LEVEL-UP THINKING VIDEO BLOG SERIES. TOPIC: SUPPORTING

LEVEL-UP THINKING: SUPPORT THOSE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT YOU.

Here I explain the importance of not only supporting those who support you but also supporting those who do not support you.

5 Rules To Making The Transition To A Healthy Lifestyles

RULE #1
Stop using the word diet. When people use this word, it indicates something temporary. Something unsustainable over a long period of time. Instead focus on changing you eating habits for long-term health benefits. In my personal observations of the many people I see, who flip-flop back and forth, 100% make the common mistake of not accepting changed eating habits as a lifestyle. Until one understands and accepts this concept fully, the results and success will be short lived and temporary just as the flawed mental approach that is associated with the word "diet". So stop dieting and start living better.

RULE #2
Stop associating working out with a gym. Most people feel they are unable to remain physically fit because they are unable to "get to the gym".  Having a gym membership is nice but not necessary. In fact, I find that most use it as a crutch for what I refer to as "false accountability": some feel that joining a gym will somehow make them more accountable because they are now forced to work out to justify the money spent on the gym membership. This is simply flawed and restrictive thinking. There are plenty of trainers, and training programs out there that are proving that one does not in fact need a gym to get in a good workout. And this leads me to rule number 3.

RULE #3
Focus on being active and living an active life. For starters, you simply do not need to work out like a maniac every day to see good results. People who do this tend to be the ones attempting to "out train bad eating habits". These people tend to over train beyond their physical capabilities leading to injury or disillusionment because they are not seeing the results "fast enough". Again, the key to success in health and fitness is to be committed to a lifestyle change. With that in mind, just simply focus on being more active and leading an active life. This can include things like family park outings, playing with your kids, walking, playing fetch with your dog, going swimming, using you car less for simple tasks that are in close proximity to your location, using stairs, going for a leisurely bike ride, walking around the mall (avoid the food court...LOL), or just getting out and about.

RULE #4
Attitude adjustment. Thinking and being outwardly positive to others and being confident in yourself. Appreciating the good things in your life as well as appreciating yourself. This is critical. Bad attitude, low confidence,  and most things associated as being negative will produce excess cortisol in the body, making anything related to your  health and fitness goals more difficult. This has been scientifically proven. There is no need to point you to any specific studies on this because it is a well known fact.

RULE #5
Eliminate time constraints. While it is good to have goals, it is often self-defeating or "not stacking the odds in your favor" when one starts to place time limits on their health and fitness goals. Notions like "I want to lose 20 lbs in 4 months" are very restrictive and in most cases, depending on the approach, UNATTAINABLE. Goals should always be open and geared, towards changing your lifestyle, and self improvement. So instead, a better example would be to say, "starting today I am going to lose weight and keep going until I am at the ideal weight for my size and body type". A goal like this is more attainable and more likely to be adopted as a LIFESTYLE change.

By Nuri Shakoor
Edited by Alla Bevzenko

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Self-Improvement: Spend Time Alone To Get To Know Yourself

Defense Eating. Why You Still Getting Sick.

Illness, is it a figment of our imagination? Is it true that maybe our state of mind has an effect on the way illness takes down our bodies? Yes or No? The answer is a resounding YES in my opinion. Why is illness a by-product of our imagination? Simple, because as a human being everything we say and do is registered through our brains. Therefore, whatever the state of your mindset maybe, your health is going to be directly effected by whatever images are processed in your head. So if you have it in your head that you will not eat certain types of foods because the taste simply is not as pleasing (again, a sensory reaction by something established in the brain) then I would bet to say this is why some health nuts and gurus are posting on their profiles & websites how sick they are or how the flu is taking them out.

Hand washing aside. Yes we know we come in contact with germs all the time. But all of the hand washing in the world will not stop or change how your body reacts to something that is foreign to its system. Excessive hand washing does not boost your immune system and you may disagree with me here but excessive hand washing does the exact opposite. Again do get my statement of opinion confused, if your hands are dirty then by all means wash them. All I am saying too many of you health experts are too obsessed with this hand washing or being around others carrying germs as the cause of illness when in fact you are simply not taking in enough foods to boost your immune system while taking in excessive foods that are scientifically known to have and acidic effect on the body or promote inflammation. So being one of these overzealous germaphobes, again the way I see it, is pointless. So if you consider your self a health and fitness guru and you are still getting sick regularly then you are not all the way there yet or you may have been on the right path but slightly deviated. The reason because you are not 'defense eating'. You are not defense eating because you may not have yet develop the mental strength that pretty much makes you eat what is necessary no matter the taste to prevent illness. So here I go again saying your thought process may need some adjusting. Bottom-line is we all have the will power within us to develop the mind to a point where we automatically gravitate to what our bodies need. We do not because of negative energy that clouds the way. For example, saying things like 'I don't see how you can eat that' or ' I can't eat this or that unless its prepared like this or that'. These negative qualifiers and declaratives are the reasons why I say "ILLNESS IS A FIGMENT OF YOUR IMAGINATION" because you may have already put it into your head that you simply will not eat some of the worlds most potent defense foods simply because it's taste is not palatable to your standard. You may go right ahead and dislike what I say, but that is highly restrictive and limited thinking which is why I simply try to educate people I work with to be a little more open-minded in their approach to their body's long term needs.

