PJ's Fitness Blog – Page 37 – A blog about a fitter you. Come find out what is on the cutting edge of fitness science and be a part of the ongoing conversation.

Good Nutrition Without a Plan

How many times have you awoken in the morning only to realize that you don’t have any food prepared, are going to be too busy to cook, and you really have no plan? This hardly ever happens to me, but it did yesterday (Saturday). I almost always make food for 3 days or more in advance, but alas, I found myself in a bind and with a relatively empty fridge at home, so my options were certainly limited.

Similar situations arise for many of us when traveling, but I’ve written on that before in other articles and in my book Cracking Your Calorie Code, so this post is more about what to do in your own home and on your own turf when you find yourself unprepared, super busy, and without a plan.

When I woke up at 5 am Saturday morning to get ready to take my 14 year-old daughter to her volleyball tournament in Olympia (over an hour drive), I realized I had left all my food in the fridge the Belltown X Gym. My first thought was “crap!” My second thought was

Swine Flu Prevention, Remedies, Tamiflu, and Pandemics

Let’s get something straight right off the bat: I am a researcher, not an medical doctor. This gives me an advantage over medical doctors however, because I don’t have a medical bias that can cloud my judgment. I also haven’t been brainwashed by drug companies or through pharmaceutical education.

I do however, spend many hours each week making sure I am current on the latest information in fitness and nutrition, and this brings me to many studies and websites on health as well. I decided to write this blog for the benefit of the hundreds of clients at my X Gyms as well as others who might be worried about the latest flu outbreak.

I am only presenting the best information I have found so far, so you can do with it as you please and come to your own conclusions.

The facts however, prove that this is not just another swine flu outbreak. This particular strain also contains genetic material from the human flu and the bird flu. I haven’t found a credible expert yet who says that combination can occur naturally . This leaves only one other conclusion: that it is man-made. You can draw your own assumptions as to whether it is a weaponized version, or if it was released on purpose or by accident. There is plenty of information out there for you to look into those issues yourself.

To keep this short and simple, here are some links to the best sites I have found so far:

If You Have a Big “Butt”, You Probably Also Have a Big “But”

Excuses are often the biggest reason for the size of your butt. I have heard them all, ranging from “I’d like to exercise, but I just don’t have the time” to, “I have tried it all, but nothing ever works.” There is always a “but” stuck in there somewhere when folks with big butts are trying to explain why their butts are so big.

Your “buts” are based largely how you were raised. You learned somewhere that excuses make life easier for the moment, but in the end, they just grow your hind end. You also learned that buts are a handy way of passing the blame onto external factors instead of accepting the responsibility for your own butt. Until you get rid of your buts, your butt won’t get any smaller.

Using “buts” are also a way to keep you within your comfort zone. Staying within your comfort zone often means staying within the parameters of your identity. Everyone has a certain way they see themselves, and and this mental picture or “mind’s eye” controls all your conscious and unconscious actions, keeping you that way. Even if you do get results with a diet or fitness program, but your mind’s eye hasn’t changed, the “buts” come back and so does your butt. This is the reason for the diet yo-yo. Change your mind’s eye and you will stop this yo-yo once and for all.

There are many techniques I teach to my X Gym members about changing their minds eye, and some of the best ones are in my book, Cracking Your Calorie Code. One of these techniques is

Carnivores Have Always Ruled The World

If God wanted us to be vegans, he would have created us with a mouth full of molars and four stomachs. Since we were meant to eat meat AND vegetables, vegans have to supplement their diets with certain micro nutrients if they want to truly thrive.

I’m not dissing vegans here. I do respect anyone’s commitment to a cause for any reason as long as it’s moral, but it is certainly more difficult to become healthy, and especially more difficult to be truly lean as a vegan.

I am an omnivore, but the majority of my calories come from grass fed beef, wild fish, or free range organic white meat. The rest of my calories come mostly from dark green vegetables.

At the end of each day, my total calories consumed are 4,000 or more. Since I own the X Gyms, I am mostly administrative. This means my activity level is low, my job is sedentary, and I workout a little less than 1 hour per week.

I know that my metabolism isn’t anything special, because back when I was eating different foods to the tune of about 2,500 calories a day, I was struggling to