7 Habits of Highly Unhealthy People

by Alexander Heyne

There are a number of reasons why many of us fail to take control of our health.

Everything from time, lack of quality information, and motivation play a roll in our success or failure.

But there’s another set of lesser-known reasons why you aren’t as healthy as you’d like: the thoughts in your head.

Below I’ve profiled the top seven bad mental habits I see over and over, and how you can fix them.

#1 The belief that success is left to a special few

Some people seem to have this concept that people who end up really successful, healthy, and happy, are just the lucky few.

When you ask them how Mozart, Tiger woods, or top sports athletes are born, they’ll tell you something like “Oh it’s just their genetics, they were born that way.”

Say you have the goal of wanting to go from 50 pounds overweight, to fitness model. There are numerous dramatic stories like this on the internet.

But what if your mind is constantly telling you “Oh those people are just unique. They are the 1% who have willpower and discipline like no other human being.”

Chances are you won’t even do anything, right? You won’t get started.

Now what if I told you that I met someone who achieved the goal you want to achieve. And what if that person told me “Nope, I wasn’t born special, I just learned what I had to do, and spent 1-2 hours every day for two years doing it.”

Suddenly your mind expands and you begin to wonder: “Hmm, if an ordinary person can do it, maybe I can too.”

In fact, there have been numerous books on the subject, such as Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers From Everyone Else and The Talent Code.

The conclusions of both books?

In the vast majority of cases, talent is created and forged every day, not born. This is as true for Mozart as it is for Tiger woods.

My point is this: it’s important to know that the people who succeed at changing their health, building a business, or improving their personal life are not special – they just take committed action.

#2 Thinking that your life, and thus your success, health and relationships are all outside of your control

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from The Alchemist and goes something along the lines of this:

The greatest lie in the world is that, at some point, your life is run by factors out of your control.

You can always change.

It’s sort of like another saying: you can’t control what happens to you in life, but you can control your response.

This is extremely apparent today, where people are losing their jobs left and right. The vast majority of people end up complaining and saying, “There was nothing I could do.” Really? Nothing?

You couldn’t have been pro-actively meeting people, or bringing new ideas to the table, or taking on larger responsibilities to make yourself more indispensible?

The same is true of your health: some people act as if they are powerless to the food industry, or can’t fight their genetics.

“Oh, heart disease and cancer run in my family.” And apparently that’s all the justification we need to go eat junk food every day.

There are two ways to look at your health.

The first sounds a lot like this: “Oh, everything causes Cancer these days! Forget it, I’m just going to eat what I want.”

The second sounds like this: “My health is a priority and I’m going to do whatever it takes to figure out how to get healthy.”

You could read hours worth of success stories, of people who successfully reversed their genetic predispositions to obesity, heart disease, or cancer.

Just look at Jack Lalanne – one of the most famous health icons of the 21st century. Lalanne’s dad died young from a heart attack, but Lalanne lived to be 96 years old – and if you saw videos of him in his 90’s, he looked to be about 75.

The more you believe that you are incapable of change, the less likely you are actually going to take the action you need to improve your life.

#3 Thinking that sticking to a diet is all a matter of willpower

This whole laziness / willpower thing has unfortunately become the default belief in the health industry.

People that are unhealthy or overweight are viewed as lacking “willpower,” and those who are healthy are viewed as having lots of it.

I think that laziness is mostly a myth. It’s not that you can’t stick to a diet because you’re lazy, it’s because you have bad habits.

Habits happen automatically. That’s why we feel powerless against them.

One of the most important things I tell clients when I work with them is that it’s not a matter of willpower – it’s a matter of turning small changes into big habits.

For any of you who have tried fighting sweet cravings, you know that willpower is a weak soldier to fight the battle.

It’s pretty much impossible, and there’s a good body of research showing that sugar cravings function a lot like drug addictions and even affect the same receptors in the brain.

Would you ever tell a drug addict to just “fight” the cravings?

No, of course not! That’s why I challenge you to not view dieting as a willpower game – you will almost inevitably lose.

