I’ve lost almost 10 pounds in 4 weeks!  It seems like every time I step on the scale at the gym, I’ve lost another pound, what a great feeling!  I think this all started 4 weeks ago when I decided that I would try to find something fun and athletic to help me get in shape.

It’s not that I absolutely dread the treadmill, but I noticed that I couldn’t go as fast or as long on the treadmill and I wasn’t improving very fast.  So my strategy was to start playing a sport that would force my body to adapt to more rigorous activities and therefore would strengthen myself for running harder.  I started playing racquetball about once or twice a week and it has really helped my body to go that extra mile and run faster on the treadmill, which is allowing me to burn up more calories!  So combined with my increase in treadmill running, weekly racquetball sessions, and being more conscious about how I eat, I’ve managed to steadily reduce my weight.

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What is your real body age? Chronologically, I’m 27 years old, but the short questionnaire at the RealAge website said that my biological age is 28.5 years old. It goes into a lot of detail when calculating your body age, from how often you wear a seat belt, how fast over the speed limit you drive, what diseases or physical difficulties you have, to how often and how long you work out, and how often you eat your fruits and veggies. Then it also offers to help you build a plan and offers suggestions to lower your body age. Apparently, my intake of lycopene is low, I should reduce the amount of red meat I eat weekly, and get a pet dog, amongst a plethora of other suggestions I should do to make my biological age lower than my chronological age. Overall, I would say that these are pretty good tips to take into consideration to help you lead a healthier and better quality lifestyle. What did you think about the body age analysis?

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Here’s an article I read from RealAge.

Trying to lose a few? Aren’t we all. You’ll lose even more if you set out a plate of this before each meal: apple wedges.

Eating a bit of high-fiber fruit — like a small apple or pear — before each meal is a proven weight-loss booster.

Fruit Booster
You’ve seen those ads for weight-loss pills that promise to help you lose even more weight when you diet. It’s possible that apple wedges could give those pills a run for the money. In a recent study where women were divided up into fruit-before-meals and no-fruit-before-meals groups, the fruit group lost more weight — even though they all followed the same reduced-calorie diet. The key? Choosing fruit that’s high in fiber but low in calories (read: high water content, like apples).
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Every once in a while, I like to look through some of the articles or books that I have saved and re-read them. After all, we don’t remember everything we read and some things are worth reading a few times since repetition will help you remember things.

I came across an article by Randy Gage titled “Removing Negative Thoughts” and thought it’d be worthwhile to share with you. Studies have shown that positive thinking people tend to lead happier and more productive lives. But some of us just aren’t programmed that way. In this article, Randy talks about how he re-programmed his brain to think differently, to think more positively, which resulted in better changes in his life.

From my own experience, I believe positive thinking has tremendous benefits, not just mentally but physically as well. You’ll feel lighter, laugh more, feel more confident and maybe it’ll give you that extra push to start losing that Beer Belly. So the next time you become frustrated when doing something difficult, like trying to lose weight, take a step back to gain some perspective and re-focus your efforts and thoughts. Develop a system or a reminder that will make you more aware of your negative thoughts so you can be conscious of them and change them pro actively.

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During my business trip this week, I got no more than 4 hours of sleep each night. I know it’s terrible for my health but I was still able to perform on the job and tour NYC without drinking gallons of coffee. I think it’s all due to my practice of the power nap. Before leaving for my trip I read an article in the Men’s Journal about how Steve Fossett was able to set the world record for an around-the-world solo jet flight. Apparently Steve slept just 60 minutes in 67 hours of flight by taking 2 and 3 minute naps.

Basically there are 5 phases of a nap, broken down by the amount of time you get your shut-eye.

Nano-nap: 10 to 20 seconds
This is when you nod off while driving home from a long day and wake up just in time to catch yourself from driving off the road. These can be quite dangerous to your health and doesn’t provide many benefits.

Micro-nap: 2 to 5 minutes
This is when you come home from long day at work and was able to ward off a traffic accident from your nano-nap, only to fall asleep while parked in the garage. Studies have shown that these naps are quite effective in shedding sleepiness.

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