Inspiration from Centenarians

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This inspires. 100+ years young. Look at them go. #seniorsprinters #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Aug 22, 2019 at 7:59am PDT

Nutrition, Start with these: A Dark Leafy Green, Blueberries & Flax Seed (ground up/milled)

 

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Fruits, vegetables and many other “plant” foods are important for overall health. They provide many nutrients not found in other foods. Think of them as earth’s natural medicine. It doesn’t mean that you can’t eat and enjoy other foods. Just remember that for optimal health, fat loss and longevity, plant-food is vital. The typical American diet is stocked full with sugar, salt, protein and fat, often entirely too much to be considered healthy. Too much regular exposure to salt and sugar in food tends to make many fruits and vegetables taste bitter and/or bland. Keep this in mind when trying to add more “plants” to the diet. It may take time for the taste buds to adjust. With that said, make no mistake, we were designed to eat plants. Lastly, this week’s recommendations were: 1)a dark-leafy green 2)blueberries, 3)ground-up flax seed (flax meal). Sure you could eat these on their own but it might be a bit awkward and harsh if they happen to be new to you. Google some different ways to incorporate each of them over time. Experiment. This may even require learning to make new meals that include them. Start with just one at a time. Don’t worry about being perfect. Just aim for consistency. Take care of your body, we only get one. Fruits and vegetables are essential for this. #bssbbooks #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #fruitsandveggies #nutritionasmedicine #HowNotToDie #darkleafygreens #blueberries #flaxseed @nutrition_facts_org @precisionnutrition #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Aug 15, 2019 at 5:29am PDT

Personal Growth

 

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PERSONAL GROWTH. Sounds about as fun as the first time I heard the phrase “Adult Contemporary Music”. But the idea of GROWTH is a good thing and something to be desired. It is essential. Sure we could all stay the same but then we also run the risk of losing that sacred fire, the magic fuel that keeps us going each day for a lifetime. When I was coming up we called this predicament “burnout”. We can do better than that. We should each want to do better than that. It starts with the desire. Making any improvement in any area of our lives will likely translate positively to other areas. Think of it as Enrichment or Nourishment. I also really like the concept of Cultivation. Trust me, I dislike the sound and seriousness of adult topics like “Personal Growth & Development” as much as anyone but once the cheesy catch phrase is removed the beauty of the IDEA will hopefully, in time, ring clear with inspiration. There could be a million reasons why any one of us might seek change. Just remember – any ONE reason will do. Why not get on that today? #blueskystrongbox #bssbbooks #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #personalgrowth #personslgrowthanddevelopment #makingchange #evolve

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jul 29, 2019 at 12:29pm PDT

Standards & Limitations

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STANDARDS & LIMITATIONS. We need both. In fact, I believe we need to include both Minimum AND Maximum standard limitations to help keep us in the “sweet-spot” of success. We see it all our lives. We either do too much or we do too little. The magic, the “good”stuff, lies somewhere in the pocket of the vast middle. We each have to find a perfect balance and vigilantly work to keep it there. This could apply to anything. The main idea is to make it easy. Make it repeatable. Keep it simple. That’s why I prefer both a High & Low threshold. Most of us are more familiar with what too little looks like. Too much might not be as common but it’s just as disastrous. Remember to be reasonable. Burn-out is very high when the flames burn too hot. My best advice is to seek balance and consistency. Find your greatness. Don’t wait forever. Tomorrow was never promised. What real reason could you have to not start today? #bssbbooks #motivation #healthandfitness #healthylifestyle #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jul 22, 2019 at 10:51am PDT

