This article is written by Rob Maxwell (learn about his education), M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Plant based eating

Let me start out with stating that my way of eating is plant based. I have been this way for several years. I have been going in this direction for over a decade.

Vegan and vegetarian diets

In the past decade we’ve gone from calling this lifestyle vegetarian and vegan to plant based.

As you may or may not know, a vegan is a person that doesn't eat any animal products at all. A vegetarian does not eat meat but may consume some other animal products. There are several types of vegetarians. I won’t go into all that. Let’s talk about plant-based eating.

A plant based diet

I like the term plant based. It is what it says it is: plant based. It doesn’t state never or always. It states based.

That is hard for a lot of people to grasp. In short that means that most of my diet is plant based. For some that are plant based, they may be pure vegans. For others, they just make plants the majority of their diet.

Why I eat a plant based diet

It works for me. For me it’s a matter of animal welfare, environmental reasons, health and taste.

I can say that it hasn’t been too difficult for me because I really don’t like the taste of any kind of meat including chicken, turkey, or beef.

When I was body building in my 20’s I ate so many chickens that I think I just developed an aversion to it. It’s disgusting to me.

For me to think it tastes good, it must be fried or doctored up in a way that is super unhealthy. I just don’t eat it. I feel the same with fish.

At times I’ll have a little dairy and at times I’ll have some egg whites but primarily I eat what grows in the ground.

The protein myth

The protein myth is one of the things that hold people up when it comes to plant-based eating.

Americans eat more protein than any other nation. We eat too much of it. Protein is considered the miracle growth food for body builders and many other athletes. We need it, but not as much as we have been led to believe.

Protein is the repairing macro nutrient. This means that protein is needed to help repair something when it is broken down.

We just don’t need as much as many proclaim. Carbohydrates and fats are the macronutrients that we use for energy. When we do more physical activity, we need more carbohydrates and fats to carry out the activity - especially carbohydrates.

Athletes need a little more protein than sedentary people - but the amount is just a little more. I've heard of athletes taking 3-4 times more protein than they need. That’s not only a waste but it’s unhealthy.

Keep protein in balance with carbohydrates and fats

All diets should be balanced. I call a balanced diet 20% protein, 60% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. The carbs can be decreased a little if you are very inactive or increased a little if you are highly active.

The protein should remain mostly the same. When a person is active and wants to gain muscle and/or strength, they need more calories in general (more food). They should keep the balance the same.

Studies show that we can only digest around 25 grams of protein in a sitting anyway. When more is taken in, it either gets wasted or stored as fat.

Think about that when you see those giant jugs of protein that brag about having 50 grams of protein per serving. Your body can’t even metabolize that. It is marketing and it’s a waste.

You can get all of the protein that you need from plants

Another myth that people use to argue against plant-based eating is the idea that you can’t get your protein from plant sources. This is a flat out lie.

There are many plant-based foods that are loaded with protein such as beans, quinoa, and soy.

There is something called “mutual supplementation” that states that if you combine certain plants such as beans and rice; you have a complete protein with all the amino acids (building blocks of protein) present.

It is very possible to get the protein that you need from plants, but you must plan accordingly.

You can still be unhealthy on a plant based diet

Eating a plant based diet shouldn’t be an excuse to eat a lot of non-animal foods that are simply calorie dense.

Some people brag about being plant based while eating primarily crackers and chips.

Sure, those foods are not loaded in saturated fats; but please don’t think that they are healthy! Processed carbs that aren’t animal based doesn’t mean they are good for you.

Being truly plant based means eating a lot of vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, grains, and oats. The more whole you eat them; the better they will be for you.

Plant based versus animal based

I’m an exercise physiologist and a sports nutritionist. I’ve seen so much research. I know that research has been argued on both sides. I’ve seen both.

I’ve seen some studies out there that are the opposite of plant based and it’s being pushed on culture. I can assure you that those types of modern day “Atkins” are not good overall.

At the same time, I'm not going to tell you to not eat meat. I don’t tell my clients to not eat meat. If they want a meal plan, I'll make them either a plant based or a non-plant based plan. I believe both can be made to be healthy.

I’ve seen research (most notably, the China study) that shows how much better it is for us to not eat meat regarding chronic diseases, inflammation, moods, and hormones. The research is solid and clear.

I have seen research suggesting that lean meat is fine for us too. Who do you believe? That’s up to you.

For me, I choose to go plant based because I do believe that research and it’s worked very well for me.

