Mind Body Excellence Blog

Vitamins are chemicals that are found in food and are necessary to the proper functioning and health of the human body. Your body cannot make vitamins and must be obtained through your diet.

There are two types of vitamins, water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water soluble vitamins dissolve in water and are not stored by thse body, they are eliminated in urine. The water soluble vitamins are the vitamin B-complex group and vitamin-C. B-Vitamins are found in cereal grains, chicken, meat, fish, legumes aand vegetables. The best sources of vitamin-C are citrus fruits.

Fat soluble vitamins are vitamins that are stored in the body for a few days or up to six months. The body uses these vitamins when needed. Fat soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K and can be found in milk, orange fruits and vegetables. They can also be found in dark green leafy vegetables, egg yolks, nuts, seeds and yogurt.

To make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of vitamins, eat a varitey of foods everyday.

1. The human brain has about 100,000,000,000 (100 Billion) neurons

2. By walking an extra 20 minutes a day, an average person will burn off seven pounds of body fat a year

3. Everytime you lick a stamp you consume 1/10 of a calorie

4. If all the muscles in your body pulled in one direction, you would be able to lift 25 tons

5. The strongest bone in your body is the femur (thighbone), and it’s hollow

6. The strongest muscle in your body is your tongue

7. The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing

8. It takes seven seconds for food to go from the mouth to the stomach

9. Sailors once thought that wearing a gold earring would increase their eyesight

10. The average person laughs about 15 times a day.

-Lets all try and make it thirty.  While you’re at it, make a stranger smile and you will have just made a new friend.  Have a GREAT DAY!!!

Don’t forget to check out my new audio/video book, “Peak Performance and the Business Traveler” Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker

1) Don’t bother to give God instructions: just report for duty   -Corrie ten Boom

2) Believers eventually become achievers

3) Success comes in can’s; failure comes in can’ts

4) You can if you want, and if you want, you will  -Frank Williams

5) When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on  - Franklin D. Roosevelt

6) The best type of exercise you can do is to reach down and lift someone up

7) Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be - Abraham Lincolon

9) Live each day as if it were your last…and someday you will be right -Thomas Ken

10) Don’t fear tomorrow; God is already there

-Wacky Wit by Vernon Mclellan/Humorous Quotations by Bob Phillips

Don’t forget to check out my audio/video book, “Peak Performance and the Business Traveler” Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker. Buy it Today!

Like it or not  life seems to throw us a curveball every once in awhile. We come across a dfficult situation  in our lives and  we’re just not sure how to handle it. Hopefully the following tips will help make your life a little easier. Let’s first take a look at what happens to our body when confronted with a difficult situation. Difficult situations affect our mind, body and behavior in many ways. We become irritable, angry, frustrated, we yell, we scream and we even throw our hands up in disgust; all of which cause our blood pressure to go through the roof. On top of that, we tense our muscles and this could lead to headaches, back pain and chest pain. All of these things  could have a tremendous negative affect on our health. So what’s a person to do?

Tip #1. Accept the fact that difficult situations are a part of life, just like the good times are a part of life.

Tip #2 You are much stronger than any negative situation life can throw at you.  Tackle it head on. Believe in your self and stay confident

Tip#3  In some situations you may not be able to control the situation, but you can control your emotions and how you choose to respond.

Tip #4  When confronted with a tough situation, stay calm, confident and count to 10. This will allow you to relax and look at the situation with a clearer mindset.

Tip#5 Call a friend or family member. Someone you can confide in and who will bring a smile to your face.

Tip#6  Exercise. Exercise is great for mental stress relief

Tip #7  Practice self-positive talk.  The mind can only focus on one thought at a time. Make it positive and keep it positive.

Tip #8  Be grateful for everything you already have in your life. Some people don’t even have half that much.

Tip#9 “When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on” -Franklin D.    Roosevelt

Tip #10  Don’t fear tomorrow, God is already there

-Don’t forget to check out my new audio/video book. Peak Performance and the Business Traveler. Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker. Buy it Today!

First let’s talk about the proper way to breath when you exercise. There are two types of movement when executing any exercise. You have a concentric (positive) movement and an eccentric (negative) movement. Knowing how to breath during these movements is very important. For example, when doing a dumbbell curl, exhale as you bring the dumbells up. This is the concentric movement. As you lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position, inhale. This movement is thae eccentric movement.   If you’re doing a push-up, exhale as you push up and inhale as you return to the starting position.

Why is it important to breath properly? It’s important for three main reasons. (1) Inhaling or exhaling at the wrong time can increase your blood pressure to an unsafe level.  (2)  This could result in the rupturing of an artery and (3) it could result in a ruptured alveoli sac(s) in the lungs. Alveoli sacs are air sacs in the lungs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood.

The next time you’re exercising, focus on your breathing and make sure you’re doing it the right way. Your body will thank you for it. 

Stay fit and be well,

-Frank

P. S. Don’t forget to check out my new audio/video book for the business traveler.   Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker.  Buy it today!

Do you find that trying to read food labels can be very confusion and frustrating? If you do, your not alone. 

