make the same movements our ancestors used to make before agriculture.

Take Action

If you take anything from this post remember these two action items:

1. The ideal human diet should consist of only whole, unprocessed foods – meat, fish, fowl, plants, fruits, and nuts. Whatever you can kill, pick, or dig up and eat on the spot. This is what your ancestors ate and what your body is meant to consume.

2. By the same token, the best exercise consists of natural, full-body movements – lifting heavy things, sprinting, walking, swimming, hiking, climbing, crawling. This is how your ancestors moved and how your body is meant to function.

Amazing Results

The results of following these simple rules are numerous and almost immediate:

  • The weight melts off, if you have some to lose, or added muscle appears, if you could stand to gain a few pounds.
  • You reset your taste buds. Sugar becomes cloying; processed industrial vegetable oil tastes unnatural.
  • You realize you don’t need grains, beans, and potatoes to feel full.
  • You crave real food, and you realize that real food tastes good – better than anything you could find on a convenience store shelf and more satisfying than anything in a fast food restaurant. Hunger no longer dictates that you eat every few hours.
  • You get stronger and faster, sure, but you learn to move again. You regain lost mobility.
  • You get sick less often as your immune system begins to function more effectively.
  • You take pleasure in real movement and become more confident in your own skin.
  • Eating and moving becomes intuitive, easy and fun.
  • The world becomes your gym. Can’t make it to the weight room? Pick up a rock, toss it a couple times, pull your own body weight, then go running in the park. As long as you can manipulate your own body weight, you’re strong enough.

Man is an opportunist above anything else. We love the easy way out, but we tend to make fitness and nutrition so incredibly complicated. Just cut out the foods we’ve only been eating for a few hundred generations (and do eat the things we’ve been eating for thousands of generations), drop the ridiculous fitness contraptions to focus on natural movements, and streamline your health. And don’t be afraid to turn off that big brain every once in awhile.

Read more from Mark Sisson at his popular blog, Mark’s Daily Apple, or check out his new book, The Primal Blueprint.



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Yoga and Meditation – How Can You Prevent Work Related Stress ?

March 17th, 2010 The FLHC

by Anthony D’Agostino

Follow these simply stress reduction techniques to improve you work day. Plan Regular Breaks. Plan short breaks during the day. Take a moment to stretch out, take several deep breaths, get up and take a short walk. Finally make sure to take a moment in reflective thought, and to apply the principles of yoga and meditation to your workday.

  • Plan Regular Breaks. Plan short breaks during the day. Take a moment to stretch out, take several deep breaths, get up and take a short walk. Anything to clear your mind and change your environment for a few minutes will do. Especially at lunch, try to get away from the office for a while.
  • Give Yourself Plenty of Time in The Morning. Don’t rush. Give your self an extra 15 minutes to get to work each day. Don’t add to your stress levels by having to worry about be late to work in the morning.
  • Create Balance. Make sure that you have enough time planned for family, friends, social activities and personal pursuits. All work and no play is a recipe for increased stress.
  • Prioritize. Make a spreadsheet, that lists three categories ranking from highest, most important (must do today type tasks) to lowest, least important (can do whenever I get around to it type tasks). Then tackle these tasks in order of priority with the most important getting your utmost attention first, and the lowest only getting your attention after all higher ranking tasks have been completed. Review your list periodically and clean it up. Discard those lowest ranking tasks that still haven’t been completed. If they aren’t important enough to complete after several weeks, let them go.
  • Break large projects up into smaller ones. When a large project seems overwhelming, simply break it up into smaller bite sized components. Then prioritize the pieces and tackle each smaller task in order of importance until the entire project is done.

    * Delegate. Let go of the need to control every aspect of the job. When others can handle a particular part of a task, why not let them? You will immediately release stress when you allow others to help.

