ENLIGHTENED ATHLETE BLOG
The Enlightened Athlete Podcast-Crush It In 2018. Figure Out What You Want & How To Get It.
As the new year approaches we tend to review the past year. If 2017 turned out to be less than expected, this episode is for you.
As the new year approaches we tend to review the past year. If 2017 turned out to be less than expected, this episode is for you.
Christian achieved his dream job at the age of 21, beating out thousands of applicants, with no formal training in his field because he had an extremely clear vision and a goal he would pursue relentlessly. He found his "thing".
We dive into how he did this, how much work it is, and an extremely powerful goal setting tool, one to show you what your perfect life would look like (your heaven) and one where you see what a nightmare your life could be if you give into all of your vices and fall completely off the rails (your hell).
This exercise shows you how to set the goals you need to achieve your dream life, and what to avoid to feel regret and disappointment when 2019 rolls around. Don't miss this episode!
Show Notes:
Chrsitian McMaster -@chrsitian_1320video
Here is his YouTube channel
Jordan Peterson's Self Authoring Program
The verse I referenced in the Bhagavad GIta can be found here.
My First Time As A Podcast Guest! (BIG news about the future of Enlightened Athlete)
My first time as a podcast guest, BIG NEWS about the future of Enlightened Athlete, and tons of great info on workouts, books, supplemetnts, diet, and health in general.
I have been listening to podcasts for quite some time. I like to listen to them literally almost all the time. I worked at a factory during high school. I loved listening so much that I scoured the internet to find headphones that looked exactly like the ear plugs we were forced to use at work so I could listen to one the whole time and not be bothered. That takes dedication. I kept three pair of those ear plug headphones on hand in case one broke. I listen to them on solo hikes up 14ers in Colorado, when I’m driving, and when I'm doing about anything. I know this is world shattering news, I enjoy listening to them.
So when I had the opportunity to be a guest on one I was pretty pumped. I am so grateful to be able to talk a little bit abut my story and share my passion with as many people as possible.
I break some BIG NEWS in the beginning of part two about the future of Enlightened Athlete. So if you only listen to one part, check that out! We also cover some of my favorite supplements, some great books, and some activities I use to achieve flow states.
Also, Enlightened Athlete will be producing a podcast of our very own. We want to know what you guys want to heart about, who you’d like to hear on, stories you’d like to hear, topics you would like us to cover. If you have any suggestions shoot us an email, info@enlightenedathlete.com, or shoot us a DM on Instagram.
As I mentioned, I was a guest on a podcast recently called the Extraverts podcast and I’ve posted the links below to the podcast which is broken up into two parts. Check these bad boys out to learn a little bit more about me and my journey in fitness, nutrition, meditative states and why I believe its so integral to truly living life.
Part One: https://soundcloud.com/odian-levy-593579074/extraverts-podcast-eps-009-an
P.S. Thank you sooooo much for all of you guys who have used our Amazon banner. That means the world to me. It’s a great way to support us and what we’re doing and Amazon doesn’t charge anything extra to use that affiliate banner. If you shop on amazon check out our banner at the bottom of our homepage and use that link to navigate to Amazon and purchase through that page. Thank you guys!!
3 Tips: Minimize Damage From Treats of Trick-Or-Treating
Candy is a staple of this holiday. Find out how you can minimize the damage caused by the sugar surge when your family acquires pounds of free candy.
Let me start by saying, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! There's a few things I'd like to touch on before divulging my 3 tips for success on this spooky holiday.
There are far too few Americans that have a basic understanding of nutrition and the role it plays in the way your body is formed and functions. I mean on a cellular level. What you eat BECOMES your cells. So my question to you is do you want to be made of fast food and pop or grass fed beef and kale. The answer is obvious to me.
One is like building a house of duct tape and 5 gallon buckets. It will be a wobbly, leaky, shitty house. The other is like hiring the best contractor in the business to use the highest grade materials to build you the ultimate fortress. Guess which is which.
That being said, that should be the majority of the time, it doesn’t have to be all the time. If you can live 80/20 you will be doing pretty damn good. 80% clean, 20% less clean foods. The majority is clean and healthy. Building up your house.
Now, it’s a special holiday and you don’t have to be that restrictive psycho completely denying you and your family the indulgences of Halloween. There's a few steps you can take for yourself and your family to enjoy the holiday without going completely off the rails.
1. Exercise. (higher intensity)
This will actually change the way your cells interact with glucose and can help minimize fat storage. Hopefully you’re already engaging in regular exercise because it will help stabilize your blood glucose levels overall. The exercise will hopefully deplete your muscle and liver glycogen and allow those tissues to more readily absorb glucose(sugar) instead of your adipose tissue(fat cells). If you’re going to eat candy, get in some intense exercise beforehand.
