I have been reading some great stuff about the benefits of rollerblading. This website I found has some great tips. Check out http://www.livestrong.com/rollerblading/

It is taking me ages to get my balance on these rollerblades, but it is never too late to get into it.  I am so determined to get there.  I just love the thought of one day being able to get out there on the streets and skate to my hearts content!

Go Bro!

It is another beautiful Sunday here in Brisbane.

Sometimes we just need to sit back and see the world as a beautiful place. Imagine being up in outer space looking down on the world. Would it look much different from day to day? Probably not. Every new day with the sun shining on the planet Earth would look beautiful.

Sometimes I remind myself of this. Even if the day is windy, rainy or even if I feel down, the world is still a beautiful place, and I am a living part of it.

Check out this photo that I took yesterday from Skypoint tower on the Gold Coast.

Skypoint Tower Gold Coast

Just how easy is weight loss?

It is that time of the year again when people decide to become serious about weight loss.

So this begs the question – what does the word ‘serious’ really mean?

Lots of us are serious about weight loss but this attitude doesn’t mean that results are going to happen. Being serious involves having an action plan but it also requires the ability to follow through on the action plan.

I know from my personal experience that it takes a lot more than saying the words “I am serious about losing weight”. Furthermore, it also takes a lot more than purchasing a weight loss programme or an exercise machine or joining a gym. Being swept up my T.V advertising might cause you to purchase a weight loss programme or to buy an exercise machine but it doesn’t mean you will follow through with your quest.

We can sabotage weight loss programmes and use them incorrectly. We can even use them to help put on weight. And how many of us have exercise equipment that just sits around going rusty?

We all know these scenarios but we struggle to find the ‘magical’ ingredient that will make the difference to our weight loss ambitions. So what will make things happen? What causes some people to be able to decide to lose weight and to achieve their goal while others appear serious and committed and yet never achieve their weight loss goals.

From what I witness and experience, I truly believe that the answer ‘lies within’. Everybody has to find their own unique answer to this quest.

There is no one unique magical answer. The answer does lie within, and unless every individual sets out to find that answer, the weight loss quest continues to be the weight gain scenario. So if the answer ‘lies within’, then this begs the question of how to find the ‘magical ingredient’ that is going to make the difference to an individual’s weight loss quest.

We might like to find simple solutions to solve weight loss issues, yet the solutions are never that simple, and never as simple as others might say because weigh loss is a subjective issue. For some it might appear easy, yet for others it might seem impossible.

For those of us who do struggle with weight loss quests, I would suggest that you set out on this quest as if you were going to battle to save your life against an invisible enemy. Achieving weight loss will require every bit of energy, focus and commitment. The journey is about you and your inner thoughts, your fears, your insecurities and your habits. You will need more than a weight loss programme to help you win this battle.

If weight loss is a continual quest for you and a difficult one to achieve then you will need to arm yourself with more than just a weight loss programme or a gym membership. You are going to have to employ yourself with a battalion of resources starting with some understanding of what drives you to eat more than you need and what causes you to give up on your weight loss quest.

Have you ever watched ‘The Biggest Loser’? At some point along the way, every contestant seems to have to confront some inner demons that will sabotage their weight loss efforts if left rule. These demons are the enemy lurking behind the scenes waiting to sabotage your weight loss efforts. Make no mistake about it; they are lurking and waiting for a vulnerable moment to take over.

So how do we recognise these demons and control them; this is a million dollar question.

Take a pen and paper in hand and write down your thoughts next time you venture into temptation. Be honest with yourself. Write honestly what you are thinking and feeling at that time. If you can understand what is leading you into temptation then you can understand the enemy that lurks within. Until you can begin to understand your enemy, your weight loss efforts could be in vain.

Use temptation as an opportunity to understand the enemy that lies within. Let yourself be the victor not the victim. You can do this. Understanding is the first step to developing a tactic that can make a sustainable positive outcome.

Let’s get going!

Start today by jotting down those thoughts and feelings of when temptation lurks, or if you prefer to use modern technology, use your mobile phone or computer.

Remember, the sooner you start, the sooner you can get some control over your life.

I have just discovered one of my triggers for eating more than I need.

It is pretty obvious to me now, but previously it wasn’t. It suddenly occurred to me that I hate wasting food. Yep, I eat more than I need because I hate to see food being thrown out.