Most people have no idea  how many calories of fat they consume each day. The next time you go food shopping you’ll be able to calculate how many fat calories are in the foods you buy. 

Are you ready to start decreasing your fat intake?  Great!!

 To make things extremely easy for you, make sure you bring a calculator with you.

Let’s say you are looking at a food label on a box of cookies, look for the amount of calories per serving. ie. 150 calories per serving. now look for the number of calories from fat. Fat contains 9 calories per gram (2 grams would equal 18 calories)

So, if you have 5 grams of fat multiply that by 9.   9 x 5 = 45 (fat calories) Then divide 45 by the total number of calories 150 per serving and multiply the answer by 100.

Here’s how it looks.    150 calories per serving

                                           5 grams of fat = 9 calories    9 x 5 = 45  fat calories

                                            45 divided by 150 = 0.3

                                      100 x 0.3 = 30% caloriies from fat

You want to try and avoid or conume as little as possible foods that say hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated on the food label.

Have a busy schedule? Looking for a short workout that’s  guaranteed to get the heart pumping faster and the muscles working harder?   Try this 10 minute program.

1. March in place for 1 minute

2. Do some light stretching for 1 minute

3. Do the following routine for 6 minutes. Do each exercise, one right after the other for 6 minutes straight (No resting for the six minutes) 15-Jumping Jacks - 10-Standing abdominal twists (each side), and finish with 10-pushups with the knees off the floor (military style). Repeat the exercises until the six minutes are up. Once the six minutes are up, stop no matter where you are in the program. The key is to keep moving for the entire six minutes

 4. Finish with a cool down and some light stretching. This should last for 2 minutes.

 A great workout in just 10 minutes.

If you’re unable to do regular jumping jacks, try these. Kick the legs out in front of you and as you do this bring your hands overhead just like you would in a regular jumping jack.

Standing abdominal twists. Stand with your feet placed shoulder width apart. Turn your right foot slightly out. Extend your arms out in front of you with elbows bent and make a fist with both hands. Now raise your left knee up  high  and at the same time twist your upper body to the left. This counts as one movement or one rep. After completing 10 reps on the left side, turn the left foot out slightly, raise theright knee high and twist the upper body to the right for 10 reps.  If you’re not strong enough to do the pushups with your knees off the floor, don’t worry about it. Do the pushups with your knees on the floor.  And if these are to hard, do wall pushups.  Stand a few inches away from a wall, place your hands flat on the wall with arms extended. Now, lower your body towards the wall and push back up to the starting position. Choose the one that’s right for you.

Proper breathing technique. It’s very important that you focus on your breathing when you exercise. On the exertion phase of the exercise you want to exhale and on the relaxation phase you want to inhale.  When doing the abdominal twists, exchale as you lift the knee up and twist to the side. When you do a pushup, exhale as you push the body up away from the floor or wall.

 Intensity. If you’re looking to challange yourself, hold a medicine ball, a dumbbell or even a telephone book in your hands when doing the abdominal twists. For regular jumping jacks, you can bring the legs forward and back instead of out to the side. 

Modify the routine to fit your fitness level. Have fun with it and let me know what you think. 

 Always get approval from your physician before starting any fitness program.

 Stay fit and be well,

-Frank

P.S.  Don’t foget to check out my new audio/video book for the business traveler. Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker. Buy it today!

You have tried over and over again to lose weight and nothing seems to be working.  What can you do?  Try the following stategies:

• Keep a “weight loss” journal.
• Your weekly goal should be 1/2 -2lbs. If you lose just a 1/2lb each week, you will have lost 24lbs in one year. How great is that?
• Realize that it’s a lifestyle change and not a quick fix.
• Exercise-30-60 minutes a day.
•  Pick one “cheat day” each week. Avoid eating junk foods the rest of the week (cakes, candy, chips, soft drinks, ice cream,  alcohol, etc.)
• Drink plenty of water
• Eat small portions
• Eat slowly
• Use a smaller plate than what you normally use when you eat. Don’t go back for seconds.
• Attend support groups
• Make vegetables, legumes, fruits, and whole grains the major part of your meals.

 Nothing in life comes without hard work. Set your sights on your weight lose goal and never look back. Celebrate when you cross the finish line.

 Always seek approval from your physician before starting any nutritional program.

 -Frank 

The New Year is upon us and new resolutions have been made. Unfortunately, statistics show that approximately 65% of those resolutions will never be achieved. Why? We have the desire, the interest and we truly want to succeed. Whether it’s to lose weight, make more money or whatever your goal may be; I believe the number one reason most people don’t succeed in achieving their goals is because of the way they think. Speaking with and cocaching many clients, it seems most people give up once they start getting outside there “comfort zone”. In other words people tend to give up once things start really getting tough.  It’s getting through the tough times that  brings out the winner in us all.

 Becoming a winner  starts with believing in yourself. You have to think that way. There’s no reason not too. Changing the way you think is just the first step. Be positive, energetic and confident. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It may take some time, but you can do it. “Change your way of thinking and you could change your life forever.”

We are looking forward to posting many new tips about fitness