2. Moderation
For god’s sake, don’t you or your children eat the whole haul in one sitting. Also try not to whoof the entire score before this week is over. Avoid eating three pounds of candy every day for the next 5 days just because it's there. That’s going to be more damaging than breaking it up to smaller amounts over a long period of time. So, what I suggest is placing some boundaries on yourself and your family on how much to eat on Halloween and for the rest of the week. Then put that candy away, (ideally just throw it away and the problem is solved) and save it again for a different occasion. Don’t just let your kids or yourself graze on it whenever you feel like it for the next two weeks. Make it a rare occurrence.
3. Hydrate
This is a tip I include with almost any holiday nutrition help post due to the number of people that walk around in a constant state of dehydration. Drinking pop, diet pop, tea, sparkling sodas, anything but water. Your body will be able to function at a higher and more optimal level overall when you’re hydrated. It can handle stress and inflammation better (one cause of these effects is ingesting sugar regularly in high amounts) when it is properly hydrated.
These tips are hopefully something you will carry with you after the holiday as well. Even if you did go off the rails, putting these tips into action will help get you back on track much quicker. Day after and you ate 37 mini snickers bars?! Wake up, drink a large glass of water, hit a workout that will get you breathing hard and sweating, drink another glass of water. BOOM.
Follow that up with a hulk juice smoothie (recipe on our Instagram page: @enlightenedathlete) and you are back on the rails just like that!
These are some very simple things you can do to try and minimize the damage caused by walking in the door with a 10 pound sack of candy and diabetes ( I had to do it haha!).
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Tomorrow Becomes Never: You Need Most, That Which You Most Fear.
Rationalizing waiting will take your dreams with you to the grave.
What story are you telling yourself that's rationalizing putting your “thing” off?
This post may seem like it's not for you. I'd be willing to bet though, there is something that you're holding off from doing because of fear.
Read this whole thing!
My goal is to push the human potential further along. To help even one person find their "THING". My vehicle to facilitate this for humanity is health and fitness. It’s one of the best ways to make yourself feel stronger, have more energy, and be less depressed.
You know the thing I'm talking about. The thing that you've always wanted to do. That business you've always wanted to start. That trip you've always wanted to take. That sport or martial art you've always wanted to try. Maybe it's asking that special someone on a date.
Possibly, that week-long trip to the Amazonian jungle to drink Ayahuasca. Ok, the last one may just be me but, you know your "thing".
It's what you've been putting off due to any number of reasons. Maybe you're worried that it won't work out the way you planned. Maybe you're worried what others will say if you start. Maybe starting this new adventure will cause you to lose old friends or break away from toxic relationships.
I constantly feel fear. I’m pushing myself to achieve more and do more. I’m doing things I’m not certain will work out. It’s all scary as hell. I’ve let fear stop me before and I won’t let it ever again.
The truth is, fear is a liar. It is merely a projection of potential reality that hasn't even happened. You will feel the most resistance to the calling that your soul most needs.
That thing you're afraid of most. The thing that scares the living shit out of you.
THAT'S YOUR THING!!!!
“Like a magnetized needle floating on a surface of oil, Resistance will unfailingly point to true North.”
That's what you need to immediately create a plan for and start executing. Whatever scares you the most is probably the thing you need most to do for your souls’ evolution. Put a plan in place that will get you closer to your goal immediately and begin taking action now!
It scares you because you care about it. Stop holding yourself back and putting it off because, "now is not the right time". All the stoplights in life will never align perfectly with all green lights for you to move forward. Success is cooked up in a dirty kitchen.
Tomorrow becomes NEVER.
Your dreams will go with you to your grave if you keep waiting.
Guess what? Nobody knows what will happen. I can't guarantee you success or riches. I can guarantee you will grow as a person and learn VERY valuable lessons if you take that leap.
If you're one of the lucky people who had the support, encouragement, and courage to make that leap, congratulations! You're now on the journey of true self exploration and expansion.
“Tomorrow becomes NEVER.”
All of us come from individual situations and have our own story. Maybe you had a rough beginning but the best part is, you get to write the ending! You will fail. Yep. You're going to run into failures a lot. That's great!! That's where you'll learn. That's how you grow.
I have never been happier than I am now and the actions I took are not considered the right way to do things. There is no right way to do things.
I know I'll never be done growing and I love that. Let’s grow together! Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on new products, blog posts, and videos!
If your “thing” is making the leap to learn about health and nutrition and get in the gym. If it’s turning your life around by TAKING CONTROL of your health and learning how to eat, reach out.
Please reach out to me at EnlightenedAthlete.com, message us on Facebook or Instagram, comment on this post, or shoot an email to info@enlightenedatlete.com. I would love to help you start your journey and see what ways I can make your journey a long-lasting, positive one!
