Health & Fitness

Orthorexia Nervosa Is On The Rise!

I had to laugh when I read the article posted on www.bakeryandsnacks.com about orthorexia. They call this a “healthy eating disorder” that is on the rise where “sufferers restrict the consumption of sugar, salt, caffeine, alcohol, wheat, gluten, yeast, soya, corn and dairy foods. They also cut out any foods which contain artificial additives, or have come into contact with pesticides and herbicides.”

Hmmm, sounds pretty good to me. How can healthy eating be a disorder? Oh yeah, if you are selling baked goods and snacks, I guess orthorexics aren’t buying your garbage are they?

If you go to Wikipedia and look up the definition, they mention problems going overboard with this, and just like anything, that certainly is a possibility. I’m sure some people take it too far and hurt their health, or could even die from being too much of an extremist, but as for me, I’m a proud orthorexic! I actually eat some dairy from time to time, so does this make me a lacto-orthorexic?

My “condition” causes me to “suffer” through 4,000 calories of good food per day (or more) and keeps me leaner than ever. It also gives me the most energy and strength of my life and the mental clarity to boot. Another orthorexic recently posted in a BBC news story shares some of these “symptoms.”

My mom passed away from early onset Alzheimer’s disease, so I am a volunteer in a long study at the VA hospital which tests my memory, cognition, coordination and mental capacity every year. They tell me I am bucking the odds so far by improving my scores every year instead of the normal decline for people past 40. I know that I owe this in large part to being an orthorexic.

Besides all the great physical and mental health benefits we know about from eating clean, it also makes you look great and it burns fat like crazy! The picture above is of a strict orthorexic who trains at the X Gym. Contrast him to the typical American who eats bakery and snack items, and the choice should be a no-brainer!

Think about it. Michelangelo sculpted “David” 500 years ago, and lots of people looked that way back then because they were mostly orthorexics by default. They just didn’t have crappy food available to eat. It was ALL organic, all fowl was wild or free range, and cows ate grass! If Michelangelo was around today and sculpted from the average modern population, his statue might have turned out different…

Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Words Can Make You Lean!

It might sound crazy, but changing your vocabulary can actually make you burn more fat. It can also make you stronger and build up your body. This is due to specific effects that words have on your physiology.

Most men can think of 3-5 positive or negative emotions in 10 seconds. Most women can think of 4-7 positive or negative emotions in the same amount of time. Try it yourself. In 10 seconds, think of as many positive emotions as you can, and then in another 10 seconds think of as many negative emotions as you can. Write them down, and you will be looking at your most common experiences in a typical day.

Expanding your emotional vocabulary will expand your experiences, and it can even help you get leaner. Every time you

If You Want To Climb To New Fitness Heights, Take The Stairs!

Stairs are the perfect activity for getting in shape fast. They are also one of the best fat burning workouts I’ve ever discovered I’m not talking about the StairMaster either, or even the Stepmill. I’m talking about real stairs. There is a big difference! X Gymer “Proby” pictured here is a good example of stair fitness success. He’s our last year’s Biggest Loser winner and one of our fastest stair climbers now!

Climbing real stairs in a building is both mentally and physically beneficial – beyond what you can imagine. Physically, it causes a visceral/instinctive reaction in your body that makes your heart and lungs change faster than any workout (outside the X Gym of course). It also burns fat better than anything besides X Gym methods.

When you push yourself hard up stairs, your body thinks you have moved to the mountains somewhere, and there are lots of sabertooth mountain goats chasing you. It then

Burn Fat With Your Brain

Did you know that your brain burns 15-25% of your daily calories? Even though your brain makes up only about 3% of your weight, it accounts for a very big part of your metabolic rate! Most people think of muscles as their only calorie burner, and while they are the main engine for that, the huge amount of energy the brain requires is hardly ever discussed.

The reason this is important is because a healthy brain uses more energy and therefore contributes more to your metabolic rate. Keeping your brain healthy is pretty easy too if you know how. Some of the ways are: