Positivity is the Key to Physicality

While so many fitness articles are focused on physical action, physical diet, and physical results, they fail to acknowledge what I consider to be the true key to success: positivity. I know, I know. It’s not like positivity alone will grant you the abs you seek. But, what it will do, is act as a source of perpetual optimism and motivation. It is positivity that will drive you to succeed.

So many fail because so many fail to recognize their own accomplishments. They become bogged down in negativity while trying to better their self, and it is for this reason they ultimately fail. This negativity paradoxically becomes associated with getting better, and as a result, the individual in question soon stops trying to better their their self, because they feel crappy as a result. They associate the negative feelings with trying to get better. However, when you retain positivity as your source of motivation, when you remember what you do like about yourself as you better yourself, you have no negative association. Thus, your motivation takes care of itself, while you take care of yourself. I’ve listed some tricks below that I use on a daily basis in case you need a little inspiration:

Remember three things you are grateful for. This will serve to remind you that life is already great. All you’re doing, is making it even better.
Say out loud five things you love about yourself. This combats the negatives that we often become so focused on erasing when we diet and exercise. Rather than lose something, we are gaining something. This works wonders for continued motivation.
Write down the habits you believe are necessary to achieve your goals. This way your routine will become ingrained in both your memory and your body. Your exercises will never be more than a thought away so long as you remind yourself of the routine necessary to achieve the body that you want.
Remember the accomplishments you can already boast. It is through this that you will retain the confidence necessary to keep pushing yourself. You are more than capable; you’ve already done it. All you have to do is remember your past achievements that were more difficult to accomplish anyway. This is easy.

Remember yourself. Remember what you want. Remember who you are, and you will be what you want to be.

One of the most foundational truths about losing weight and improving your health is that you need more than just exercise – nutrition is key. Choosing the right kinds of foods to put into your body very heavily determines the quality of fuel on which you run and how your body composition will (or won’t) change for the better. Every person truly committed to living a fit lifestyle should understand the critical importance of consuming appropriately sized servings of healthy, whole foods. However, when it comes to food, what you eat is not the only crucial variable to consider – how you eat it can matter as well.

Obviously, deep frying all your vegetables or downing your salads in high-fat dressings are both extreme examples of how food preparation can transform a great meal into a diet disaster. However, there are also lesser-known realities that even the most vigilant cook might not be aware is trashing the nutritional value of their eating habits. Here are three things you should know about how to eat otherwise very healthy foods.

Do Not Slice Your Strawberries

When you pre-slice strawberries, you are unknowingly working against yourself. The fat-burning vitamin within the fruit is actually eroded by oxygen exposure. Essentially, the longer the fruit sits slice with its vitamin-rich interior exposed to air, the less healthy and able to torch fat that it becomes. The best way to eat a nice, juicy strawberry is to just bit into it whole. Otherwise, wait to slice them up until you are ready to eat them immediately afterwards. Just be sure you do not slice and then store them, eating the fruit slowly over time. That method is guaranteed to diminish the strawberry’s fat-burning ability.

There Is Whey In Greek Yogurt Water

Greek yogurt has recently become a health food staple for conscious eaters all around the country. Renowned for its ability to marry the probiotic benefits of yogurt with an especially poignant punch of additional protein, Greek yogurt certainly brings a ton of nutritional value to the table. However, when most consumers peel back their yogurt lids and find the “water” that settles on top, they are liable to just presume this is excess moisture and dump it into the trash or down the sink. However, that “water” is so much more than just that – it is actually whey protein jam-packed with amino acids, calcium, and vitamins. Do not dump it! The right way to eat Greek yogurt means mixing that watery whey back into the yogurt beneath it and really reaping the benefits of Greek yogurt’s fat-burning prowess.

Cooking Brings Out More Than The Tomato’s Flavor

In many cases, fruits and vegetables offer more nutritional value if they are eaten raw, as opposed to cooked. Cooking sometimes burns off some vitamin and mineral content. However, this is certainly not the case when it comes to tomatoes. Tomatoes are loaded with a phytonutrient called lycopene, which offers many positive health benefits. Cooking actually increases the concentration of lycopene in tomatoes, so go ahead and heat them up before enjoying your meal!