    On a more subtle level you can use the intelligence you gain from practicing yoga and meditation to help. Use your increased self awareness to attune to your emotions and their impact while, using insight and intuition to guide you in your decision making. Use your increased levels of self control to better adapt to your changing circumstances and job environment. Use your relationship skills to understand and react to others, while inspiring, and influencing those around you by becoming a strong positive role model.

    Yoga and meditation provide amazing ways to reduce levels of stress and anxiety in the workplace.

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    The Simple Way to Stick to a Meal Plan

    March 13th, 2010 The FLHC
    Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on twitter or identica.

    Not long ago, I was against meal plans because I felt they were too restrictive. I generally prefer to stick to simple principles of eating whole foods, staying active, and eating moderate portions.

    But I’ve had a change of heart recently as I’ve focused on losing the last of my bellyfat — in the last year I’ve lost about 35 lbs., and in the last 3.5 months of sticking (mostly) to a general meal plan, I’ve lost 18 lbs.

    That’s a goodly amount, to be sure, and I don’t think I could have done it (healthily) without sticking to some kind of plan.

    Diet is the biggest component to losing fat — you can burn 600 calories (for example) in a workout, but you can easily eat 2-3 times that much in one sitting if you’re eating junk food. As they say, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. I’d still recommend getting active and burning calories as much as you can (with adequate rest), but if you really want to lose fat, you need to look at your diet.

    So if diet is important, how do you stick to a good diet? The meal plan is often the simplest answer — plan out the foods you’re going to eat, measured for your calorie goal, and then just eat those meals (for the most part). You don’t have to track your eating because it’s already planned out.

    Sticking to the meal plan is often the hard part, though. Most people aren’t used to it, and they often fail and feel guilty. So I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned, what’s worked for me, in hopes that it’ll help you.

    I’ve gotten pretty good at sticking to my plan, and I actually enjoy it. Go figure.

    The Simple Method

    So here’s what I’ve done, and what I’d recommend. Keep it simple.

    1. Eat real, whole foods you love. Do NOT see this as a sacrifice. If you hate carrots or eggplant but you eat them because they’re somehow “virtuous” or you think that sacrifice is the only way to lose that fat, you’ll fail. You cannot stick to something you hate for very long. Instead, go for healthy foods you actually enjoy eating. For me, this is berries, fruits of all kinds, raw almonds, veggies cooked tastefully in stir-fries or chili or what have you. Your list will be different, and it could take some experimenting with different recipes you find online, in magazines or in cookbooks to find the healthy foods you like best. Main rule of thumb, though: try for real foods, not packaged ones (not even “healthy” convenience foods). In as natural a state as possible — meaning, not processed or extracted, not fried or smothered with cream or sauces.

    2. Improve in iterations. Cut back a little at a time. You don’t have to go from Standard American Diet to a diet of Only Raw Carrots in one day (nor should you ever eat only raw carrots, but you know what I mean). Try a meal plan that’s a little better than the diet you’ve been eating for years — perhaps cutting out the liquid calories at first, or adding more fruits or veggies you love. As I said above, cut the calories just a little. This first meal plan doesn’t have to be perfect — just a little better. Then, once you get used to that, make a meal plan that’s a little better yet — maybe a couple hundred calories less, more veggies, less fatty stuff, less snack food, or more real food. With each iteration of your meal plan, get a little better. I’m still getting better at mine.

    3. Look ahead for bumps, and plan. We all have those bumps in our routines: an office party, someone’s birthday dinner, going on a date with your honey, taking a trip, being on the road all day and not having access to your usual foods. The key is to think ahead — what’s going on tomorrow? How will I deal with it? Should I pack food, or find out what the menu is at the restaurant so I can pick something healthy, or should I use this as a cheat meal? Thing is, don’t just do cheat meals all the time — then you’re not on a meal plan anymore. More on that below. Again, plan ahead and prepare — as you keep doing this, you’ll get good at packing snacks or meals so you’re covered, no matter what the occasion.