Now here is a surprise. I personally do not care for the taste of most of the things I eat raw. However I eat them and I enjoy them because I know the rewards for eating them. I honestly would be fooling myself if I sat here and stated that I just love all the foods I eat. Because that is not true. But I do love the benefits of those foods and for a clear thinker that makes it all gratifying. It is about eating MORE of what you need versus what you prefer.

You are STILL getting sick regularly because you are still not taking in enough of natures power foods in their raw and unprocessed state. You are STILL getting sick because you are loading up on whole grains because you have been told that they are better but in reality they are just the lesser of 2 evils. If you are eating excessive whole grains every day and with every meal or even just most of the time... then yes you are still feeding inflammation. I am not saying never eat them please do not misconstrue my point. I am only saying to limit them. They still have their time and place. And this is not about low carbs so do not get this confused. Please I beg of you all to throw that terminology of 'low carb' out of your vocabulary. There are good carbs and there are bad carbs. You need more of the good carbs and less of the bad carbs THAT IS IT!!! Now stop with this low carb nonsense.

You are still getting sick because some of you refuse to eat some of the worlds most powerful and most accessible foods such as the grapefruit, why? Because you cannot deal with the taste. I am using the grapefruit as an example because I eat them all the time. Not every day but I do eat them when I can get my hands on them and I eat the whole thing yet not a fan of the taste.

You are still getting sick because some of you do not incorporate healing herbs into your diets that nature provides us. Ginger, tumeric, olive leaf extract, goldenseal, cayenne, and many more. The very little I know about this subject matter has made a world of difference for me. I have knocked all kinds of oddities out of my system before it knocked me down just by incorporating some of these items. I am not an herbalist or expert but I do have a few people in my circle with far more experience than myself who I tap. If you know someone involved with oriental or alternative medicine get with them. Seriously.

You are still getting sick because some of you refuse to minimize acidic foods such as meat and dairy in your diets. Again, I am not saying don't eat it. But it is simply not needed at every meal. But some were brought up to believe that you must eat a protein at every meal using that term protein but thinking "meat".

You are still getting sick because some of you are still eating food from packages. Such as cereals, frozen dinners, diet foods, inferior meal replacements, or consuming highly acidic artificial sweeteners, a component in almost every sports drink, and diet product on the market.

Now for the non dietary issues as to why you may still be getting sick. You are still getting sick because you are not getting enough rest. Notice I did not say sleep but rest because sleep is a form of rest. You do not rest enough your body will not only be out of balance but you will also weaken your mental ability process things around you with efficiency and clarity. You will be irritable, sensitive, and in some case temperamental which leads to stress.

And lastly you are still getting sick because of stress. You combine added stress to any of the scenarios listed above and you pretty much are a walking incubator for illness. It is well documented that stress in our lives cause the hormone cortisol to be released in the body. While there are some benefits to cortisol there are many drawbacks to excessive cortisol levels in the body due to stress. Inability to cope with or better manage stress in your life may be your down fall if it gets to a point where it is uncontrollable. Again, this is a recipe for imbalance either by itself or combined with poor nutrition. Recommendation: You must learn to let go and cut off anything that does not serve you in a positive way because this piece is vital to long-term health. There are several illness that thrive on the level of stress in your life including cancer. I know a few cancer survivors who have beat the odds against them and the first thing they tell others who have to embark on the same journey is to get the stress in the lives under control or even better eliminated all together. Mental and emotional stress can literally make you sick, cause digestive problems, and interfere with your body's immune system. Practice deep breathing and stretching drills to help your body manage stress while you work on detoxifying your immediate environment of all things that promote stress.

That sums up a few things that I know for fact that when put in place will minimize illness or at least help you mitigate the effects of it when you feel symptoms coming along.

Foods known to combat inflammation and/or illness while promoting long term health:

Kale

Grapefruit

Tomatoes

Celery

Organic Cucumbers

Organic Berries

Organic Apples

Melons (All)

Papaya

Coconut (the fruit, the oil, the water)

Kombucha (probiotics)

Green Tea

Tumeric

Cinnamon

Lemons & Limes

Spinach

Pomergrante

Noni

Olive Leaf Extract

Ginger

Cayenne

Cabbage & Sauerkraut(probiotics)

Broccolli

Garlic

Onion

Peppers

Mushrooms

Nuts

Fish & seafood

Yogurt (probiotics)

There are some others that I may have missed but this is a very good list to start with.