Whatever you do; choose healthy, pure foods. Listen to your body afterwards. How does your body feel when you eat something? Do you feel bloated? Do you feel swollen?

If you want to try plant-based eating; start slow. You don’t have to do it all at once. Start to try certain plant-based foods and see how you like it.

Some people try a meatless Monday. If you don’t want to, that’s okay too.

Just do your research on protein. You will find that those pushing mega protein are either clueless without much education or they have an agenda. Too much of anything is not a good thing!

This article is written by Rob Maxwell (learn about his education), M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Exercise is so much more than a weight loss tool

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

I have been working in the fitness industry for 25 years.

I started as a PT tech while working on my master’s degree in Exercise Physiology.

I had already earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology at that time. I originally thought that I was going to make a career in psychology.

I found that my true passion was fitness. The fact is that I have still made a career out of psychology as well.

Physiology and psychology go together. The body and the mind are connected. When you add the spiritual component, you have complete wellness.

Body, mind and spirit are combined to form complete wellness.

After working as a PT tech, I started my own personal training business. That was in 1994.

In these 25 years I’ve found that the toughest client to work with is a weight loss client.

It’s not because I struggle with what they need to do. It is because many don’t understand that most weight loss, if not all of it, is going to come from diet.

Exercise is going to serve a different role for them. That’s a hard message for many weight loss clients to grasp.

I believe that I use my psychology background almost as much as I use my physiology education.

For the most part people know they need to exercise and they know they should, most likely, eat better.

There are exaggerated and poor exercise programs out there that confuse people and there are certainly bogus, money making diet programs on the market.

You can get your hands on a good exercise program and diet information if you look. Yet, people aren’t doing it. This is a psychological decision.

Why is the choice to exercise not being made more often?

Less than a quarter of Americans exercise regularly

Depending on which study you look at, only one in seven people are on a sustainable exercise program.

In another more favorable study only one in four are exercising enough.

At the very best, 25% of the United States is exercising enough to get benefits.

Why is that? What gives?

I believe that I have at least part of the reason why. I will get into that below, but let that statistic set in.

We shouldn’t bash people for not exercising.

I’m in the industry. I believe we in the fitness industry have sent out many mixed messages and I don’t think we do a good enough job of explaining why exercise is so important.

If we explain the why, the do is more doable.

How much exercise do you need?

The American College of Sports Medicine, the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization all state that you should exercise for 150 minutes a week to get the health benefits of a fitness program.

That number equals 21 minutes per day.

Yet, as you saw above, we are not getting enough exercise as far as the nation goes.

I’m sure the rest of the world is having the same experience - just not to the extent of the United States.

Is 21 minutes of exercise every day too hard to do? I want people to reach this goal because I know that it is worth it.

Spread the word. Share this image.

Why don’t we exercise enough?

1. We reduce exercise to a weight loss tactic

2. We don't know the real benefits of exercise

3. People make exercise too complicated

I believe that there are three main reasons why we don't exercise enough as a nation.

The first is reason is that we use exercise as a weight loss tool.

Secondly, we don't understand all of the benefits of exercise outside of weight loss (superficial motivation).

The third reason is that we make exercise programs too complicated.

Exercising for weight loss reduces that chance that we will stick to it

The best way to lose weight is through diet. It always has been this way - and it always will be this way.

When I refer to diet, I mean cutting back on how much you eat when you want to lose weight.

It’s all about calories.

Energy (which is calories) consumed must be less than energy used to lose weight.

Yes, exercise can help. The energy consumed part is exercise and other non-exercise activities (NEAT).

Exercise on its own is not enough to lose weight. Exercise usually becomes a bad excuse for eating too much.

If you run one mile, jog one mile, or walk one mile you are going to burn about 100 calories. If you eat a banana afterwards (which takes 1 minute), you just put those calories back.

You can’t keep up. You cannot outrun a poor diet.

I’ve seen marathon runners that I coach gain weight while running 50-80 miles weekly for this very reason.

I’ve seen many people drop a significant amount of weight while never breaking a sweat. It's because they understand the role of diet in the weight loss process.

It’s about cutting calories. If we eat too much food, we will gain weight.

I don’t have the space here to go over all the benefits of choosing good foods to eat because that’s not the point of this article.

The point is that we lose weight from controlling our energy input and output.

The output part, exercise, is limited in its return on investment (regarding weight loss).