    4. Make it public. Use your blog or Twitter/Facebook or a public forum or just email to let people know how your meal plan is going (I use Daytum, but that’s only one way to do it). Or get a partner and report to each other. Making it public or having a partner gives you accountability and motivation, and works like a charm. Don’t skip this step.

    5. Cheat, & don’t feel guilty. Guilt often derails people from meal plans — they indulge and then feel like they failed, and so they stop. Don’t fall into this trap. You’re not going to be 100% complaint to any plan — shoot for 90% and be happy if you come close to that. Know that you’ll cheat sometimes, and make this part of your plan. However, learn to control the cheating: only do it a couple times a week, perhaps, and even then don’t just pig out. Eat reasonable portions of things you’d consider cheating, eat them slowly and enjoy them, and then move on. Get back to your plan. Over the long term, a little cheating won’t stall you, but a lot might.

    A few warnings

    1. Watch out for sneaky calories. Liquid calories are a good example — sodas, teas, coffees, sports drinks, vitamin waters and more, all contain calories that many people don’t account for, and then wonder why they’re not losing weight. Other examples include salad dressings, sauces, little bites of foods that “don’t count”, smoothies, candies or chips you snack on from the break room, meals that are bigger than you realize. There are many others, of course.

    2. Do not make it extreme. This should be clear from the above method, but I have to say it explicitly. People will try any diet if they think it’ll work — the Grapefruit Diet, the Cookie Diet, a liquid diet, a “cleanse” or “detox”, an 800-calorie a day diet, the Cabbage Soup diet, the Lemonade detox. Please don’t do these diets — they’re not healthy and you won’t get good nutrition. Remember: you’re in this for the long term.

    3. Don’t starve yourself. A little hunger is OK — I’ve learned that it won’t kill me to go slightly hungry for a couple hours. But if you feel like you’re starving, you might be reducing too drastically. Again, it’s best to reduce portions a little at a time, get used to that amount, and then reduce a little more.

    My 1800-cal meal plan

    For most of the last few months, I created (with the help of my sister and running partner, Kat) a 2,000-calorie meal plan and have been sticking to it, varying it a bit when I get tired of the foods. Recently as I’ve lost a lot of weight I’ve cut the plan down to 1,800 calories, as my lighter body requires fewer calories for maintenance.

    Calorie goal: You shouldn’t follow my calorie goal — use an online calculator to calculate your basal metabolic rate (or BMR — the amount of calories you need just to maintain each day), and then subtract perhaps 200-300 for your meal plan’s target. If you exercise, you’ll be adding to the calorie deficit, which is good, but even if you don’t exercise on some days, you’ll still have a 200-300 calorie deficit. My calorie goal is actually closer to a 500-calorie reduction of my BMR, but it’s usually best to start smaller and adjust as you get used to it and as you see results, after maybe 3-4 weeks. Please, don’t drop below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,500 calories (men) — it’s hard to get good nutrition if you go too low on calories. Remember, this is long-term, not a quickie fix.

    Basics: For the most part, the meal plan is:

    • measured for my calorie goal
    • broken into 5 meals (although this can be varied to any number that suits you)
    • made of whole, real foods I love
    • pretty much the same every day — I don’t mind routine, though you might want some variety
    • flexible — I can eat out if I want without guilt

    My plan: Here’s my current plan — please note that it changes as needed:

    • Breakfast: loaded oatmeal – whole rolled oats, blueberries, raisins, cinnamon, raw almonds, flaxseed + cup of coffee (450)
    • Lunch: Typically scrambled tofu or lentil-spinach-squash curry or veggie chili, on top of quinoa (400)
    • Snack: soy yogurt, berries, raw almonds (350)
    • Dinner: Typically scrambled tofu or lentil-spinach-squash curry or veggie chili, on top of quinoa (400)
    • Snack (whenever I get hungry): fruits & nuts (200)

    You could use this if you like the foods, but be sure to measure all your foods at first to get the calories you want for each meal. For example, if you want a 1600-cal meal plan, you could cut 100 cals from two of the meals or skip the last snack. However, if these aren’t foods you love, don’t follow this plan — make your own or find one you like. This is provided for illustration only.
    —
    If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.



