Dare To Try Something Drastic

admin — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:16:23 -0400

I have a challenge for you that is going to dramatically improve your training and elevate your mood in just a week.

It's no secret that water is good for you. Making up the majority of your body, it is required to keep things working smoothly. It cleanses and eliminates waste. It hydrates and keeps your cells and organs working at optimum efficiency.

Trainers and nutritionists since the dawn of time have been telling you to drink 8 glasses a day, yet I guarantee nearly 90% of you don't drink near enough water. Instead, you quench your thirst with fruit juice, pop, and beer. All of those contain water - so what's the big deal - you're still getting your water intake - right?

Sugar is a sweet poison. It has absolutely no dietary benefit and takes the place of good nutrients. Every time you eat 100 calories of sugar, that is 100 calories less of something that can build muscle or promote fat burning that you can put in your body. Even worse, 100 calories of sugar is sooooo incredibly easy to put in your mouth, whereas 100 calories of something better for you, isn't.

It amazes me everytime I go out to a friendly dinner or get together, the amount of dessert that shows up. It is unbelievable and like some wierd contest where the more outrageously sweet the dessert, the better. Desserts just taste so damn good, that the thought of not gorging yourself on them, is unbearable.

Well, for any of you wondering how to create a meal plan that will promote your training, and help you achieve your fitness goals, I want to challenge you to do two things for the next week:

1. Stop eating sugar. Cold turkey - eat NOTHING with sugar in it. Doing this will naturally force you to seek out healthier foods - whole grains and so on. (I'll get to refined white flour in another challenge).

2. Drink nothing but water. I won't even tell you to drink your 8 glasses a day, but when you are thirsty, go to the kitchen tap and fill a glass of water or pull out a bottle of water. Water and only water -- no juice, no beverages, no coffee, no nothing. The only exception is milk and even then, only about a glass a day or on your cereal.

Doing just these two things is a huge step forward in your nutritional lifestyle. Eliminating the sugar will make your body work less hard to get rid of it and increasing your water intake without the limiting factor of the sugar will make it so much more efficient. Picture the cleansing water going through every part of your body pulling out all the waste and flushing it down the toilet.

Some are going to say this isn't practical - that completely eliminating sugar and the "good tasting foods" is just going to make you binge harder on those foods later. To all of you, I say -- take some responsibility for your actions. What you put in your mouth is up to you - it's a choice everytime you pick up that doughnut or piece of cake. If that's what you want to do, then fine, admit it and move on, but don't blame your choice on anything other than your choice to eat that sugary goodness.

Do these two things for a week and then make a note of how you feel. You may even want to check your weight or body fat percentage and see what difference a week can make. I would also encourage everyone to come back to this post in a week and leave your comments - how did this make you feel?