Bodybuilders know how to lose weight through diet

Another example I’ll pull from is bodybuilding.

I have competed and work with many people that have done physique competitions.

The workout program does not change that much when it comes to prepping for a show. Bodybuilders do add some more cardio-respiratory exercises into their program, but the big change comes from diet.

The diet becomes more and more critical depending on how much fat the athlete must lose.

Bodybuilders know that weight loss comes from diet - and they exercise a lot! They can lose a lot of fat in a short period of time because they understand this basic principle.

I’m more of a believer in staying close to your best state most of the time and just cutting a little bit when you need to.

If the athlete does that, the diet doesn’t have to be as low in calories. They don’t need to diet as long.

If they allow for too much weight gain during the year, the diet will be stricter and for a longer period.

The point is that body builders have known this forever. When they plan a show, they don’t say “time to start training”. They say, “Time to start dieting”.

Weight loss is about food intake. The professionals know this.

Exercise is a great way to avoid regaining the weight. Weight regain is a major problem with those that struggle with weight loss.

Here is the problem makes people stop exercising: Many people start exercising to lose weight.

Can you guess why they stop?

You got it - they don’t lose weight.

In some cases, people gain weight because they start strength training. Strength training adds muscle. This is a good thing because muscle increases your metabolism (the amount of calories that you burn throughout the day).

People don't see it this way. We focus so much on the scale that we don't realize that we are burning fat.

Commercials have convinced us that the way to weight loss is by wearing a fancy leotard and dancing to music.

If people started a diet program along with the exercise program, they would lose weight. Some are wise enough (or get the right advice) to combine the two.

I want people to exercise for all the true benefits of exercise - and I mean the actual benefits of exercise on its own.

You can absolutely become fit and gain many benefits from exercise - even if you don’t lose a pound.

People don't exercise because they don't understand the benefits of exercise

Exercise is so much more than weight loss.

People who exercise - regardless of weight - are healthier and live longer. There are many studies that support this.

You reduce your risk for chronic diseases and you will live a healthier life if you exercise - even if it is for the minimum amount of 21 minutes each day.

Exercise for the sake of health.

Do I really need to go on? There are more benefits, but let that sink in.

Many people attempt to lose weight for those reasons. Losing weight absolutely lowers disease risk as well.

Exercising, even if you don’t lose weight, has these benefits too.

Trainees that understand this will to stick to exercise and see it for themselves.

The ones that don’t understand this, and only want to lose weight, will often step away from exercise before they experience the real benefits.

You will see that 21 minutes of daily exercise is really worth it if you let this sink in.

Is more exercise better? Yes it can be, but that’s not the idea right now.

We tend to run ahead of ourselves and burn out before we establish a proper routine.

We can see the benefits of exercise from doing as little as 150 minutes a week.

That is very worth it to me.

Weight loss isn't the best motivation.

The other benefits of exercise outside of lowering risk for chronic diseases are many.

Exercise increases bone density. Exercise strengthens your heart so that you won’t be as winded during your daily activities.

Exercise adds muscle tone. Who doesn’t still want to look good in their tank top or t-shirt? Exercise makes you stronger. Exercise makes you better at all your ADL’s (activities of daily living).

Exercise makes you better at sports if you play any. Exercise improves your posture. Proper strength exercise prevents injury.

Exercise builds your confidence and self-esteem. Exercise lifts your mood. Endorphins are natural pain killers. They are released when you start exercising. Exercise improves your social life when you do it with others.

I have had so many clients and friends make amazing friendships from picking up a sport or joining an exercise group.

Benefits of exercise

1. Lowers risk for chronic disease

2. Increases bone density

3. Strengthens the heart

4. You won't be winded when you do something

5. Exercise adds muscle tone

6. Improves appearance

7. Makes you stronger

8. Increases motivation

9. Makes you better at everything else that you do

10. Improves mental performance

11. Improves physical skills

12. Improves posture

13. Prevents injury

14. Builds confidence and self esteem

15. Gives you a sense of achievement

16. Lifts your mood

17. Reduces pain

18. Improves your social life

Fitness professionals make it too complicated

We need to KISS.

We really need to Keep It Simple, Stupid.

The final major reason why people aren’t doing the minimum amount of exercise to help them is because we experts have made it too complicated.

We’ve tried to sell it as a certain way that it must be done.

You just must move to get the health benefits of exercise.

If we can get everyone in this country to move the minimal amount of time each day, we would be so much healthier as a nation and as a global population.

