Natural Painkillers

 

Here is another picture from the great people at PositiveMed.com. It's good to be knowledgeable on herbs, spices, and foods that can help heal you in some way. Personally I hate going to the doctor and taking prescriptions. I always find a way to natural heal myself. The only time it becomes dire is if my life is on the line, then I might consider man-made medication.

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Correct Way to Peel a Banana

Here is my first video! I didn't want to do anything too long or complicated since it's my first one. They will get more involved and detailed over time. Enjoy!

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Full Body Workout Routine

I have been waiting to share this workout with you for a while now. I started it a few weeks ago and have had amazing success in fat loss and muscle gain. The last few months I have been doing the Push/Pull/Leg method and there is nothing wrong with it. I lost a lot of weight, got stronger, and became more lean. So why did I change it up? It's good to confuse your muscles and introduce new exercises to them every now and then. Doing this regimen also causes you to workout your muscles 3 times a week instead of only once. Let's take a look at my new workout.

Full Body Workout - Day 1 - Monday

1. Dumbbell Bench Press (Chest)
2. Lat Pull Down (Back)
3. Shoulder Press (Shoulders)
4. Standing Bicep Curls (Biceps)
5. Tricep Dips (Triceps)
6. Barbell Squats (Quads, Hamstrings, Butt)
7. Standing Calf Raises (Calves)
8. Vertical Leg Hip Raise (Abs)

Full Body Workout - Day 2 - Wednesday

1. Leg Press (Quads, Butt)
2. Standing Calf Raises (Calves)
3. Ab Twist Machine (Abs)
4. Seated Incline Bicep Curls (Biceps)
5. Tricep Extensions Laying Down (Triceps)
6. Upright Row Barbell (Shoulders)
7. Seated Row (Back)
8. Standing Fly with Cable (Chest)

Full Body Workout - Day 3 - Friday

1. Close Grip Bench Press (Triceps)
2. Barbell Squats (Quads, Hamstrings, Butt)
3. Vertical Leg Hip Raise (Abs)
4. Incline Bench Press (Chest)
5. Standing Calf Raises (Calves)
6. Dumbbell Shrugs (Shoulders)
7. Lat Pulldown (Back)
8. Bicep Curls with Cable (Biceps)

Each exercise I do 4 sets of 10 reps. I also only allow 30 seconds between rest times. This seems pretty hardcore but it will make you see results almost twice as fast. The first day I did this, I worked so hard I puked. Not saying I encourage that but it just shows you how much harder it is than the previous regimen I was doing. Also, the reason I switch up the exercises is so that all muscles get a time to be your first exercise (when we are at our strongest). You don't want to do squats last every day because you will deprive them of heavier weight. On your days off it's a good idea to do some cardio or just stay as active as you can. During the weekends are my days off from the gym so this workout works perfectly.

In conclusion, I love this regimen because it is fresh, difficult, and has shown me results in only 2 weeks. I feel stronger, more in shape, and am cutting fat much faster than before. Try it out next week and let me know what you think.

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Natural Foods to Cleanse the Colon

I'm sorry I have to do this, but this post is about your colon. Gross or not, this is a very important thing to think about, especially as we get older. I found this on a website called PositiveMed.com. I love this website because it shares a lot of natural ways to heal your body. Check their website out daily for new tips. If you are having problems reading this picture, click on it and it will open up a window with a larger size or click on the source link below to go directly to their website.

Source: http://positivemed.com/2013/04/09/natural-foods-to-cleanse-the-colon/

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Flat Belly Workout

We have all seen the pictures online. Workout routines that promise to shape you up in one area. Legs, abs, and arms. While these may seem silly and useless, they are actually pretty helpful and I know people that have seen results in a quick time from doing them. Today I am going to share the Flat Belly Workout. Try this once a day for a week and I bet you will notice a difference.

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The Working Person's Lunch

I work a day job at an IT company 5 days a week from 8:30am to 5:30pm. Most of my life is spent there. I have been working there for the last 6 years and every day I come across the same problem. What's for lunch? I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way with your job. Sometimes it can really be a burden when trying to stay on budget and healthy. Let me share my experiences with you and see if it helps you out this week.

The hardest thing to avoid during lunch is fast food. It's fast, it's cheap, and you have a fairly wide selection to choose from (especially me being near Westheimer). I could just go to McDonald's or Taco Bell and get a few small items low in calories and I should be good. Well, I eat lunch at noon and if I was to only eat a few small calorie items, I would be starving by the time I got home at 6:30pm and would eat a feast for dinner. The other option is to go to a restaurant and get something a little more fresh, but a lot more money plus tip. It seems that the food industry is making us fat by offering these horrible choices, knowing that most of us sit at our desk for 8 hours a day and can't afford to eat high fat and calories.

Here are a few things that I have learned to do. The best option is to make a dinner the night before, and make enough so you have leftovers for lunch. No matter what you cook for dinner, it is most likely healthier for you than fast food or restaurants, and it cost a whole lot less. I also might bring a fruit with me for when 4pm hits and my tummy rumbles a little bit. You don't want to get home and be starving so that you eat your face off for dinner.

