Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Advice on staying lean


My Top 5 Tips for Looking Lean and STAYING Lean

A lean, tight, and muscular body is what we are aiming for here. We all have that body, but most of us have a thick layer of fat and water that hides its beauty from the rest of the world. I don't know about you, but I definitely do not want to be big and muscular. And I know that is a big fear of women...they are adamant about not putting on bulk and looking like some kind of she-male.

Not to worry ladies...unless you are totally killing it in the gym and consuming large amounts of chemical supplements, you are not going to get that way. Your body just does not product the testosterone to get you there. So heed this advice if it sounds logical to you.

I have to stay lean. If I bulk up, I can't fit into suits and fitted shirts, and therefore Im losing money. At first, monetary gain was the #1 motivational factor for me with choosing this lifestyle. Now that I have really gone deep into it, and experienced the clarity and pure joy and boundless energy that it gives, you couldn't pay me to go off of it. Seriously. You could offer me $50,000 a year to go back to the cooked junk doughy cheesy meat diet, and I would laugh in your face. Id rather be a raw bum than a rich cooked foodie. And that is no lie whatsoever.

So...here we go.

#1. Drink copious (lots) of water! If you are already eating large amounts of raw food, you are getting way more moisture in your diet than someone eating bread and noodles and meat and cereal. However, the more liquid your body receives, the more it will shed because its receiving the signal that it doesn't have to cling onto water anymore. When you drink or eat salty food, you will lose water, but then the body will know and react. It will say "Water is in short supply...I must make reserves so I can make it through this dry period." Now any liquid you put in will stay on you, and you will gain about 5-8 pounds in water over the weekend. I have done this, and I feel that most of it goes to my face. I can no longer see the veins in my arms and across my chest, and I feel bloated and horrible. I would recommend about 3-4 liters a day at first, then maybe bring it down to 2 liters, but eat lots of fruit and veggies like cucumber to keep the body hydrated. Also...the number one hydrating vegetable? Celery! 3 stalks a day will keep you much more hydrated than before, and will give you lots of good hydrochloric acid to break down excess fiber in your system. When you wake and before sleep are the two crucial times to get your water in.

#2. Exercise Before Breakfast. You will be burning off fat reserves in your stomach instead of burning the sugar in your stomach from breakfast. I will make a green juice with no sugar in it, or just a lemon water, and then do an hour on the treadmill (slow but steep). I'll watch some interesting show and listen to music while I do it to make the time pass by more easily. This is HUGE. Before breakfast! Do this for a week and you will notice the differences much sooner. No joke. If I have a big job coming up and Im not in peak shape, I will consistently go before breakfast and within 3 days I will be satisfied with my look. Its so obvious...every move you are making is fueled from your fat, not the food in your system. Think about this.

#3. Eat 5-6 hours before bed, and try to get some moderate exercise in before sleeping. This has to do with burning off any excess calories before going to bed. More of a precaution than anything, but I also feel that it really helps with digestion to get some moderate movement before becoming sedentary for the night. Otherwise it can just sit like a big lump in your stomach, and ferment and give you bad indigestion. Trust me...Ive come home late from jobs and have pigged out on dried fruit and nuts, and even though these are technically raw, they just sat like bricks in my stomach. The next day you are tired and moody. Avoid this at all costs. Eat early and move around a bit before bed. The more the better. I dont care if its sex or treadmill or doing twists in front of the TV...just get that heart rate up a bit after your last meal. If you do get hungry...at the most eat a piece of fruit, or even better just drink lots of water until you feel full and keep your mind on other things.

#4. For Heaven's Sake...NO refined carbs. No pasta, no bread, no rice, no refined sugar...its all completely unnatural and if you long for it, you are connecting positive past experiences to it and you are simply addicted. Don't feel bad, I just recently got over my food addictions. Pigging out to me means a mango-coconut smoothie (with LOADS of shredded coconut) at 9pm...thats my sin. Bread and pasta and all that are cooked carbs. Our cells will hold on to as much as 3 times the amount of water if these carbs are in our systems. This is why the Atkins diet does so well in the beginning. People cut out all these carbs and the body releases all the dead water it has been holding onto for years. All of a sudden people have lost 10-15 pounds and they feel great. All the while they are eating flesh and pain and death, but thats another topic. At least they have cut out the refined carbs, and their early weight loss is proof that it works.

#5. Number 5 was a tough one for me...there were lots of options. I could just say, eat raw food. I could say exercise. Both of these would work, under one condition. CONSISTENCY. You have to stick with the program. Going on and off, even for just one day a week will slow your results down way more than you could ever imagine. All of these things will do wonders, but you have to stick to it every day for at least a week. AT LEAST. The longer the better. Even I have problems with this sometimes. Ill eat too late...thats my major issue. But this is rare...once every 2 weeks MAYBE. But if you think of it like a ledger...you will know what you have to do to cancel out that offense. Me, I went to the gym the next morning and did an extra 1/2 hour on the treadmill, just to be safe. This is what it takes. Think of it like a ledger. If you do a negative, you have to do extra positive things to attempt to counteract the former. If you have a large meal at 9pm or even later because you went to a wedding, stay up a little later than usual and do some boxing moves in front of the tv before bed. Always keep that in mind. It might sound tedious, but you will be lean and look better than ever. This is what it takes. Do you think all the people in magazines have great bodies because they like to relax and enjoy eating late and having pasta and bread? I would hope not. These people have put alot of time and discipline into their lifestyles and daily habits, and they have reaped what they have sowed.

There is a term in the computer business...GIGO. Garbage In, Garbage Out. You get back what you put in. And for every disciplined effort, there is a multiple reward. You have to want to look amazing more than you want to eat that pizza and fall asleep. Strive for excellence and give yourself the body that will help you accomplish all your dreams and aspirations. Health is wealth, and in this society, a healthy body will show that you are disciplined and care for yourself, and that will open MANY doors for you. You wont regret looking better, and especially feeling better. 5 simple steps. Some easier than others, but humans are habitual. The trick is to develop habits that evolve you, not make you look like a tired slob. Your choice.

Good night my friends,

Anthony

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