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    cranberry & walnut stuffed pork loin $7.56 recipe / $0.95 serving

    March 5th, 2010 The FLHC

    Stuffing meat is fantastic. Not only does it add extra flavor and texture but it takes advantage of Budget Byting Principle #2: use ingredients wisely. That means taking an expensive ingredient (the pork) and combining it with a less expensive ingredient (the stuffing) to bring the cost per serving down.

    The second trick that I used to make this recipe so cost efficient was the fact that I snatched up this huge 27 oz. pork loin when it was on sale ($4 off!!) and stored it in my freezer ’till I was ready to use it. Normally, $8.99 for a pork loin is just too expensive for my taste but slash it by almost half and I’m game!

    Lastly, even though dried cranberries and walnuts are by themselves expensive ingredients, if you use them sparingly to just add a little bit of “oomph” to the stuffing, they won’t do too much damage to your bottom line.

    Cranberry & Walnut Stuffed Pork Loin

    Total Recipe cost: $7.50

    Servings Per Recipe: 8

    Cost per serving: $0.95

    Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 1 hr. Total: 1 hr. 15 min.

    INGREDIENTS COST
    27 oz. (1.7 lb.) pork loin $4.99 (SALE)
    1 box stuffing mix $1.32
    2 Tbsp butter $0.05
    1/2 cup dried cranberries $0.67
    1/4 cup chopped walnuts $0.32
    2 Tbsp olive oil $0.21
    TOTAL   $7.56



    STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium pot, cook the stuffing according to the directions on the box (usually bring water to a boil with butter, add stuffing mix, remove from heat and let sit with a lid on for 10 minutes). My box suggested using 4 Tbsp of butter but I felt that was excessive so I used 2 Tbsp instead.

    STEP 2: Meanwhile, “butterfly” the pork loin in preparation for stuffing and rolling. Butterflying means cutting it so that it lays out flat in a rectangle instead of being in it’s usual cylindrical shape. Instead of taking step by step photos of this process (because I’m still honing my butterflying skills) here is a website with excellent photos and instructions.

    STEP 3: Mix the dried cranberries and chopped walnuts into the cooked stuffing and spread the mixture all over the butterflied pork loin.

    STEP 4: Starting at one of the long sides, roll the pork loin and it’s contents all the way up. Secure the opening either with a long skewer (thread it along the edge like a needle), multiple tooth picks or tie it up using kitchen string.

    STEP 5: Heat a skillet with 2 Tbsp of olive oil on medium/high heat. When the oil is very hot, sear the pork loin on all sides until it is brown and crispy. Transfer the seared pork loin to the oven (on a baking sheet) and finish baking until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees (about 45 min).

    STEP 6: When the stuffed loin is finished baking, let it rest 15 minutes before slicing to allow the juices to redistribute into the meat. Slice the roll into 1 inch thick servings and enjoy!

    Step By Step Photos

    stuffing w cranberries and walnuts
    Cook the stuffing according to the directions on the box then mix in the dried cranberries and chopped walnuts.

    butterflied pork loin
    Butterfly your pork loin so that it lays out flat and is about 1 inch thick. Don’t worry if it is not perfect, mine definitely wasn’t!!

    add stuffing
    Spread the stuffing mixture out evenly over the pork loin.

    stuffed and rolled pork loin
    Roll that bad boy on up! If any stuffing tries to escape, just push it back in.

    secured pork loin
    Secure the opening on the roll with a long skewer, tooth picks or some kitchen twine.

    sear pork loin
    Sear all sides of the pork in a hot skillet until it is brown and crispy on the outside.

    bake pork loin
    Bake the stuffed pork loin at 350F degrees until it reaches an internal temp of 160F… approximately 45 minutes (shorter for smaller pork loins).

    sliced stuffed pork loin
    Let the pork loin rest for 15 minutes then slice into 1 inch thick portions. PRETTY!

