Weight Loss Tips to Boost your Mood & Lean Out your Body

Weight Loss Tips

1. The Sleep Technique – Look to increase sleep.

Commit to increase nightly sleep to at least 7½-8 hours. This is the easiest lifestyle change to make, but has huge effects to weight loss,

This is the easiest lifestyle change to make, but has huge effects to weight loss, and overall health. Sleep regulates your body – hormones, metabolism, and lowers overall inflammation, and repairs your body on a cellular level. Don’t be fooled by artificial lighting – the body was made to sleep when it gets dark. If your body doesn’t have the proper time to repair itself, it just breaks down over time. Sleeping regulates hormonal activity, including ghrelin – the hormone which regulates appetite. This also minimizes late night food cravings (which are the worst health and weight-wise). Look to maximize sleep to be in bed by 10 or 10:30PM. No TV or internet after then.

2. The FoodRx Technique – Food is the most powerful drug for optimal health.

Make a paradigm shift, and see food as medicine to ingest for maintaining good health.

Focus on having as much fruit and vegetables as possible. Eat real foods. Look to de-emphasize processed or take-out food. Eat slower, and stop eating when you are no longer hungry. How to substitute fruit and veggies over high and empty calorie junk foods? Look to crowd-out the bad foods with good ones. Look to crowd out nutrient-deficient food with healthy ones. If you are putting nutrients into your body in the form of real foods that you like such as specific fruits and vegetables, then you body won’t crave or find the need to binge on chips, cookies, or other junk.  The stomach is only the size of one’s fist. When you overeat, the additional calories are stored as fat in your fat cells. Find healthy foods that you enjoy, and emphasize these.

3. The Regular Meal Pattern Technique

Consistent Eating Schedule and Menu

Look to eat at the same times on a daily basis You don’t need a lot of food for optimal health, and overeating is detrimental to the body.  Look to eat small portions more often. Look to eat 400 calories every 3 hours, say 8AM, 11AM, 2PM, 5PM, and 8PM. Eat 5X/day, 400 calories each, with only a deck of card’s work of meat of beans at a time.  This is counterintuitive – make sure not to skip meals, so you don’t become too hungry and binge. Make meals simple to prepare and eat.

4. The Hydration Technique

Drink half your bodyweight in pounds as ounces of water. Kidneys need plenty of water to do their job of removing toxins. In addition, the more hydrated your body is, the less reason your body has to retain water. Your percent water should be 60 percent or above.

5. 5 Main Point Technique

1. Sleep 7 ½ to 8 hours a night. Look to have lights-out by 10:30PM.
2. See food as medicine, or a drug. What are you putting into your body?
3. Hydrate – have 16 oz. of water with a squeeze of lemon juice first thing in the morning. Have a glass of water with lemon or lime in between and after meals.
4. Up your fruit intake in the morning, especially berries, like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and/or blackberries.
5. Stop mindless eating. Eat only when you’re hungry. Stop eating when you’re full.

6. Tangibles

Breakfast idea – a cluster of grapes, ½ an avocado, nuts, with 1/2 cup dry oatmeal cooked.

Look for ways to increase veggies, such as a veggie omelet, experiment with sauteeing new vegetables.

Look to break the status-quo of meals always containing a starch along with your protein. Instead of chicken and rice or potatoes for dinner, have chicken or fish simply with vegetables like okra, spinach, broccoli or mushrooms.

Consciously increase your vegetable intake. Try to always have at least one cooked vegetable every evening and one raw salad every afternoon and/or evening.

7. Your Body is Your Friend

Your body is your friend, not the enemy. Your body’s mission is to keep you healthy and stay alive. Your body functions on its own (the heart has its own pacemaker pumping blood to bring oxygen to every cell, respiration takes place involuntarily, etc.), but if you don’t consciously put demands on our body, it will default into lazy mode and atrophy.

Muscular endurance is an important part of fitness.  We need to be constantly building and demanding of our muscles for them to grow, because muscle tissue is very “high maintenance” and is most easily is used by the body as convertible energy. Muscle tissue needs to be maintained – fat and muscle loss is the default of not maintaining. Part of maintenance happens by having a good night’s sleep, when tissue repair and growth occurs. Consistent physical muscular demands such as 30 mins. of daily brisk walking not only helps with helps muscular endurance, builds muscular strength, and the added cardio-respiratory of brisk walking etc., but also puts demands on the heart, which done consistently will strengthen the heart muscle, which will enable the heart to do its job more efficiently. Therefore, exercise with cardio helps maintain whole body fitness.

