Overcoming Your Weaknesses

The one thing that builds your character the most is having the ability to overcome your weaknesses.  Everybody has qualities of all sorts, both strengths and weaknesses.  Only you know what they are.  Some people choose to shy away at the things they are not great at because they’re afraid to fail.  You only fail if you don’t try.  If you do it enough and work hard at anything, you will succeed.  You can turn your weakness into your strongest quality.

Doing things that you are great at may be enjoyable but you must challenge yourself by working on your weaknesses.  I choose to work on my weakness to challenge myself until that weakness becomes one my strongest qualities. 

Growing up, I watched my mom deal with the difficulty of having asthma and other health issues.  My mom was overweight and did very little exercise.  She often had to fight to catch her breath when she was just walking.  Lucky for me, I am the only one in the family who inherited asthma from my mom.  As a child, I knew I didn’t want to be unhealthy like her. 

I developed my own eating habits and exercise routine.  I didn’t make excuses for myself for not having perfect lungs and I make sure to stay active and jog often.  I jogged everyday to build up my endurance and my breathing.  Up to this day, I have no problem running 4 miles daily even with asthma.  However, if you’re just starting out, be sure to consult your physician before any new exercise program.

Don’t limit or make excuses for yourself.  Whatever your weaknesses are, you’ve got to fight to improve yourself.  It may not be easy but it’ll make you stronger and better.  I’m constantly trying to improve myself and I can never learn too much.  It doesn’t matter how long it takes, life is an evolution and I believe that we can always be better.  I’m truly confident that you can do anything if you put your mind into it.  I challenge you to challenge yourself by overcoming your weaknesses – mentally and physically.

Losing The Last 10 lbs.

Questions from P.N. – “I've gained 10 lbs and I'm now chubby.  Is it best to work out when I wake up which is usually around 1pm or before I go to bed, which is around 6am.  How often do I need to do cardio per week?  Is it alright to just eat 1 big meal per day?”

Whether you just started to gain or are trying to loss the last 10lbs., 10 seems to be the ultimate number.  It may not sound like it’s a lot but I applaud anyone keeping track or staying conscious of their body.  If you’re like me, 10 pounds would be quite a dramatic physical change because of my height.  I think finding the time to work out anytime of the day is fantastic!  If you have a choice, I recommend working out in the in the morning. It’ll jump start your metabolism for the day and burn stored fat instead of the food you’ve just eaten.  Before bedtime might not be a good idea because it will raise your energy level and may make it harder for you to fall asleep.

Cardio exercises are best for losing weight.  I recommend 1 hour per day at least 5 days a week until you reached your fitness goal.  If you’re just starting out, I recommend walking because it’s low impact and you can do it practically anywhere.  As you get more comfortable with your choice of cardio exercises, pick up the pace to burn even more calories!

I say it often and I’ll say it again.  Food is 80% responsible for your weight loss or gain, therefore eating healthy and cutting your meal portion is best.  I don’t recommend eating 1 meal per day because you’ll end up eating more than what you need.  Your body will then store the extra fat, which will make you gain even more weight.  If you choose to skip a meal, replace it with a healthy smoothie but don’t starve yourself to loss weight.  I recommend eating a regular healthy meal 3 times a day and carry a healthy snack throughout the day if you’re still hungry.  That means no fast food, sodas or alcohol.  Drinks a lot of water (8 glasses per day is recommended).

The key is to break your daily routine and try something different.  You can’t expect to get results doing the same thing.  The concept to losing weight is quite simple, eat less and work out more!  Follow these guidelines and you’ll loss that 10lbs. in less time and effortlessly.

Increase Your metabolism With Green Tea

Wondering how you’re going to keep the weight off this holiday season?  Instead of reaching for the coffee pot in the morning, replace it with green tea.  Green tea has many benefits and one important function is that it can help you loss weight. 

Research has shown that green tea helps to reduce weight by stimulating the body's thermogenesis process, which raises your energy level in turn boost your metabolism making you burn more calories.  Catechin antioxidants in green tea reduce your body fat and help control obesity.

I don’t suggest drinking green tea alone for your weight loss.  You still need to eat healthy and exercise.  If you’re concerned about the taste, there are several delicious flavors such as pomegranate or you could just add a bit of honey.  There are many significant benefits with green tea.  You literally can’t go wrong and it’s a nice way to start your day!