How to Speed Up Your Metabolism

Having a ‘high’ metabolism is the holy grail for those of us who struggle with our weight. We see naturally slender people who can eat whatever they want and they tell us that it is because of their metabolism. Where can we get one like that?

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within us (or any living organism). Metabolism consists both of anabolism and catabolism (the buildup and breakdown of substances, respectively). The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy.

Our metabolism is our ability to expend energy. It is the ‘calories out’ part of the traditional diet equation.

Everything is a Biochemical Process

As well as our physical functions, all of our mental and emotional activities are a result of biochemical processes as well. Thinking and feeling require complex chemical and hormonal activity. We feel our thoughts and emotions in our physical body.

Re-energise Your World

How much energy do you release from your body when you open your heart and send love to everyone you meet? How much energy is burned when you are flooded with happiness and joy? Does excitement and anticipation increase the level of vibration in your body? How many calories does laughing burn, or hugging yourself with pleasure? When you experience goose bumps while listening to beautiful music, are you increasing your metabolic function? How much more life are you experiencing when you are fully conscious of every moment?

Go beyond the purely physical means to increase your metabolism (exercise, food, cold water, frequent meals etc.) and concentrate on the transformation of your thoughts and feelings.

10 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism

1. send thoughts of love and compassion to every single person you meet
2. spend time doing something you love
3. approach life with curiosity and a sense of adventure
4. laugh and smile
5. love yourself
6. listen to music
7. watch a sunset
8. breathe deeply
9. thank the universe for everything you experience
10. squeeze the life out of every single moment by living consciously

Did you know

• Metabolism is vibrational response to your moment in time. Metabolism is the way the Energy is moving through your body. And so, everything is in response to the way you feel — everything is. Everything is mind over matter. Every disease is mental first. Everything is about thought. Everything is about vibration. Everything is about the way you feel. Practice scenarios that feel good–and never mind reality. Reality is only a brief moment in time that you keep repeating. ~ Abraham

• We are who we are, today.  In this moment, this is us.  We are living and breathing.  We are human.  We are perfectly human.  With all the challenges that go with that, and all the joys.  We are our body, our mind, our spirit.  It is us…each of us, at this moment.  It is what we have.  All of it. ~ from the latest male addition to the Exposed Trail ~ Lance

• For fun ~ Intuitive Parrot Feeding (it is actually really interesting)

→ photo : zoutedrop

The Goddess

(1) femininity
—–
(2) goddess denied
—–
(5) history glorifies the masculine need
—–
(10) yearning for the angles and the sharp punctuation of bones
—–
(20) ignoring a woman’s beauty in the curve of a hip, the softness of a breast, and thighs that gently meet
—–
(50) we are mother nature, mother earth, the creator of life and yet we condone the subjugation of our gender by starving our bodies into tributes to maleness. how disturbing that our role models have drugged away their birthright to become a strange imitation of the opposite sex.
we must stop.

inspired by one-two-fiver

• One Two Fiver is a tool to help you sit down and write. Think of it as a series of stretches for warming up your writing muscles. Start with a single word. Type it like you mean it. Now write two words. Move on to five… Keep typing until you are writing.

→ photo : black hawk girl

The Insidiousness of Comparison

There are so many ways to feel like I’m not good enough and blog world is the perfect breeding ground for feelings of inadequacy.

In an effort to banish my preoccupation with the size and shape of my body, I have deleted all my weight loss blogs and subscriptions. Instead I am reading healthy lifestyle blogs. You would think that would be so much more positive and helpful but today it is making me feel totally inadequate. How do I compare myself to all those women out there in cyberspace?

I am not healthy enough

Some health and fitness bloggers post beautiful photos of their every meal and snack. I realise that my food choices are not good enough. I eat too much artificial sweetener, processed food, dairy, sugar, meat and diet products. I need clean up my diet so it is raw, organic, and vegan. I am very unhealthy.

I am not pretty enough

I don’t have shiny long hair, flawless skin, sparkling white teeth, perfectly manicured nails and designer workout clothes. I am obviously not making enough of an effort. I need to visit the hairdresser, beautician, dentist, manicurist and nearest boutique ASAP.

I am not popular enough

My blog doesn’t have thousands of subscribers, thousands of page views and hundreds of comments. My blog is tiny and insignificant, I may as well be talking to myself. I need to get my own domain name, web designer and graphic artist to give my blog an overhaul and then I need to guest post on those mega blogs to get some much needed traffic.