Simple Fat Loss Ideas

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SIMPLE FAT-LOSS IDEAS. Fat loss seems impossible for some, difficult for many. Often I meet people that tell me they’d like to lose some weight but then a year goes by and nothing happens and no changes are made to diet, activity or lifestyle. I understand things come up. They always will. If this resonates with you, listen up. The simplest thing you could do to begin losing some unwanted body fat is by controlling the portion size of every meal starting today. I’m not even telling you to change what you eat right now, just make each meal smaller in size. Eat less. Think ~25%. (By the way, this is not a quick method, in fact, the opposite. But it’s better than doing nothing. It may even work well for some.) The next thing I would recommend is to start walking more each day, in the form of more actual steps, more movement. You can do this anywhere. If you have a job, the best time is while at work getting paid. Do each of these every day for a year. Trust me, a year is not that long. Just by cutting back on portions and walking more, your health could most certainly be better with very little investment of time or energy. At the very least, things should not be worse. Something is typically always better than nothing. Why would you not start today? #bssbbooks #eatlessmovemore #portioncontrol #healthylifestyle #healthyfood #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jul 15, 2019 at 2:38pm PDT

Fat Loss Tips 2019

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Fat loss. Don’t over think it. I know that’s easier said than done. I also know that there’s a lot of information out there on the subject, some good, some bad, some misleading. Keep it as simple as possible. Understand, you must eventually learn to eat healthier foods in amounts (portions) that are also healthy. As Americans, we don’t do this well. We over-eat and over-drink much of the time. What’s worse is most of our food is highly processed with added sugar and salt. It might as well be poison. Add to that all the sitting we do. Add to that overworking and undersleeping. Add to that caffeine addiction. Add to that the stress of modern living. Add to that chronic dehydration. Add to that little or no exercise. It’s no wonder there are such serious health problems with obesity constantly on the rise. Its so bad now that children are being affected as early as grade school. The medical, insurance and pharmaceutical companies profit from it. Its unlikely that things will improve anytime soon. It’s up to each of us to take ownership over the things we can control, which is actually quite a lot. Above is just a quick list that I jotted down earlier to give examples of a few healthy habits that I believe work. What are you waiting for? Death & disease? Please don’t. Take back your health. #nutrition #healthylifestyle #bssbbooks #personaltrainer #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jun 26, 2019 at 10:55am PDT

How to Get more Veggies & Fruits in your daily life…

 

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Most of us are aware that we need more Vegetables & Fruit in our daily-diets. By the way, these are also called Plants. Don’t be scared or bothered by that. Embrace it if you can. You don’t have to like everything. Try stuff out. I feel confident that with enough effort anyone could find a few vegetables & fruits to suit their taste buds. Attitude has a lot to do with it. Also, understand that it might take some time for your taste buds to get used to new things, so remember to be patient. And yes, you can still eat meat if you want. You can still have some bread, some chips, sodas, cookies, etc. (maybe don’t go too crazy). Just know this, Plants = Healthy Nutrition. And yes, there are even a few great plant protein sources. Lentils are a great example. The problem is HOW to actually get more in each day?! For many of us, it’s difficult to navigate the real-world logistics of actually getting more veggies & fruits in DAILY for say…an entire year. And make no mistake, the goal is every single day, for a lifetime. Once a week is just not good enough. Obviously, this takes time. A lot of people think they eat “healthy” just because they cut a few unhealthy things from their diet. That’s great. I applaud your efforts but don’t stop there. What’s equally important are the things we DO intentionally choose to consume regularly. The ONLY solution i’ve found to help overcome this obstacle is to drink a SMOOTHIE each day. I make mine at home. Everything in it is healthy. No BS. Most of my stuff is frozen. For me, this is a simple, fast and affordable option. Otherwise, I can’t lie, there’s no way I’d get in both veggies & fruits every day. I’m too busy. Keep in mind, I enjoy non-healthy food as much as anybody. I also know the importance of proper nutrition. A smoothie is just a suggestion and something I think worth considering for anyone that cares about their health yet finds themselves forever busy. I know the struggle is real. I just wanted to share what’s worked well for me for years. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox #smoothies #healthandwellness #healthandfitness #nutrition #drgregersdailydozen

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Mar 27, 2019 at 11:13am PDT