I believe that fitness professionals, along with the other reasons mentioned above, have an caused an issue in getting people to move more because of a paralysis of analysis where people don’t do enough because they don’t know what to do.

People don't exercise enough because they are bombarded with the technicalities of how to do it.

Just move. It's that simple.

I’m an exercise physiologist. I have all the top certifications and I’m telling you that many people in my field and in the medical field over-complicate exercise.

Just move. Walk, run, bike, skip, lift, swim, and/or play sports. Just move your body.

Don't let things like your maximal heart rate make exercise too complicated

I have used target heart rates for clients for their cardio-respiratory exercise prescription.

For the most part, they are overrated.

They serve a purpose in some cases but for the health benefits of exercise they are very unnecessary.

Let me give you some facts about heart rate calculations.

There is a standard deviation of age predicated maximum heart rate and actual maximal heart rate

The formula for age predicted maximum heart rate is 220 minus age. You might see a poster of this hung up on the wall at a gym.

You derive a maximal heart rate from this formula.

If you are 40 years old, then 220-40 equals 180. If you are going to exercise at 80% of that (a common prescription) then your target heart rate is 144.

There is a potential problem with this. There is a standard deviation of 30 beats when using the estimated maximal heart rate formula.

This means that this 40 year old’s heart rate could be anywhere from 165 to 195.

That really throws off the 80% heart rate!

This standard deviation now makes the 80% either 132 or 156 which is a 24-beat swing. You might as well not track it.

Keep it simple.

There is a place for these kinds of prescriptions, but I believe they often cause more harm than good.

We’ve known a lot of this stuff for 50 years, so why aren’t people exercising more?

We’ve made it more complicated than it must be. I can take this all the way to the elites as well.

Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile in 1954.

Now, the record is about 15 seconds faster.

15 seconds is a lot when you are racing the mile, but think about that.

With all the training and knowledge that we now have access to, we’ve only shaved 15 seconds in 64 years.

He seemed to be doing well with not as many formulas and prescriptions. I can go on and on with examples.

Don’t get me wrong; shaving just milliseconds in competition is huge. Why aren't our workout formula's getting people to move more often?

The added technicality hasn't helped us that much because it has given us more to calculate.

We have over-prescribed exercise.

I don’t think that we need to over-prescribe or over-plan a simple habit.

I believe that if we just get out there and do it; our body will let us know how to progress.

We get the opposite effect of what we want when we over plan and over prescribe something as simple as exercise.

Just move. Just do it.

Just get up and move. That's all.

Even a small amount of exercise is worth it

Exercise is worth it.

We don’t have to do as much as we might have been led to believe - and we don’t have to go as hard.

We benefit in so many ways from doing it.

It’s not about losing weight. It’s not about performing a complicated program. It’s about moving.

When we exercise, we become healthier. The science bears this out.

Give it a try and let the endorphins get you through until you start seeing the benefits.

Once you do, I hope that you end up joining the top 25% of the world that realize how much it helps them.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Foods to avoid when dieting and exercising

Use food to enhance your goals.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Are there forbidden foods that you should avoid when dieting and trying to lose weight? 

If you are asking this question, you’re probably hoping there is a simple yes or no answer.

As with almost everything in life, it’s not that simple. There are a lot of grey areas here.

The answer is yes and no.

There are no forbidden foods to lose weight physiologically (physically).

There might, however, be forbidden foods to lose weight psychologically (mentally).

Foods to avoid when trying to lose weight

Before I get into this exact question, I need to clear up some misconceptions about 'bad food' and 'good food'.

Fad diets

We’ve all heard about fad diets.

A fad diet drastically limits or cuts out one of the macro nutrients completely.

Macro nutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water.

Fad diets tend to be the diets that we can’t stick with for prolonged periods of time because our health starts to decline as a result of the diet.

They should be avoided. They are not the way to go about long-term fat loss and maintenance.

Let’s take the ever-popular low carb diet. I hate to break it to you, but a low carbohydrate diet is a fad diet.

Should you monitor and limit your carbs? Yes. Should you avoid them altogether? No!

You need carbohydrates.

How to lose weight with food

Energy consumed must be less than energy used if you want to lose weight. It's as simple as that.

Energy in food is measured as calories.

You need to eat fewer calories than your body needs to lose weight.

It’s that simple; yet it is that hard at the same time.

It’s simple because the concept is simple. The science is simple.