I am not fit enough

I’ve never participated in a marathon, triathlon, bikram yoga, power lifting meet, cross-fit or rock-climbing and I’ve never even placed in a single thing I have done. My leisurely walks, beginner level yoga and sporadic weight lifting is obviously not making me fit enough. I need to get a trainer, a competition goal and move way outside my comfort zone in order to be as fit as I should be.

I am not unique enough

I am not a yummy mummy, a health food blogger, a ‘health at any size’ activist, a life coach or hilariously funny. I am not even the poster girl for intuitive eating because I bigger now than when I started. I don’t stand out from the crowd. I need to re-create my persona so that my daily posts are so intriguing, humorous, controversial, informative and memorable that people are drawn to me like moths to a flame.

I am not changing the world enough

I don’t have a book deal, I’ve never volunteered for anything, I am not a respected expert in my field and I’m not inspiring millions of women to take action. I need to do more to make this world a better place.

I am not rich enough

No one gives me free samples to give away as competition prizes, no one pays for me to visit their manufacturing plan or speak at their conference. I have no sponsorship for my blog, for my supplements (if I even took any), or for my clothing. I don’t rake in thousands a day from advertising. My all time ‘passive’ blog generated income to date  is $33.40. I need to get more readers so I can attract sponsors and write a best-selling ebook that sells copy after copy until the end of my days.

I should probably just give up

On consideration of all the above data, I should give up, go eat some chocolate and go back to what I’m good at ~ dieting deprivation and obsessive exercise ~ oh crap, I just remembered that I wasn’t any good at that either.

“On consideration of all the above data, I should give up, go eat some chocolate and go back to what I’m good at ~ dieting deprivation and obsessive exercise ~ oh crap, I just remembered that I wasn’t any good at that either.”

I could say that I don’t care but that would be lying. I do feel inadequate today.

But guess what? I may not be healthy, pretty, popular, fit, unique, inspiring or rich compared to some, but even if I was ~ that is not who I am. I am more than those accomplishments, I am more than a feeling of being better or worse than someone else, I am who I am.

I am part of the divine wisdom of the Universe, I was created for the sole reason that no one else can do what I was put on this earth to do. Without me, this world would fall apart because I am an intrinsic part of this reality.

My husband loves me, my friends love me, people at work love me and my cat loves me. But best of all I love myself. I am perfect just the way I am, I don’t need to do anything and there is nothing I should become.

• Does reading other people’s blogs inspire you or make you feel inadequate? Do you  judge yourself harshly when you see others who already have everything you dream of or does it motivate you to keep going?

→ photo : Elven*Nicky

The Seven Faces of Yesterday

I am in the business of show business and yesterday was the annual grand final of a popular television show at the Wh1t3 S@1ls Asylum. I have worked on this event for every one of the last seven years.

Working on major events that require you to be on your feet for over 12 hours outside at the mercy of the weather is challenging and yesterday it was 38 degrees celcius.

On Again Off Again

I have had this yo-yo cycle which translates to about 8 months on diet and 4 months off. The 8 months covers spring to mid winter and then I give up until spring rolls around again. So for five of the last seven years, from 2005 to 2009, I have been monitoring what I eat.

This high anxiety day has seen me end up in a binge (2005), eating very low carb (2006), on a Body for Life free day (2007), and a low calorie low carb diet (2008). I have been completely preoccupied with how to eat enough to get through the day without blowing my diet.

Yesterday Was Completely Different

• 7-00am I went for an hour long walk
• 8.30am breakfast ~ oats, banana, peanut butter and yoghurt
• 1.00pm lunch ~ cereal and yogurt, two slices of toast with peanut butter
• 8.00pm dinner ~ sausage in a bread roll
• 11.30pm supper ~ chicken and salad (left half of it)

It might not sound very impressive to someone else, but for me it was the first time I have made it through this mega day without even worrying about food. I knew that I would get something when I needed it, so I mostly forgot about it. I was also particularly calm and relaxed. This is miraculous progress and makes me confident that I am truly the master of my destiny and finally starting to reap the benefits of the seeds I have sown.

Did you see me on the telly? I was the one with the flouro vest and the two way radio

→ photo : Jiaren Lau

What Sucks About Being Thin?

Q: What Sucks About Being Thin/Lean/Skinny and having your ideal body?

I can hear you, you know, you just said “absolutely nothing” or words to that effect didn’t you?

Unfortunately, I don’t believe you. Because if that were true, you would be exactly the weight you wanted to be right now.

What is Crappy About Being Thin?

If you’ve reached your goal weight in the past, what was the part of that experience that you didn’t really like?