    NOTE: Everything is always prettier and more appetizing when placed on nice plate and sprinkled with some fresh chopped parsley. Soooo, if you weren’t able to perfectly butterfly the pork loin then it pulled apart, shrank and tore open when it baked (like mine did), just gussy it up and no one will notice. Plus, it will still taste fantastic so everyone will be impressed!



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    How to Reclaim Your Attention

    March 5th, 2010 The FLHC
    Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

    Awhile back I (a bit ironically perhaps) tweeted this message:

    Consider what you give your attention to each day. It’s a precious resource, & determines the shape of your life.

    This seemed to strike a chord with many people, who I think are feeling overwhelmed these days. Our attention is being pulled in too many directions, leaving us feeling overloaded, distracted, chaotic, spread thinly, without focus.

    There are a million blogs, people, services, media, competing for our attention. Our attention is limited, and valuable, making it one of the most precious resources we have.

    The world wants that attention. Only you can decide where it goes.

    And it does determine the shape of your life: what you pay attention to becomes your reality. If you watch and read the news all the time, you will become obsessed with the latest crises. If you watch and read about celebrities, your life will revolve around them. If you socialize on social networks all day long, this will become your world.

    If instead, you choose to give your attention to work you’re passionate about, that you feel is important, that will change your life and the world in some small way … this will become your life.

    If you choose to give your attention to your friends, family and other loved ones — really give your attention to them instead of only half-heartedly while also checking text messages and emails and other updates — your life will be rich in many ways.

    And so I urge you to reclaim your attention.

    Here’s how:

    1. Limit your friends. Not real-life friends, but social network and blogging and forum friends. Not that these can’t be good relationships, but having too many makes them meaningless. And each friend will take up a little bit of your attention — when you read their updates, click on their links, reply to their messages, look at their photos, and so on. The more you have, the more attention they’ll require. Limit them to just the essential.
    2. Limit your feeds. Blog subscriptions, newsletters, other updates and news subscriptions and so on. Limit them to a handful of essentials, and let the rest go. The more you have, the more attention they require.
    3. Limit your communication time. Going into your email inbox? Just give yourself 10 minutes to read, reply, delete, and get out. Going to do Twitter? Give yourself 5 minutes. Seriously, set up a timer. Don’t let these things take up all your attention.
    4. Give up on news. It’s a never-ending cycle. And if you’ve paid attention to the news as long as I have (I’m a former journalist), you know it’s all the same, year after year. Unless your job depends on it, the news is usually a waste of your attention. Let go of the need to stay updated. Even if your job does depend on it, keep it limited.
    5. Be brief. Write brief emails, tweets, updates, blog posts. With some exceptions, of course. But make brief your de facto. Read more.
    6. Give your attention to the important. This is the crucial part: choose what you give your attention to, and do this choosing carefully. What is important to you? Writing? Photography? Design? Coding? Creating a new business that helps others? Your kids? Figure this out, and give this the majority of your attention.
    7. Become conscious of your distractions. Once you’ve decided to focus your attention on the important, become more aware of distractions as they come up. Make note of them, and as you get the urge to be distracted, learn to pause, breathe, and return to the important.
    8. Surround yourself with the positive. If you want your life to be positive, let the positive have your attention. This applies to blogs, people, projects, and more.

    For more, read my new book, focus: a simplicity manifesto in the age of distraction.

    —
    If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.



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    Yoga – Weight Loss Made Easy With Yoga Stretches

    March 2nd, 2010 The FLHC

    By Julia Denham

    Are you tired of weight loss programs which just don’t work? It’s time for a change: try something different. Yoga can help you to lose weight because it helps you to change your lifestyle. Forget about dieting, just do some simple yoga stretches every day.