It is hard because we really have to be disciplined to eat less than what we want, and often what we think, we need.

Discipline is a very hard muscle to flex at times.

Self-control is important.

No foods are forbidden for weight loss

There are no 'bad foods' (although there are foods that are better for you than others).

Carbohydrates give you energy. They give you energy for your whole body, including your muscles and your organs.

Your brain relies on carbohydrates exclusively for energy.

Your brain needs carbohydrates for energy

Have you ever had a brain fog on a low carb diet?

The reason for that is because your brain was running low on glucose. Glucose is a simple carbohydrate.

When you cut carbs back too much, your body will take glucose from the glycogen in the muscles and break down your muscle tissue.

This is called gluconeogenesis. This is one of the primary ways that people lose muscle when they diet.

Losing muscle is counterproductive to long-term weight maintenance. The more muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolism will be. Muscles consume more calories.

Our diet should be around 45-65% carbohydrates. Those carbohydrates should be complex carbohydrates.

Stay healthy.

The importance of fat for health

Fat gives you energy for low intensity activities like walking. It assists in hormone production among other things. You need fat.

Saturated fat (fat from animal products) has been shown to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes when it is over consumed in the diet.

Not all fat is bad. Unsaturated fats (from plants) have not shown to have the same effect on heart health.

As they say, everything in moderation. We don’t need to eliminate fats. Our diet should be around 20-35% fat.

Eat enough fat.

Eat enough protein for good health

You need protein for growth and repair.

Protein is generally the most over-consumed macro nutrient in an average American’s diet - even in the fitness world.

Our diet should be around 10-20% protein.

Many health and fitness trainees (and trainers) over consume protein. They think that it will make them 'grow'.

In truth, if you are deficient in protein, you won’t 'grow'. You also don’t need nearly as much protein as you think that you do.

Balanced food and calories cause muscles to grow.

If you eat too much protein, just like any other macro nutrient; you will store it as fat.

Too much protein is very hard on the kidneys.

Don't eat too much protein.

There is no such thing as a bad macro nutrient

There aren't 'bad' foods.

There aren’t bad macro nutrients, either.

Get enough of the nutrients that you need. Cut back appropriately on calories.

Those are true statements from a physiological (physical) standpoint.

We are not just physical beings. We are psychological and emotional beings as well.

The easy answer is this: Eat any food that you want in moderation!

Moderation wins the game.

Some foods are more beneficial than others

Having said that, are there foods that are more or less beneficial to you when you are trying to lose weight and/or begin a health and fitness program? Yes.

I believe that the psychological aspect of a diet is the toughest part for people to master.

When you consider that there are psychological responses to food, there are certain foods that you should avoid when you want to lose weight.

This isn’t true for everyone. For some people, food is just food. They do not get a lot of pleasure from it. They don’t the overeat foods that they like.

Whether you should avoid certain foods while dieting depends on what happens to you emotionally once you taste a 'trigger' food.

Avoid your soft spots.

Everybody is different when it comes to food

Everybody is different, but most people can be divided into two main categories when it comes to this food.

Can you eat a small serving of chocolate ice-cream and stop at just a small serving?

If you answer no, you should avoid trigger foods.

For someone else, they may have zero issues having a small treat like that every day while they are dieting and it never causes them to overeat.

Find a strategy that works for your personality

One method might work very well for somebody. That doesn't mean that it will work for you.

Only you know what is more likely to be your best strategy. I use ice cream as an example, but it could be something else. We tend to over eat carbohydrates.

It is not because carbohydrates are evil. It’s because they taste good and are easy to over eat. They are very cheap as well.

Would you rather over eat tasty rolls, or hamburger meat?

Carbohydrates set off a blood sugar rise. This creates more of an insulin spike and has the potential to increase cravings.

That doesn’t mean that carbohydrates are bad. It just means that you must be aware of how you respond to certain ones.

Simply choose carbohydrates to eat that don’t cause triggers.

As I have already said, we all need carbohydrates. Let me give you an example.

A sweet potato is a great source for complex carbohydrates. If you eat a baked sweet potato, it comes in a nice little package that makes it harder to overeat.

Rice, which is also a great source of carbohydrates, can be more of a challenge to control because it’s harder to control the serving size. How big is your serving spoon? How many scoops of rice do you put on your plate? How much rice are they serving you at a restaurant?

Do you see my point? They are almost equal in calories and nutrients (serving size to serving size), but one is harder to control the actual serving size.