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Is Your Coffee Causing Cardiovascular Disease?!
Learn how this sneaky industry tactic is hijacking your physiology and ruining your coffee. The worst part is, you would never even think abuout how much damage is being done to your health.
This article is about information and habit change nutritional changes. It’s all about how you can change your life by taking small steps and having the knowledge to make better decisions. If this style of learning and nutritional education interests you, please reach out to us, info@enlightenedathlete.com We would love to set up a free consult to see if you’re a good fit for our nutrition coaching program.
Let’s talk about coffee. It’s one of the best things about modern civilization in my opinion. You can stroll to almost any street corner and get a wonderful cup of warm, hand crafted, cup of caffeinated gold. If you couldn’t tell, I’m an eternal fan of coffee.
There was once a time in my life where I viewed coffee as a drink for the weak. If you needed it you needed to sleep more and eat better. Holy cow, the ignorance of youth on display at its finest am I right? Little did I know the powers that coffee contained. It is a productivity power house. My brain feels like it runs at higher RPM’s after a solid cup. The aroma, the taste of a GOOD cup of coffee is amazing.
So we’re all in agreeance that coffee is great. Unfortunately though, our beloved liquid life saver has been hijacked by an all too common fiend. Coffee’s innocence and benefits have been transformed into an insulin raising monster. SUGAR.
Sugar has infiltrated our supply of coffee at every possible vendor. Some may say it’s due to our addiction to sugar that companies have started dumping sugar into all of the pre-made coffee, and specialty coffee drinks at all major chains. Our desire for it justifies doing this and keeps the products on the market. I don’t agree with this statement as some of you may know. I believe it is an education issue.
You know the drinks I'm talking about. In bottles and perfectly colored to look like caramel, or huge cups of sweetened liquid with a hug dollop of whip cream and sprinkles on top. That's not coffee. That's blasphemy.
Diabetes in a cup. :)
Most of the people I have talked to don’t even realize that the coffee they’re drinking is a fucking liquid candy bar. It’s not an innate desire, the cause is sneaky tactics by corporations and sugar lobbyists to get you hooked to their drinks and stay hooked to the SUGAR.
If you think this sounds like conspiracy, read the book, “The Case Against Sugar” by Gary Taubes. This sneaky adding and justification of sugar has been going on since the industrialization of sugar cane.
Just take a look for yourself at the sugar content of some well-known candy bars, and then at the content of specialty coffee drinks which many of you probably currently consume.
Ranking of Candy Bars by Sugar Content
Okay, even if you didn’t read that great article the smallest amount of sugar out of the 17 bars listed was 19 grams. THE LOWEST. In one bar! Whew, my pancreas is sweating reading that. Here comes the alarming part, some of these common “coffee” drinks make those candy bars look like a health food.
20 Coffee Drinks With More Sugar Than A Can of Coke
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Seriously, my mind is blown. Almost all of those drinks have at least 40 grams of sugar, with one reaching over 90 grams of sugar. That is just completely insane. You are literally drinking multiple candy bars in a single drink.
For reference, a moderate amount of sugar for DAILY consumption according to the American Heart Association, is 20-36 grams of sugar. Which is still to high honestly for most sedentary people. That’s for an entire day. One of your morning drinks may contain up to 2 days’ worth of sugar. So no wonder you’re having trouble losing weight. You’re filling your body with hidden sugar.
So let’s go over human physiology just a little bit. What happens to your body when you consume this sugar with absolutely no fiber attached to it?
The sugar enters your body, it raises your blood sugar very rapidly and overwhelms the body. The sugar has to then be turned into fat by the liver for storage (this is how you accumulate body fat directly from sugar intake). Chronic over-consumption of liquid sugar leads to accumulation of visceral fat, fat around your internal organs.
It will make you fatigued, sleepy, sick, and lower your immune response drastically. This also leads to things like Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. Pretty shitty huh?
That’s why I want to bring up the fact that you are consuming sugar without even knowing it, it’s hidden from you and you are unconsciously consuming it.
I want to show everybody that nutrition doesn’t have to be so complicated. Small changes like avoiding sugar laden drinks as a first step will undoubtedly move you towards the direction of health. You do not have to overhaul your entire life in order to get healthier.
Being cognizant of foods that are stealing your health and having the knowledge to make better choices (even something as simple as switching your coffee choice) can lead to drastic changes in your health.
If this information and habit based style of nutrition education piqued your interest, please reach out to us at info@enlightendathlete.com We would love to set up a free consult for you to see if you’re a good fit for our nutrition coaching program. We help a lot of clients make better decisions that lead them to a life of health and vitality. We would love to have the chance to work with you.