    1. Find a Beginner’s Yoga Class

    You don’t have to be an expert yogi to lose weight with yoga. You can be a complete beginner. What matters is that yoga will change you, and the weight will vanish over time. It’s not a process you can force, you simply allow it to happen.

    Start the process by finding a beginners yoga class in your area, and make a commitment to go to class at least once a week.

    2. Spend Ten Minutes Morning and Evening on Your Favorite Poses

    In yoga there around 10 primary poses with endless variations. Pick your favorite two poses, and do them morning and evening. This should take you around 10 minutes.

    For example, let’s say you picked downward dog and the cobra as the poses you’ll practice outside class this week. Start your 10 minute session in mountain pose, paying particular attention to your alignment, and relaxing as you stand in the pose. Then do cobra pose. Perform the pose four times. Completely relax between each pose.

    Complete your session by performing downward dog pose, increasing the length of time you spend in the pose gradually, until you’re spending around 90 seconds in the pose.

    3. Allow Yourself to Lose Weight: Forget Dieting

    You gained weight gradually. You didn’t have to think about gaining weight, it just happened, because of the habits you created. Changing habits is very difficult, especially if you try to impose change from the outside. Yoga helps you to change from the inside.

    Within a few days of starting your yoga exercises, you’ll find that you no longer crave fast food. However, buying fast food is a habit. You may still find yourself buying fast food even though your craving for it is gone. Don’t try to force yourself to stop. One day you would just drive right past your favorite fast food eatery. You won’t have to think about it.

    Is it really that simple? Can you really lose weight with just a few yoga stretches each day? Yes, you can. The key is to enjoy your yoga, and to forget about dieting. Weight loss will happen, and more quickly than you can imagine.

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    The Little Guide to Inspiration

    March 1st, 2010 The FLHC

    “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London

    Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

    We all have days when we’re just not very inspired, when we need passion and creativity breathed into us.

    I know I do.

    For anyone who needs a little shove, whose creativity has dried up, who needs to be moved … I humbly offer this simple guide.

    While I never claim to have all the answers, nor that my way is the only way, I share here some things I’ve learned about inspiration, some tricks I’ve learned that work for me.

    I’m often in need of inspiration, but in all cases I’ve found it. And it’s a wonderful thing.

    What Is Inspiration?

    Many people think of it as an elusive quality that can’t be forced, and yet it can be found if you look for it.

    Others think it’s a way to find ideas, but it’s more than ideas … it’s being moved to put those ideas into action.

    Inspiration is finding something else that is divinely inspired (people, nature, amazing ideas), having that inspiration breathed into you (“breath” is the root of “inspiration”), and then taking action on it. Creating, doing, inspiring others.

    How to Find Inspiration

    Inspiration is just about everywhere you can look, if you’re looking for it. That’s the key: to keep your eyes open. Too often we miss beautiful sources of inspiration, because we’re too busy thinking about other things.

    Be observant. See everything around you as a possible source of inspiration.

    Some possible sources of inspiration:

    • blogs
    • books
    • magazines
    • films
    • people around you
    • nature
    • children
    • art
    • music
    • history
    • exercise
    • religion
    • great projects
    • dreams
    • social media
    • photographs
    • forums
    • google
    • success stories
    • life, everywhere

    Just keep your eyes open, at all times, staying present whenever possible, and allow yourself to breathe in that inspiration.

    How to Stay Inspired

    Inspiration isn’t just a one-time thing. You’ll need it on a regular basis.

    When you practice the above method — keeping your eyes open, staying present, and breathing in inspiration — you get better at it. It becomes a skill you can use at any time, and you’ll use it often.