Choose according to your own strategy.

Choose foods according to nutrient density

Another thing to understand is the distinction between nutrient dense and calorie dense food.

If you want to lose weight, choose as much nutrient dense foods as possible. You will get more out of every meal nutritionally - with fewer calories.

Nutrient dense foods are high in nutrients like vitamins and minerals and low in calories.

Broccoli is a nutrient dense food. Calorie dense foods are high in calories, yet low in micro nutrients. Peanut butter is an example of this.

You would have to eat a 3-pound bag of broccoli to get the same number of calories that are in one tablespoon of peanut butter.

When we eat more calorie dense foods, we tend to eat more than we need.

Can you eat a lot of calorie dense foods like peanut butter? Of course you can. But can you control how much of this you’re eating?

Only you know if you can.

Choose food that nourishes you.

Final word of advice

Be careful of 'experts' that push absolutes.

I like to think things all the way through. You should do that too. Don't avoid healthy things like fruit and vegetables because a stranger told you to.

Be wary of someone who tells you to never eat bread. Think about it. Does that make sense to you? Can one piece of bread put pounds on you? Of course it won't.

If you ate the entire loaf along with other foods throughout the day, you will put on weight - obviously.

Many 'forbidden' foods are simply easier to eat in abundance and harder to control. It’s a lot easier to binge on jellybeans than spinach.

Ask yourself if you can control yourself once you start eating a certain food. Be honest with yourself. If you can eat jellybeans in a small quantity for dessert after every lunch and you stay on course with the rest of your eating, go for it!

If you can’t do it because you can’t eat a small amount of it, that’s okay too.

Know your personality and know what works for you. Self-awareness is the key to any success when it comes to health and fitness - and probably life in general.

Don’t make food your enemy. Learn what foods do to your personality. Discover how you react to food and learn what works best for you.

Find your personal solution.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Healthy food and exercise tips for great health

Honey is good for you.

This article is written by Nikola, a freelancer and 3D modeler. Follow him on Twitter.

Welcome to my daily healthy activities

Hello. My name is Nikola.

I am going to share some healthy lifestyle routines which helped me to stay in shape, be healthy and look younger.

It works for my mental and physical health since I started with it 4 years ago. Before that I was in a very bad health situation for about a year.

I got good health advice from many people. They include my brother and polite ladies at the health foods grocery store. I've also picked up a few tips from my own observations, experiences and experiments.

Healthy morning routine

Hydrate yourself

The first thing that I do when I wake up is drink a glass of water. I drink warm water because I have a sensitive throat. Water is good because it cleans your body and gets rid of toxins.

Some people add a few drops of lemon juice to their water. It helps them to lose weight. I don't add lemon juice to my water personally because I don't need to lose weight at all.

You need water.

Have some honey

Once I've had a glass of water, I put 10-15 drops of bee glue in a small amount of water (one finger of water) and drink it. Bee glue is great for immunity. Bee products like honey are very good for your health.

Use cold water to wake up

I then splash my face with mildly cold water - depending on the season. I splash my eyes, face and forehead and make sure to get some water behind the ears as well. I pat dry with a towel afterwards.

This will help you to wake up instantly and helps to refresh you. You will notice that your energy levels rise quicker when you do this in the morning. Cold exposure is good for your health.

Stretch in the morning

After that, I do my morning stretching exercises. Stretching activities like yoga is good for you.

I spin both hands while standing upright backwards and forwards. When you spin it forwards, it's like swimming in butterfly style.

I then spin my right hand 10 times and then the left hand 10 times. Still in a standing position, I bend down with my body and touch my toes with my fingers twice. I straighten upright and bend slightly backwards twice. I do this for 20 reps.

This stretching routine works miracles for my metabolism, immune system and digestive system.

At the beginning you could do 10 reps for every exercise.

Practice breathing through your nose

Good breathing during exercise is essential. I learned to breathe in with my nose and to breathe out with my nose as well. Nose breathing keeps you calm and helps you to sleep better at night.

Yoga helped my recovery

I started my recovery 4 years ago by practicing Yoga every morning. My brother told my about The 5 Tibetan Rites. 

At first, I followed everything perfectly. Then I took parts which worked for me and left the other parts. I don't do the parts that have you lying down on the floor for 10 minutes.

There is nothing wrong with taking a good exercise program that you like and making it your own by adding or subtracting exercises. Rather do a routine that you like than avoid an exercise routine that you don't like.