Instead, imagine if you picked one bad habit – and spent 30 days re-wiring yourself. Imagine what your health and life would look like after 12 of those (one year)?

#4 Trusting some new health expert on blind faith, rather than testing out the advice

It seems like every year there’s a new M.D. proposing some huge diet solution that will help save humanity.

Right now it’s the Wheat Belly diet. Diets aside, there are obviously some really good ones, and some really bad ones. But there are very few that endure and last.

For whatever reason, the health industry is filled with people who think they’ve “cracked the code” and at which point, the know-it-all hat comes on.

A friend of mine recently lost 50 pounds doing nutrisystem – so he began preaching the gospel of nutrisystem (despite the fact that a year later, he regained 60 pounds).

People seem to forget that there is one system that really works for everyone: experimentation.

Ignore the M.D. credential on most diet books. Ignore the rave reviews. Ignore all the junk and advertising.

If Dr. Zee has a new program that’s supposed to help people with arthritis, and you’ve got arthritis, try it and see what happens long term!

If Dr. Zoo has a “revolutionary, break-through” program for combating sugar cravings, just try it out before you begin preaching the gospel.

If Dr. Zed has a newly scientifically verified program for combating allergies… just try It out and see if it works for you!

If Dr. Zoy has a program guaranteed to make you healthier – get a blood test before and after and see the proof.

Once upon a time, I used to believe that there really was one universal human diet. But after having worked with so many people, I’ve realized that people respond very differently to the exact same foods, diets, or programs.

So, start experimenting! Don’t put your faith in the latest fad, or even someone with credentials. People still have beliefs and opinions – regardless of the M.D. next to their name. Trust results.

Read the rest here: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/the-7-bad-habits-of-highly-unhealthy-people/

The Perfect Weight-Loss Goal

by Markham Heid

Go big or go home. Setting the bar high when it comes to weight loss could help you drop more pounds, finds surprising research in the Journal of Health Psychology.

A Dutch survey of overweight and obese dieters found people who aimed to lose more than 10 percent of their total body weight shed more pounds than those who targeted a 5- to 10-percent drop. Also—contrary to some popular weight-loss beliefs—dieters who set more-ambitious goals were no more likely to feel discouraged by their results than people who chose modest targets, the study shows.

While trying to lose weight, you’re probably pursuing other important life goals like earning a promotion at work, making time for friends, or being a better parent or partner, says study coauthor Emely de Vet, Ph.D., of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. If you set a timid weight-loss goal, you’re telling yourself you don’t need to work very hard to be successful, and so you’re less likely to divert resources like time and energy away from those other activities, de Vet says.

But when you aim high, you signal to yourself that more effort will be needed to reach your goals, and so you’re more likely to focus time and energy on losing weight, she adds.

http://news.menshealth.com/the-weight-loss-goal-you-should-set/2013/05/04/

What Helps and Hurts Your Brain

How Much Exercise Will It Take to Work Off a Burger? Menus May Soon Tell You

by Alexandra Sifferlin

More restaurants display calorie counts on their menus, but what if they also informed you what it would take to burn off those calories?

It’s one thing to know how many calories are packed into a meal you’re about to eat, and quite another to fully appreciate what your body does with them. That’s been clear since cities like New York mandated calorie counts on fast food and restaurant menus so consumers would have a better idea of what they were eating. Despite the added information, studies haven’t shown that the counts led people to eat less. In fact, some surveys found they prompted people to order more food. So caloric information, it seems, doesn’t have much impact on eating behavior.

Better strategies are clearly needed, so researchers Dr. Meena Shah and Ashlei James from Texas Christian University tried another approach — replacing the calorie counts with the number of minutes of brisk walking a person would need to complete to burn off what they just ate.

The researchers chose brisk walking since it’s a physical activity most people can do, and can easily fit into their day, as opposed to running or jogging. “We did the study specifically in younger adults. The reason why we chose young adults is because they exercise more than older adults and we felt that they would relate to it more than older adults,” says Shah.