Instead of serving up a portion of food that would be adequate, I have tended to over serve so as to ensure all food cooked is served up. A part of me hates to waste food. As a child I was always encouraged to eat everything served up to me.

Consequently, if I cook a meal and there is food left over which is likely to be thrown, I tend to just eat it. The other day when I was holidaying at the Gold Coast, I couldn’t even throw out a few spoons of ice cream because it bothered me. Therefore, regardless of whether or not I want it or feel like it, I just eat it.

This for me is one of the surest ways to put on weight and to increase my fat deposits. Feeling guilty for wasting food does not need to control me. The first step has been recognising some of my long term habits. The next step is to recognise when this habit is about to occur, but instead of wavering to it, I change it for the better and ignore the urge to eat more.

Great! Another part of the puzzle is solved.

See ya

James

Maria and I have been spending a few quiet days relaxing on the Gold Coast overlooking the sea.

The weather is cloudy with showers, but no matter what the weather, the beach is always a place where I can relax. As long as I get to walk along it, I feel great.

As a teenager I use to come to the beach most holidays. We were lucky enough to have a relative who owned a beach house. Daily I would walk, run or swim. I remember running for miles along the beach each day. That habit has somewhat stayed with me, and even though I rarely jog along the beach now, I still enjoy a long walk.

Exercise doesn’t have to be the same old same old. People quit gym memberships because they get bored. I look for different things that I can do to make life interesting and to also get that needed exercise.

Jot down a list of all the things you have done or can do that would be classified as exercise, and then incorporate them into your daily life. You will be surprised by the size of the list if you devote some thought to it.

So, exercise can happen and it doesn’t have to be boring.

Let’s get going, and you don’t have to resort to rollerblading either.

See ya.

James

Rollerblading might look easy, especially when I look at others doing it, but for this novice, nope.

I decided to get some lessons. Six weekly lessons seemed like a bright idea through Planet Inline. This should get me going. Well, the lessons began, but a set back on the third lesson has ended it for me for a while. It only took one fall to wipe me out. I landed on my arm and caused some problems. A week has passed and the arm is still a bit stiff but progress is happening.

In my first lesson, the instructor advised that it is really important to fall the correct way. We practised a couple of pretend falls, but in reality, you don’t know you are falling until you fall.

I will be back to rollerblading. Just as soon as my arm has settled, I’ll be back. This will not get the better of me. It looks like too much fun and a great form of exercise.

Ten year old kids pick up the skills in no time. My kids never got lessons. They just did it. Well, it might take me a bit longer, but I’ll get there, even if I have to rollerblade on crutches lol.

Check out what this following website has to say about rollerblading. Seems like a great recreational activity to get our kids going.

Giving your kids the gift of health through Inline Skating

Talk to you later.

James

How often do we hear ourselves say. ‘I have to get out and exercise; I need to lose weight’ Yet, how many of us alter our eating habits as well?

I have fallen victim to this way of thinking in the past, yet without changes to my eating habits, life stays the same.

We get out and go to the gym, go for a run, do some form of exercise and think that our weight loss issues are gone. But for most of us, it takes more than just exercise.

Calories burned through exercise can be so much smaller than the calories gained through eating.

Look at all of the eating temptations surrounding us. Cafes are in abundance. Grocery stores advertise 2 for 1 deals on chocolates, chips, drinks etc. Service stations sell lots of high calorie snack foods with discounts on petrol if you buy these items, and fast food outlets are everywhere.

There are lots of temptations, and I know just how difficult it is to resist indulging in these items. Yet these temptations need to be deleted from our mind as temptations. True success with weight loss comes from making good food choices.

Yet making good food choices requires more than just discipline, because most people are not disciplined.

Lasting change comes from changing our mindset thinking. A change to mindset thinking then makes it easier to avoiding high calorie drinks and foods, and also makes shopping a lot easier.

Hypnosis is a method that works for some. I have purchased a set of CDs that do just that. I am going to try it out and see just how much of a difference hypnosis makes. Stay tuned!

Another thing I say to myself to avoid some temptations is to think of them as poison to my body. This thought process helps stem the temptations. Who really wants to poison their body? And in reality, some of these temptations are just that – poison.

Catch u later.