    Some tips for keeping the inspiration coming:

    • Work with inspired people – one of the best ways to stay inspired is to work with creative, energetic, positive people.
    • Read daily – varied things, from blogs to magazines to books of all kinds.
    • Get outside – nature is one of the biggest inspirations, and you’ll miss it if you’re inside all day.
    • Talk with new people – they’ll always expose you to new and interesting things, if you’re open to it.
    • Break out of your routine – see things from a different perspective. Take a new route home. Go to a new restaurant. Visit someplace new in your area.
    • Find time for silence – it’s more inspiring than you might think. Unfortunately, not enough of us do it.
    • Exercise – or at least get moving. It helps the blood to circulate, and gets ideas moving around. My most inspired thoughts come during runs.

    Now Take Action

    Don’t just feel inspired. Take this inspiration and use it, be moved, and do something. Channel that inspiration into creating something amazing.

    Put that something out into the world, and in turn, you will inspire others.

    Having trouble taking action? Read The Little Rules of Action.

    “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” ~Vincent van Gogh

    —
    If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.

    —
    Read more about simple effectiveness in my book, The Power of Less.



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    Is “Generally Safe” Good Enough?

    February 23rd, 2010 The FLHC

    Although I’m not typically a football fan, each year, I suffer through the Superbowl.  Why do I put myself through such misery, you ask?

    The commercials.

    Besides during the Superbowl, I never watch commercials.  I hate commercials.  I purposely channel-surf so that I don’t have to watch commercials.

    The only time I make an exception is for the Superbowl, because the commercials are usually entertaining and funny.  Betty White getting tackled?

    Oh yeah, that’s funny.

    5,763 Doritos commercials?

    Not so much.

    This year, I’m outraged by the commercials.  Maybe because I’m in some sort of heightened state of awareness, or maybe because they’re marketing especially hard this year, but the JUNK FOOD commercials were off the chart.  It seems like every other commercial was for some type of JUNK FOOD or drink.

    It went a little bit like this:

    Doritos

    Snickers

    Bud Light

    Doritos

    Some type of car

    Budweiser

    Doritos

    Coca-Cola

    Sketchers Shape-Ups

    Doritos

    I’m not sure if it is always this way and I just never noticed, but are you freaking KIDDING ME?  Did you see the Doritos commercial where the little boy smacked his Mom’s date in the face?

    Don’t touch my mama, and don’t touch my Doritos!

    I can only imagine how many impressionable little kids are now going to walk around thinking that just like their Mom, they need to protect their Doritos; by all necessary measures.

    Why is this crap not regulated!?

    Why doesn’t our government follow the example of European governments, and begin to be concerned with the foods that are being marketed to our children?  Screen shot 2010-02-07 at 7.22.07 PMFirst of all, this is as large as Frito-Lay allows you to view the ingredients of Nacho Cheese Doritos on their website.  Is it an accident that you nearly need a microscope to read the “label”?

    I can’t pronounce many of the ingredients without great effort, although I know that this one is bad news from a healthy-living standpoint:

    • Monosodium Glutamate (a.k.a. MSG, “hydrolyzed vegetable protein,” Accent, natural meat tenderizer, and Aginomoto)–: This chemical is added to many fast- and commercial foods due to its’ addictive effect on our bodies.  According to TruthInLabeling.org, the FDA refuses to label MSG as the neurotoxic, endocrine disrupting, processed free glutamic acid that it is.  Although Glutamate is produced naturally by our bodies, MSG in its’ commercial form is a chemically grown substance, and is used to enhance flavors and make us unable to “eat just one”.   Ingredients are listed in order of highest proportion.  The fact that this ingredient is 8th in the list means that there is just slightly more wheat flour than MSG in Doritos.  Scary.

    Besides MSG, Doritos contain corn syrup solids, artificial flavors, and maltodextrine.

    Maltodextrine, although ruled “safe” by the FDA, is an artificial flavor agent (often used as an artificial sweetener).  In researching Maltodextrine, I came across Maltrin, which is one of the manufacturers of Maltodextrine, as well as several other UFO’s (Unidentified Foodlike Object’s).