The scientists recruited 300 men and women ages 18 to 30 and randomly assigned them to order lunch from one of three menus: one that was calorie-free, one that included calorie counts and another labeled with the minutes of walking needed to burn the calories in the food. All the menus had the same food offerings, including burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, salad, fries, desserts, soda and water.

The participants who were provided the walking information ordered and consumed fewer calories compared to those who ordered off the menu without calorie labels. However, as with some previous studies, there was no difference in the calories consumed between those who ordered off the menu with calorie count labels and those who were not provided with calorie information.

Read the rest here: http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/24/are-you-willing-to-walk-for-that-burger/

Alexandra Sifferlin @acsifferlin
Alexandra Sifferlin is a writer and producer for TIME Healthland. She is a graduate from the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism.

Lose Weight Faster

by Jessica Girdwain

Double dip to lose weight fast. Tackling diet and exercise goals at the same time produces better results than focusing on one before the other, says a new study in Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Researchers split inactive people with poor eating habit into three groups: one that started an exercise program, then a diet a few months later; another that dieted first, then exercised; and a third that initiated both. A year later, the third group was the only one that still met guidelines for exercise and healthy eating.

The findings challenge common weight loss advice to work on one healthy habit at a time. But making both healthy behaviors a priority from the beginning helps make sure one doesn’t slip off your radar, says lead researcher Abby C. King, Ph.D., a professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine.

The key to success is small, gradual changes, says King. For example, use a pedometer to log more steps than you did the day before, and add one more fruit a day (or nix the chips with lunch). You’ll be able to build on your initial changes in the later weeks to achieve bigger goals—and results, King says.

http://news.menshealth.com/are-you-losing-weight-wrong/2013/04/23/

4% of Your Day

High Blood Pressure Can be Avoided

Brisk Walking or Running: Both Reduce Risk for Heart Disease

by Robert Glatter, MD

The next time you decide that you are not in the mood to go running, you may be comforted by new research showing that a brisk walk may be just as beneficial for keeping your heart healthy, and keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol down.

This is great news since fewer than 50 percent of Americans are able to meet the CDC’s recommendation of engaging in at least 2.5 hours of moderate to intense aerobic exercise a week.

Results of a new study published April 4th in the American Heart Association Journal, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, discovered that individuals who walked briskly were able to reduce their high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and blood sugar (diabetes), as much as runners did—and actually to a higher degree.

Investigators evaluated over 33,000 runners who were participating in the National Runner’s Health Study and over 15,000 walkers who were part of the National Walkers’ Health Study over a six year period. All of the participants were aged 18-80, with the majority in their 40s and 50s. The research subjects answered specific detailed questionnaires regarding aspects of their physical activity, and the researchers were able to determine how much energy they expended according to the distance they reported running or walking. They also reported any pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol or diabetes that were previously diagnosed by medical providers.

The researchers discovered that while intense running required more energy than brisk or moderate-intensity walking, both activities produced a drop in high blood pressure, diabetes or high blood sugar, elevated cholesterol or heart disease during the study period. They also noted that the more the participants ran or walked, the greater the benefit in lowering their risk for heart disease.

While brisk walking certainly isn’t as intense as running, the researchers explain that both activities ultimately involve the same muscle groups, which may potentially explain why their results for reducing risk for heart disease are similar. Results from this study suggest that the type of exercise may not be as important as how much individuals run or walk.

Here is a rundown of the specifics from the study:

Running decreased the chances of having elevated cholesterol by 4.3%, while walking reduced the risk by 7%.
Running reduced the risk of diabetes by 12.1%, while walking reduced the risk by 12.3%.

Running reduced risk for elevated blood pressure by 4.2%, while walking reduced the risk by 7.2%.

Running reduced the risk for coronary artery disease risk by 4.5%, while walking decreased it by 9.3%.

Overall, the results from this study provide reassurance that those who walk briskly derive the same if not more significant benefits compared to runners. This is quite appealing since walking may be a more reasonable activity for a larger segment of the population compared to running. It is also more sustainable as an activity as we age, in light of the potential risk for injuries related to running.