If you cannot touch the floor in a standing position, it is because your hip flexors, hamstrings and tendons, and leg and back muscles are tight from sitting. Look how many older people walk bent over. This is due to stiffness and a lack of flexibility in their muscles from sitting most of the day and not demanding of their body. They walk as if they are still sitting. If a person has stiff muscles, it corresponds to them also having a stiff vascular system, which is far worse. Walking 30 mins./day not only burns some calories, but more importantly activates your leg muscles, which are the largest group of muscles in the body, and need the maintenance of being stretched, as well as gets the blood pumping, which provides flexibility to the vascular system. 

8. Ideas for Eating

To minimize snacking, focus on eating more nutrient-dense foods more often.

Breakfast:

Look to eat around 8AM, and then again at noon. Try a cooked sweet potato and two hard-boiled eggs, or unsweetened oatmeal with fresh fruit or berries in it. 

Mid-Day Meal:

Salmon with chickpeas; chicken with sweet potato; black bean soup. If traveling, try tuna packets in water.

Or a whole grain sandwich with a tsp of zatar, salad and a slice of cheese.

Mid-Afternoon Meal: (before 4PM)

Sweet potato, or other veggie you like, a small amount of brown rice, and some kind of protein.

A serving, an ounce of raw almonds or cashews and some blueberries or an apple.

Dinner (7PM):

Fish and broccoli; spinach and protein;

Try to be in bed by 10PM

Walk briskly for 30 mins. (or treadmill) 5x/week (ideally in the AM).

9. Goal is to lose 1/2 pound to 1 pound a week.

We also want to see your BMI and body fat percentage going down and your water percentage increasing.

For someone looking to lose weight, a reasonable weight loss pace is between ½ and 1 lb. per week. Engaging a consistent nutritious diet plan, drinking a gallon of water daily, sleeping 7+ hours, and incorporating even a moderate level of fitness will easily accomplish this. 

What happens when one engages in some level of fitness training?  Aside from an overall feeling of better fitness, you get a stronger heart, your cells function better, your ability to use oxygen improves, and many other positive effects.

When beginning a fitness program, it is important to know your current Resting Heart Rate, which is a quick indicator of your fitness level. The average adult has a resting pulse rate of 70-75 beats per minute. The more fit one is, the lower their heart rate. Fit people who get lots of aerobic exercise have resting pulse rates in the 50s and 60s because their heart is stronger, and pumps more efficiently.

The Karvonen Formula is a mathematical formula that helps determine your target heart rate zone. The formula involves using your maximum heart rate (MHR) minus your age to come up with a target heart rate range (which is a percentage of your MHR). Staying within this range will help you work most effectively during your cardio workouts.

10. Karvonen Formula:

Maximum Heart Rate

The Karvonen formula is based on a measurement called the Heart Rate Reserve. First, you need to get your age predicted maximum heart rate. All you have to remember is to subtract your age from 220.

Therefore, if you are 67 years old, here is the calculation:

220 – 67 = 153 beats per minute Heart Rate Max.

Now, how do you figure out your heart rate reserve?

First, let’s get your resting heart rate as we spoke about before by taking your radial pulse for one minute.

Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) = Max Heart Rate minus the resting heart rate.

So, if your resting heart rate is 70, the formula is:

Heart Rate Reserve = 153 – 70 , so the HRR in this case will be 83 beats per minute.

Determine Intensity as a Percentage of your Heart Rate Reserve

When you want to pick an intensity to exercise at, use a percentage of your Heart Rate Reserve.

For example, to exercise at 60% intensity will mean that you take your heart rate reserve of 83 and multiply by .60 which equals 49.8.

Then add the intensity to your resting heart rate.

In this case, that will be 70 beats per minute resting heart rate + 49.8 beats per minute intensity of heart rate reserve, which equals 120 Target Heart Rate.

Now you know, your target heart rate for training at 60 % intensity is 120 beats per minute.

11. How Does Your Body Get Fit?

The way your body gets fit, is via the Overload Principle. Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. Your body will adapt to your demands. If you swim, you’ll be a better swimmer, walker, runner, you’ll get better bio-mechanically. If all you’re doing is sitting, you will get better at sitting, but, you won’t burn fat.

Cardio-vascular fitness is lost after about 48 hours, which is why it’s important to train at least every other day.  A 5 min. warm-up and 5 min. cool down are very important. Starting or stopping suddenly, your muscles are no longer helping the blood flow to/from the heart.

A good goal would be a 5 min warm-up, 20 mins., then 5 min. cool down.

12. Reduce Salt

A great way to lose water weight is by lowering your salt intake. Measure your belly with a measuring tape weekly to track your progress. 1” of waist equates to 5 lbs. of weight lost. Heart disease is the #1 killer in the U.S., of men and women and these are the risk factors:

Over age 45 for men and over age 55 for women

Waist of over 40”

BMI of over 30

Cholesterol of over 200

The body doesn’t require much food to function optimally, and a high quantity of even healthy food is damaging. The liver can only process a maximum of about 400 calories at a time. Any additional calories are set aside, and stored as fat. Instead, focus on eating smaller portions but more often, say every 3 hours.