    Seriously.

    Open up that website in a new window and read along with me.

    Go ahead, I’ll wait…

    The part that specifically worried me was this statement:

    …are defined by the FDA as products having a DE less than 20.  They are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) food ingredients.

    Maltrin, I’m not mad at you.  It’s not your fault.  You’re just another swarthy board of corporate people trying to make a living by killing Americans.  You don’t know any better…everyone is doing it.

    But the FDA.  They know the effects of all of these chemically-created and modified foods, but they don’t do anything to remove them from our food system.

    The FDA actually has a term called “generally recognized as safe”??!!  WHERE do we live?!  And WHAT is “generally safe”?

    Why is “generally safe” good enough?


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    4 Simple Principles of Getting to Completion

    February 21st, 2010 The FLHC

    “If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, then this is the best season of your life.” ~Wu-Men

    Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

    When I hear about a great idea that a friend has, I get excited. I can’t wait to see that idea become reality.

    Then I ask about the idea a few months later, and it often is not one bit closer to completion.

    Ideas stop short of becoming reality, and projects seem to drag on endlessly, because of one thing: complexity.

    A software programmer can allow the development of a new app he’s building to drag on and on for years (I know of cases where this happened), only to find Google release something that makes his app obsolete. The problem: the program grew and grew in complexity and features, but never shipped.

    A web developer can work on a rad new website with killer features, but after months of work the website never launches. Problem: too complex, and too much of a perfectionist.

    A writer can work on a novel, working in characters and plotlines, and then work on revision after revision, only to abandon it. The complexity of a book can become overwhelming.

    If your project has been dragging on, or you’re having problems completing, try simplifying, and stop trying for perfection.

    I’ve launched a number of projects over the last few years, and learned a thing or two about making ideas take life, and getting to done.

    Here are some of those key principles:

    1. Keep the scope as simple as possible. You don’t need to do everything with this project. In fact, if you can just do one thing, that’s perfect. As small a thing as possible. Don’t redesign an entire city — just work on one building. If the project starts to get complex or seem overwhelming, narrow the scope. Do less. It’ll help you get things done.

    2. Practice ‘Good Enough’. Perfectionism is the enemy of completion. Nitpick and worry about getting it “just right”, and you’ll never get it done. Done is better than right. So if you start to nitpick and worry about perfect, say “screw it” and then just try for “good enough”. You can always make it better in the next version.

    3. Kill extra features. Similar to simplifying the scope, you’ll want to try to make your creation do as little as possible. Want it to talk and walk and cook breakfast? Just try for talking. Want your website to publish great content and have social networking and podcasts and news and a newsletter and a membership area? Just shoot for great content. Whenever you find yourself adding new features, see if they can’t be killed.

    4. Make it public, quick. Your goal should be to get your project in some working form out to your customers/readers/public as soon as possible. In as few steps, as quickly, as easily, as simply as possible. Remember: don’t worry about perfect, and don’t let this first public release be wide in scope or full of features. Release it with as few features as possible. Releasing it publicly will 1) get you to done faster and 2) put some pressure on you to make it better, quickly.
    —
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    Do Sunless Tanners Damage Skin?

    February 20th, 2010 The FLHC

    Post image for Do Sunless Tanners Damage Skin?

    Sonia says…Lately I’ve been using Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning, and I like how it looks, but I was wondering, this sounds just too good to be true, don’t these self tanners damage the skin in the long term?

    The Right Brain replies:
    Don’t worry, Sonia. Self tanners use an ingredient called Dihydroxyacetone (or DHA) that creates a brownish color when it reacts with the upper layers of skin. The upper layers of skin are dead anyway and DHA doesn’t penetrate into the deeper layers so there’s really no danger. If you want more info, read our previous post on how sunless tanning works.

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