Since running is a more intense type of physical activity, runners generally burn more calories and develop a higher intensity of energy expenditure over a shorter period of time. However, the results of the study reinforce the concept that any consistent physical activity can produce long term benefits. In fact, in the summer of 2012, the CDC reported that more Americans were walking for exercise, with those who walk being nearly 3 times more likely to meet the recommended level of physical activity.

The CDC and the AHA recommend that adults spend a minimum of 30 minutes a day, five days a week, doing moderate-intensity exercise, or at least 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week engaged in vigorous activity.

Walking is a beneficial way to begin to change sedentary behavior–particularly in those people with elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or coronary artery disease–who are at the highest risk for developing complications from such conditions. It is also recommended for healthy people who want to avoid these dangerous conditions as well. Overall, research supports the concept that it is not the intensity–but instead the regularity of exercise that reduces high blood pressure and risk for coronary artery disease.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/04/05/brisk-walking-or-running-both-reduce-risk-for-heart-disease/

Best Cardio for Fat Loss

From Natural Health

My girlfriend accuses me of being too efficient. As if that’s a bad thing. I work fast. I get things done and move on to better things. I don’t want to linger over tasks. I want them behind me. Which is why I’m all googly-eyed over High Intensity Interval Training.

I’ve got a few rules I like to follow concerning exercise. First off, get it done in 20 minutes or less. Whether I’m doing my morning yoga or resistance training or cardio, 20 minutes. No more. Secondly, in order to accomplish this, workouts need to be super intense. Which is nice because the time goes by faster. (Surprising considering the pain involved at times.) And third, and most important, the benefit has to be great.

You can go to the gym. You can crawl onto a treadmill. And you can jog and watch TV all the livelong day. But you’re not accomplishing anything. Other than fooling yourself into thinking you’re exercising. And watching a bit of TV.

HIIT: A Better Way

Let’s start with the benefits. HIIT, known more recently as Peak Fitness or Sprint 8, promotes fat loss/burning by increasing your resting metabolic rate and lowering your insulin resistance. Which means you’ll be burning calories long after your workout has finished, compared with other types of cardio. And not just calories. You’ll burn that hard to lose fat.

HIIT engages your super-fast muscle fibers. You have three types total: slow, fast and super-fast. Traditional cardio employs the slow fibers. Which in case you’re wondering, does little to nothing for your health. However, by stepping up the intensity, a lot I will admit, you can engage your super-fast muscle fibers, which may just be your personal fountain of youth.

The most amazing benefit of HIIT is the release of HGH that it promotes. Human Growth Hormone production declines after the age of 30, and it does so at a pretty fast rate. HGH is responsible for your energy levels, youthfulness, vitality. It is an anti-aging miracle worker. And the only way to get this benefit from a cardio program is to perform high intensity interval exercises.

The How

You can adjust this however you like, but here’s the way I do it. Warm up on the bike or treadmill for 2-3 minutes. Then alternate between an all-out 30 second sprint at maximum effort, followed by a 90 second period of low intensity or rest. You do 8 of these “sprints” then another 2-3 minutes to cool down. And you’re done. If you’re just beginning a cardio program, perhaps you’ll want to do fewer sprints and more warm up. Or decrease the length of each sprint if need be.

The beautiful thing about HIIT is that it’s tailored to your fitness level. Whether you’re super fit or not fit at all, everyone can benefit from this and improve their cardio endurance. The key is your level of intensity. If you’re a beginner, take it slow if you need to, but once your cardio fitness begins to improve, you’ll need to bring that intensity more and more and with each and every sprint.

http://naturalhealthpub.com/best-cardio-for-fat-loss-2013-03-30/

How To Conquer Fluctuating Ambition in 5 Steps

by Stephen Guise

It’s 10 PM and I’m excited about life. I decide to go to the gym tomorrow at 8 AM.

The morning arrives, and I peel my body out of bed, and I don’t go to the gym.

What happened? It’s fluctuating ambition.

Four Reasons Why Ambition Fluctuates:

1. Energy Levels

Energy levels usually determine our desires in the moment. If energy is low, so is ambition. Who can conquer the world while taking a nap?