Do health your way.

Do some cardio

These days I run in place for 30-50 seconds. It helps to speed up my heart rate and gets the blood flowing. I also do jumping jacks - about 20 reps.

After that I go to the bathroom which is good to empty my stomach before breakfast.

Exercise helps you to go to the bathroom.

Eat a healthy breakfast

It is important to eat healthy food to get the right nutrients in your body.

Before I had my own healthy diet, my doctor prescribed soy bean products to help with my digestion. I did some research online and found that it produces estrogen hormones.

This is not good for us - especially men in particular. I can feel the negative hormonal effects of eating too much soy in my own experience.

After this saga, I had to find foods which helped with my testosterone levels. The new foods needed to support my gut health as well. I had acid reflux issues in top of everything, so it was not an easy task.

I now have boiled bacon and a boiled egg for breakfast. I actually have this for dinner as well. I add a red bell pepper or a tomato. Home grown is the healthiest form of tomato or bell peppers if you are able to do that.

Eggs have almost all of the vitamins that you need except for Vitamin C.

The boiled bacon proteins are easy for my gut to digest.

So my daily breakfast usually looks like this:

1. Boiled bacon
2. Tomato or red bell pepper
3. Sour cream
4. Bread with bran
5. Himalayan salt
6. Vitamin C

The only supplement that I take with my breakfast is 500 mg of Vitamin C.

I used to have my Vitamin C supplement before breakfast, but I found that it didn't work so well before a meal. It causes acid in the gut when there isn't any food. Now I have it after a large breakfast.

Do good things.

Avoid physically intensive activity after a large breakfast

If you can, try not to do anything too physically demanding after a large breakfast. Give your body time to digest its food. It is good to wait at least half an hour, or even 1 hour, depending on how large your meal was.

Healthy afternoon routine

Exercise

At noon I do push-ups. At first I did only 10 push-ups. Now I do about 17. Do each push up slowly. Get yourself all the way to the ground. Do as many as what feel comfortable to you. You don't need to push yourself too far.

Focus on breathing during exercise

Breathing is very important - especially during exercise. 

When I finish with my push-ups, I stand up and breathe in deeply. I raise both my hands above my head to exhale forcefully out of my mouth. I swing my hands around to bring blood to the muscles that I've just worked.

Focus on posture

Since I've had a problem with acid reflux, I've looked to as many ways as possible improve it. Healthy foods helped a lot, but bad posture has a lot to do about it as well.

When I was in bad health condition I noticed how the older, sicker and weaker people sat and had their shoulders slouched forward. I noticed that most people in the doctor's waiting room sat with this kind of posture.

When I went for a walk, on the other hand, I noticed how teenagers held themselves more upright. The healthier or stronger the person, the better their posture seemed to be.

I wondered if our posture has a direct correlation with things like acid reflux and our immune system. A bent spine puts pressure on the gut and other internal organs.

This is one of the major reasons why I started doing push-ups. They are great for your posture if you do them right. Pull ups are just as important for your posture.

Good posture and healthy food reduced my acid reflux substantially

Fortunately for me, my observations were right. I don't have acid reflux nearly as often as I used to.

This is thanks to the food that I eat, the exercises that I do and my focus on posture. Along with a younger appearance and better health, I must say that my confidence has improved tremendously as well.

Posture affects your health.

Pull ups aren't easy in the beginning

As good as pull ups are for you, I must say that pull ups were much harder to do in the beginning.

At the start of it all, I could do only 2 pull ups. Now I can do 8-9 pull ups - but I do them slowly according to how much my body can handle.

Results of doing pull ups daily

With time my shoulders became wider and I got a lot more strength in many of my muscles - especially my biceps.

Focus on dental hygiene

Another thing that you need to pay attention to is your dental hygiene. Dental hygiene determines your overall health. Teeth are not just good for your confidence or your smile. They can also cause many illnesses if they become unhealthy.

You can't chew good food without good teeth. Your mouth is essential to digest food properly.

Use weights to increase vein visibility

Another health problem that I had was very small veins that were hard to see on the surface of my skin. When I struggled with my health, this was difficult because nurses had a hard time finding a vein to draw blood.

I thought that weight training could make my veins more visible. I hoped that it would make the veins thicker and easier to find. I got a 5 kg weight which I built myself at home. I did 10-20 reps regularly with each hand.

Thankfully, my guess was right! Drawing blood is now less painful for me (less pricking around to find) and much easier for the nurses (they can find a good vein immediately).