James

When it comes to losing weight, sooner or later we all need to rise to the challenge by making a significant change in our lives.

For example, if your diet is high in calories, high in processed foods and saturated fats, then the action of losing weight will require changes to your diet.  Similarly, if you consider your diet to be well balanced but too high in calories, then you need to either reduce your calorie intake or rev up your metabolism through exercise.

There are different components that go to make up the ideal diet or exercise programme but there comes a time when decisions need to be made to go that step further.

Whatever you choose to do will require effort on your part.

This why I use my ‘Evaluate your Progress’ form. This form breaks down the various aspects so that you can assess your efforts.

Therefore, if your weightloss goals are not being met but you are continually avoiding exercise, then this might be the challenge for you. Instead of thinking or pondering over it, decisions have to be made to act.

In order to break the chains that enslave us, it is up to us to act.  Action requires effort, commitment and the creation of a new desired habit. There is no room for laziness, no room for complacency. The results you are looking for will require effort and consistency.

Start today by breaking the chains that enslave you and see yourself moving forward.

So, step up to the next level, get serious and hold yourself accountable today.
Start by filling in my ‘Evaluate your Progress’ form and begin creating some new habits.

Bye for now

James

Hi everybody,

Research shows that one of the key reasons as to why many people are getting sick with “modern-day” diseases like heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes is their reliance on processed food as their primary form of nutrition.

In America alone, ninety percent of foods purchased every year are processed foods, and food marketers are doing a masterful job at making it seem like fast foods and junk foods are the obvious choice.

Yet nutritionists will state the these processed foods are dead and devoid of any natural nutrition. The fact that they taste good is the culmination of a profitable science of artificial flavours and additives, without which most processed food would taste and look like cardboard.

This is really disturbing when you consider the high proportion of society who relie on processed foods.

But what the food industry neglects to tell you is that there is a heavy price for consuming this terrible diet. For the sake of convenience or good taste now, you are trading one of the most valuable assets that you have, your health.

One of the “side effects” of eating a largely processed food diet is that you’re also consuming foods that are loaded with high-fructose corn syrup.

Research is showing that high-fructose corn syrup is becoming the single greatest source of calories in people’s diets.

Some nutritionists believe that this food ingredient alone is enough to completely wreck your health, and it is only one of the dangerous ingredients in processed foods.

So, are you addicted to a deadly diet?

Processed foods are typically chemically altered to increase the appeal to your taste buds, so they can override your body’s signals that would otherwise tell you it’s time to stop eating.

These foods are pumped full of unnatural amounts of sugar, corn syrup, salt, MSG and many others, which radically increases the likelihood of becoming addicted to them.

Understand now why it is difficult to get our kids to like something healthy?

Breaking the chains that enslave us to processed foods requires commitment to making informed decisions to alter what we eat.

In one study, when rats were fed a diet containing 25 percent sugar, they became anxious when the sugar was removed — displaying symptoms similar to people going through drug withdrawals, such as chattering teeth and the shakes.

So what effect is a high sugar diet having on us?

Think of it like this. Refined sugar, which is in nearly every processed food out there, because it is inexpensive and improves the flavour of the food, has been proven to be more addictive than cocaine!

This is why, if you regularly eat a diet of processed foods, whole foods seem to lack flavour. You have become conditioned to think that these chemically altered foods are the norm, when in fact the opposite is true.

The unfortunate reality is that when you eat a processed food diet, it leads to an avalanche of negative changes in your body. One of these is elevated insulin levels, and ultimately insulin resistance.

Ideally you’ll want to eat as many foods as possible in their unprocessed state; typically organic foods that have been grown locally, and are therefore in season.

To achieve this, switch to more raw foods gradually.

Many people feel that if they can’t eat their favourite junk foods, they are being deprived. In reality, the sooner you switch your eating habits, the sooner you’ll enjoy increased energy, normalized weight, a better mood and improved health overall.

Knowing this, many initially succeed at implementing an improved diet, but then fall back into old habits… and therefore, the “old” body.

To avoid this, you make the changes to your diet gradually, starting with making one meal a day raw, then increasing from there.

Don’t forget to use my ‘Evaluate your Progress’ form daily to assist you with your efforts.

Have a great week!

Bye for now

James
http://jamestansell.com