2. Procrastination

Ambitious night Stephen runs the first leg of what I call the delayed responsibility relay race. “Ok, morning Stephen, you can take it from here.” Morning Stephen then passes the baton off to afternoon Stephen, who gives it to tomorrow Stephen, who trips.

Procrastination is easy, but it messes up ambition.

If you want to make progress, but also want to delay the work, you’ll get ambitious when you can’t do anything about it. You’ll label tasks as non-urgent and pass the baton to sleeping *your name here*, who can’t do anything but sleep. This cycle often repeats itself and nothing gets done!

3. Fear of real opportunities

Bold ideas are tamed like a circus tiger when you know they’ll never happen. What’s scary about the idea of fighting crime when you’re at home in your pajamas? Nothing, but it’s scary to walk the streets with the full intention of engaging evil doers!

When I saw the beautiful girl at the zoo, it was intimidating to walk up and talk to her, so I didn’t (true story, isn’t it great? I should have learned to¬†talk to strangers). When you’re sitting down at your computer with an hour to spare, it’s easier not to write the outline for your first novel. So we decide to eat ice cream instead.

Meaningful action is scarier than meaningless action. That’s the takeaway point.¬†If you only find yourself inspired when you can’t do anything about it, there’s a good chance you fear real opportunities.

4. Lacking confidence

Related to fear, low confidence will stop you from doing great things. Ambition the night before shows you want it, but it could be that deep inside you don’t believe you’ll get the results you want. If you don’t envision success, you’ll avoid action.

The higher your confidence, the more stable your ambitiometer will be.

Five Solutions To Conquer Fluctuating Ambition

1. Learn to turn your brain off

In times of extreme ambition, you think clearest about what you want. Since you’re likely removed from the action aspect of it, you’re not scared to imagine a great future. Don’t be fooled by your tired, timid, scared self the next day, because you’re overthinking it. A great solution to this problem is to turn your brain off and mindlessly do whatever your earlier self said would improve your life. If you can master this trick, you’ll form good habits, which will carry you through times of low ambition.

2. Find your prior mindset

Maybe, for one reason or another, you can’t shut your mental stations down. In this case, try to recapture your ambitious thoughts and feelings. How did you get ambitious before? Why were your ideas appealing then? The only thing that’s changed is you – your ambitious ideas from before are still great. Focus on the exciting benefits of taking action and you might just reclaim your ambition before the day is gone.

3. Do something else

Just kidding. What a terrible idea. No!

4. Talk to a friend

Have you ever talked to a friend about something and answered all of your questions without them saying a word? Knowing that another mind is analyzing their thoughts and ideas makes people think in a more logical manner. Beyond that, friends can offer new insights and ideas to help you move forward.

If you said you were going to work out the night before and now you’re tired, perhaps encouragement from a friend will convince you to stick to your original plan or maybe your friend will join you at the gym! Two wolves are more powerful than a lone wolf.

5. Move it

Yes, physically move around.

Ambition is a mental trait, and the best way to jumpstart yourself mentally is to get active (or yes, caffeine works too, you addicts!). Even a brisk walk can do wonders for your ambition. Once I ran a few miles and came home frustrated. Why? I had so many ideas during the run that I couldn’t remember them all.

Exercise is magic.

6. Learn to love progress

I added a bonus sixth step because #3 didn’t count.

Everyone loves success, but progress is the choice of champions. Progress is how every single expert becomes an expert. Progress is how athletes become elite. Progress is how you’ll get good enough to achieve whatever your ambition drives you towards.

Don’t focus on success, or your ambition will jump around according to your results and fluctuating expectations of reaching success or failing.

But when you focus on progress, you’ll always get it with effort, and your ambition will remain stable if your aim is true. Progress can be made without success, but success won’t happen without progress.

Where is your ambition at? If your ambitiometer is low, use these tips to recharge it. If your ambition is soaring, it’s probably two in the morning and you can’t do anything about it, but now you’ll know what to do to recapture the magic when it’s time for action.