Look for solutions.

Walk when you can instead of driving or taking the bus

I decided to take a quick walk from my house to downtown and back instead of using other forms of transport. The round trip is about 7 km. I do this at least once a week.

When I reach downtown, I visit a grocery store and buy a banana as a reward. It tastes nice and gives my body a little nutritional reward for the effort. Choose organic if you can.

Bananas are really good for you

Small choices like a banana as a reward will have a great impact on your health. Bananas have many health benefits.

Bananas for energy

I have noticed that bananas are amazing fruit when it comes to energy. They help me with a quick energy supply after playing sports.

Bananas are great after playing sports like basketball and swimming

I eat bananas after playing an extensive basketball game with teenagers (keep in mind that I am 44 years old).

I also bring 2 bananas and water whenever I go swimming. I am amazed at how well bananas replenish my energy levels.

If I play 2-4 games of basketball in a row, I bring 3 bananas instead of 2.

If I ever do very physically intensive work that causes me to sweat a lot, I eat 4 bananas and salty food. It is important to replace the salt that you lose through sweat.

Bananas can make you sleepy

When I don't do anything physically intensive after eating a banana, I feel sleepy. It's a good kind of sleepy, if that makes sense. I feel happy, unlike other foods that make you feel sleepy and drained at the same time.

Bananas are good for your skin

Bananas are great for your skin. 

During the summer months I occasionally smudge a banana over my face to cool down quickly. I have noticed that my skin looks really good afterwards.

Indulge in goodness.

Avoid unhealthy habits

I don't drink coffee (although it seems that coffee can be healthy) or alcohol. I avoid eating cakes and sweets - especially during the holidays.

I am thankful for the fact that I have never smoked cigarettes. It is also good to avoid soda drinks and artificial sweeteners.

I used to drink an energy drink, which isn't good for your gut. It is particularly unhealthy to have energy drinks at night - even more so if you live a sedentary lifestyle.

You don't need energy drinks to have energy at social gatherings

When I was younger, I liked going to dance parties. I thought that I had the energy to jump and dance all night because of the energy drink. I was wrong.

I have lots of energy at night. There are some people who have higher energy levels at night naturally.

Two years ago I was at some open party and I simply drank lemon juice to stay hydrated. It worked.

By the end of the night, I lost more than 600 calories. The total calories lost for the entire day was over 900 calories.

I'm not trying to lose weight. I actually need to make sure that I don't lose too much weight. Trust me; when you lose that many calories in such a short period of time, you have to eat every 2 hours to regain that lost energy.

If you want to lose weight, on the other hand, just go to dance parties and drink a low calorie and non-alcoholic drink like lemon juice to stay hydrated. Just dance and move according to your body's abilities. Be moderate - like with everything in life. A balance is always the best.

Use every opportunity.

Healthy lunch tips

• Don't be scared of a big lunch
• Include a vegetable salad with every lunch
• Eat more soups
• Add carrots
• Use turmeric for spice and flavor
• Pepper is a healthy flavor enhancer as well
• Add broccoli often
• Lemon juice will help with digestion

Use exercise to increase your energy levels immediately

Whenever I feel like I have brain fog or feel like my metabolism is slowing down, I go for a walk outside in the fresh air. This perks me up quickly.

Walking is good if food is making you feel sluggish. The fresh air and sunlight will help you to increase your metabolism - and therefore your energy levels.

Take a walk before dinner

I take a walk around the block before dinner. It helps me to clear my mind. The walking also makes you sleep better at night. We need fresh, circulated air regularly.

Grab some nuts before dinner time

After I come back from my short night walk, I eat healthy snacks before dinner in moderate amounts. It helps to give your body some important nut nutrients and stops you from over eating at dinner. Eating too much food at dinner time can negatively affect your sleep.

A have apricot seeds, cashews and almonds. Nuts are super foods.

Conclusion

I hope that these tips will help you to improve your health in one way or another. There are a lot of different tips here. Try one or two at a time until you find what works best for you.

About Nikola

My name is Nikola. I'm a 44 year old man. I am 185 cm tall and 78 kg of weight. I work from home, doing freelancing work. This is sometimes very stressful, with less fresh air (like with most office or computer based job where we are in a sedentary position). I do exercises and play sports activities like basketball, swimming and running. This gives me a perfect healthy balance for my mental and physical health. Check me out on Twitter.