Did you feel

• puny and weak?
• tired and hungry?
• anxious that you would regain all the weight?

Did your body

• still have cellulite, loose skin, and fat pockets?
• look skinny on top and heavy on the body?
• look like a boy?

Did you believe

• that it would take constant vigilance to maintain your weight loss?
• that you were unhealthy?
• that you would always see yourself as a fat chick?

It is no wonder that part of you finds the thought of being thin not so appealing.

It is Time to Create a New Body of your Dreams

Imagine how it would feel to be lean and strong, full of energy, easily satisfied with light healthy meals, confident that you would never regain weight, perfectly proportioned with smooth youthful skin and a feminine shape, effortlessly staying lean and fit, being disgustingly healthy and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are living in the body you were created to inhabit?

Even if you don’t quite believe it is possible, just pretend for a moment. Does that sound like a wonderful improvement on your past experience? Would it be worth giving it a shot?

Spend some time experiencing how you might feel, move, think and behave in your ideal body and dare to dream. After all, if you can’t pull it off, you are no worse off than you are now ~ and if your thoughts end up becoming things, then you’ve created a miracle.

Did you know

• The mind/body cannot distinguish the difference between what is real and what is not real. In other words, it cannot tell the difference between the holograms the brain uses to experience reality and the ones it uses while imagining reality. Both have an awesome effect on the human body. It is so powerful that it can modulate the immune system, heal wounds quickly, melt tumors, override our genetic programming and reshape our bodies. And the great news is that every one of us possesses the ability to influence our health and re-shape our physical form! ~ Imagine a Thinner You

→ photo : lolcats

Don’t Ask Stupid Questions ~ Can’t You See I’m Marketing?

I am attempting to implement one of the ‘grow your blog subscriptions’ strategies that everyone says is crucial to become a mega blogger. I am fairly certain I am not meant to tell you what I am doing but I find it all this marketing shit so fascinating I thought I’d share.

What I (am supposed to) want

I want you to be part of my blog membership and give me your email address so that when my creative masterpiece [my eagerly awaited, highly sought after, bestselling e-book] is finished in 2010 I can flog it to you directly. To get your most prized possession (your email address), I ask you to subscribe to my blog. Putting a link in the side bar is too passive apparently, so I need to offer you an incentive – a free gift!

What You Get

I entice you with a free something or other if you sign up with your email details. I imply that I will be sending out newsletters and exclusive offers to my ‘membership list’. But in the spirit of honesty, I have to admit that I have enough trouble writing blog posts without having to write a newsletter as well so don’t hold your breath.

You can also choose to have my blog posts sent directly to your email inbox as soon as they are published to save you having to click here to see if I’ve updated. Or just take the free gift and run.

Your Free Gift – Don’t Ask Stupid Questions

Tim Brownson has a quirky, thought provoking, funny book called Don’t Ask Stupid Questions – There are No Stupid Questions that he is giving away for free. Once again, in the spirit of full disclosure, you can get this book without subscribing to my membership list but I’m not going to make it easy for you ~ you’ll have to find your own way there.

I asked Tim if he would mind me offering it as an incentive for subscribers and he said:

I have no problem at all with that as long as people don’t think it’s exclusive and it remains intact. Go for it!

[Woo Hoo ~ Tim Brownson sent me an email Thanks Tim!]

This is a Feeble Excuse for a Sales Page

If you would like to trust me with your email address to me [I swear I won't sell it to anyone, principally because I don't know how ...], be a founding member of the Head♥Heart♥Health subscription list, and get a non exclusive FREE copy of this really really funny 86 page book which sells for $14.99 on Amazon, then …

→ Click Here to Get Your Free Gift ~ Don’t Ask Stupid Questions ~There are No Stupid Questions by Tim Brownson

Did you know …

• I’m meant to write a witty final sentence here and give you one more chance to sign up. So here I go ~ If you don’t sign up, I’ll never make enough money on line  to give up my day job and I will be doomed forever to ordering toilets and calculating crowd capacities at the Wh1te S@1ls Asylum so PLEASE don’t miss out on your free gift.
• Whoops ~ I forgot that it’s meant to be all about you so I’ll try that again ~ This book brings together a collection of the very best questions you could ever ask yourself. All are carefully designed to dramatically improve every aspect of your life, career and relationships. Tim’s love of life and sense of humour comes flooding off every page and makes this a book you can dip into anytime you’re looking for the answers to some of life’s most important questions ~ Steve McDermott. Get the book for free HERE.

→ photo : dbdbrobot