Another option is to research all the restaurants and fast food around you and figure out what has the best bang for your buck. I go to a place called Shawarma King when I don't have leftovers. There I get a chicken sandwich that is made fresh daily and much more healthy than any hamburger or taco place. It has about 500 calories, 30g of protein, and maybe about 30g of carbs from the pita. Fat content is low and sodium level is acceptable. It is also only $5 and is enough food to hold me over. When you find a meal that works, it can really save you. I try to find 3 or 4 places that I can go and eat a good lunch for a low price and won't make me bloat up.

Don't make the mistake some people do, and not eat lunch. Doing this is just wrong. You can't go a full 8 hours working with no fuel for your body. At the very least, eat a fruit bowl from the grocery store or small salad. You also don't want to overeat because you will head back to work wanting to take a nap. A good rule I follow is don't go over 500 calories for lunch. This leaves you enough to have a good breakfast, dinner, and snacks in between.

In conclusion, eating lunch during the work week is something that is tricky to do when staying healthy, but it is far from impossible. Research, cook your own meals, or go light and you will have more energy the rest of the day and will stay on track with your diet.

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Frontier Potato Salad

TGIF! I decided this week that I was going to share my potato salad recipe that I created for my Mom's restaurant. When making this, I had certain requests I needed to follow. The first, was no egg. Whoa, potato salad with no eggs? OK. Also they wanted to use red potatoes instead of Yukon, which is no big deal really. They also weren't really a fan of traditional potato salad, so I needed to spice it up some, literally. It turned out great and they loved it. They eventually added bacon to it, but I think that's up to you. I'm going to share the non-bacon recipe but you can add bacon if you want. So here you go, try it out next time you BBQ.

Ingredients:

• 8 medium red potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups of real mayo
• 2-3 tablespoons regular mustard (depends if you want less mustard or not)
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 3 green onions (3 bulbs)
• 1 jalapeno
• 1/2 of a large onion
• 2 teaspoons of dill weed
• 1 teaspoon salt (kosher if you have it)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of paprika

Directions:

1. Cut potatoes into quarters, leave skin on.
2. Boil water and cook potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until skin starts to peel a little. Leave skin on though!
3. Chop green onions into small pieces.
4. Chop up dill weed, if needed.
5. Mince onions, use food processor if you need to get it that small.
6. Cut jalapeno open and de-seed it. Chop into small pieces, but not too small.
7. Get your 1.5 cups of mayo and 3 tablespoons of mustard ready
8. When potatoes are done, place in a big bowl.
9. Slightly mash up potatoes so there are no large chunks, but not so much that it turns into mashed potatoes.
10. Throw in mustard, mayo, green onions, onions, and jalapeno.
11. Add the salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of dill weed.
12. Slowly and carefully start to mix up everything, don't let it get too mashed potato like.
13. Add paprika and dijon mustard.
14. Mix one more time very gently.
15. Throw one teaspoon of dill on top to garnish.

And there you have it! A unique and yummy recipe that I created on my own. Make this at your next party and I'm sure people will love it. For my vegan friends, substitute the mayo with vegan mayo and you should be good to go.

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Weight Training Burns More Fat Than Cardio

This post is all about what the title says, weight training burns more fat than cardio. Now I could just stop there and hope you believe me, but let me tell you why and what exactly it means. Cardio is by no means bad or a waste of time, but when it comes to getting lean and losing fat, weight training is your best option for better and faster results.

Let's take a look at cardio. Usually this is done on a treadmill, track, elliptical, bike, or running outside. Big benefits from cardio are it helps your heart, builds your endurance, and can help with weight loss. Although it has some benefits, there are some reasons why it is not the best option for cutting fat. First, it is boring for the most part. Treadmills have to be the most boring piece of equipment and same goes with the elliptical. Beginners and people taking it easy usually use this equipment because it is safe to use and doesn't take a lot of thinking to do it. Although it does work your heart out, it doesn't ever stress the heart to deal with sudden changes, which is something your muscles needs to grow stronger. When you are doing the cardio workout, your body is working, but when you stop, your body stops working quickly after you are done. This means that you don't get the benefit of your body burning extra calories. The last thing that makes cardio undesirable is that you have to do it for hours to get the results of just 30-45 of weight training.

So let's talk about weight training and why it is better for losing fat. When you weight train you are stressing your body more by adding weight to range of motion movements. Doing this causes your metabolism to boost and burn lots of calories. Because you are stressing your body and making your heart work harder, your body continues to burn calories even after your workout is done. The term associated with this is called Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). This alone is why weight training burns fat better than cardio. Weight training also builds your muscle that replaces the fat in your body. Now you are losing fat and gaining muscle, which is something cardio cannot do.

Now I am not saying to stop doing cardio. It still burns calories, some people find it fun, and it can improve your stamina if you are into sports. Personally I don't do cardio on gym days because I would rather weight train my full body. Once a week I will have a cardio day to build stamina and improve my running and swimming. If your only goal is to lose fat though, I would highly consider switching to weight training primarily for best results.

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Natural Cures

I found this poster on a Facebook page and thought it was something everyone should know. We don't always need medicine from the doctor to heal ourselves. Mother Nature made it to where we can heal ourselves with items grown from the soil. Taking care of our bodies should be the number one thing we do in our life.

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