Your body adapts to everything you do – exercising or not exercising, hydrating or not hydrating yourself, sleeping enough or not sleeping enough, etc. If you fast for hours thinking it is ultimately good for weight loss, think again, as the body will instinctively hang onto the fat, as it will go into a self-preservation mode. 

13. Portion Control

Focus on eating no more than a deck of card’s worth of dense foods, such as meat or beans, and no more than 400-500 calories at any one time, and no more a cup’s worth of other items other than vegetables. Look to eat approximately this many calories:

Breakfast – 500

Mid-morning snack – 200

Lunch – 400

Afternoon Snack – 200

Dinner – 500

That’s a maximum of 1800 calories a day. If it’s nutritious food, you won’t feel hungry.

14. Mind-Set, Must Vs Should:

If we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep getting the same results. In order to get different results, we must change our actions.

Think to yourself before potentially bingeing – “I’d rather look and feel good in my new dress for my birthday, than having this temporary pleasure of eating this now”. 

Get real objectivity – take a picture of yourself as you are now, and have these images handy to look at when you are considering eating fattening foods, for example, chocolate. 

A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Realize that a trade-off (eating smaller portions, skipping junk foods, exercise where there was none, drinking and sleeping more, etc. are required in order to change your outcome to a better result.  Thanksgiving is only once a year. Maintain your regimen to have a consistent return.

How does one make a lasting change? By focusing on one good habit at a time (for instance first committing to drinking half your bodyweight in ounces of water daily, then adding 7½ hours of sleep, then commit to proper daily food consumption, then adding a fitness component, such as walking). 

5 Rick Ross Weight Loss Secrets

The best Rick Ross weight loss secrets that you can use now to lose weight.

Sometimes it does not take a seizure to get your attention.

It might be a doctor telling you that your cholesterol is over 300.

Or it could be one evening when you glance down and cannot see your feet over your pregnant like stomach.

In rapper Rick Ross’s case, it took two seizures to get his attention.

What is the value of money, steaks and a private jet if you are having a seizure?

Not much.

And, you do not need to be wealthy to use these weight loss tips.

You can be an average joe who want to solve a common problem.

How can you finally lose weight?

Whether you are 10 or 100 pounds overweight, there are pearls of wisdom here for every one.

Let’s dive in and find the nuggets!

Rapper Rick Ross Reveals How He Lost 75 Lbs. to Save His Life After His Seizures

BY JULIE MAZZIOTTA @julietmazz 08/03/2016 AT 04:35 PM EDT
Weighing 350 lbs., sleeping for just three hours a night, and pounding back 24-oz. steaks at 4 a.m., rapper Rick Ross was living life to what he thought was the fullest.

But two seizures within six hours of each other in 2011 – which required his private jet to make an emergency landings both times – forced Ross to reevaluate everything.

At the urging of his doctor, Ross changed his diet and exercise and saved his life, losing 75 lbs.

“I’m happy,” he tells Men’s Health in its September issue, on newsstands now. “I’m still losing weight, and now I’m starting to build hard muscle in places.”

The key to Ross’ weight loss was taking things slow, rather than trying quick fixes that wouldn’t stick.

“If I quit all the things I loved cold turkey, I knew it would only be so long before I went back to my old ways,” he says.

Instead, Ross allowed himself to have the fast food from Checkers and Wingstop that he always loved, but only between noon and 5 p.m., and only two or three days a week.

And for the rest of his meals, Ross worked with a chef to come up with healthy recipes that he would actually want to eat.

He also started working out with a group of friends for motivation, and came up with his own version CrossFit, which he calls “RossFit.”

Four days a week, Ross goes for a warm-up jog, and then sets up five exercise stations with moves like deadlifts and pushups, working through them for 30 minutes.

Ross says that finding workouts and foods that he would actually enjoy was the key.

“My advice for anyone looking to lose weight is to not make it feel like a job,” he says.

The Takeaway

Start Today

You do not need to have a seizure in order to get on a program to get fit. In fact, if you know that you are overweight now, start now, before any seizures or other medical emergencies occur. The truth is that 70 percent of American adults are overweight, so needing to lose weight is nothing new. The point is to start. Do not wait for a seizure or other reason. If you are overweight, get determined, get focused and start now, day one.

Be Willing to Change

You can change your diet and exercise program. You do not have to be a financial rock star or rapper to change your diet and start moving. You can make up your own program of use The Fit Apprentice program. Add more fresh vegetables, fruits, real foods. Remove processed foods. Start walking. Drink water, not vodka. Voila, you will lose weight. It happens every time. Rick Ross lost 75 pounds. You can lose 75 pounds, you will not be the first and not be the last. But, it is time for you to take action. If you make no change and keep eating the same foods and doing the same workout sitting on your couch, you will get the same results. You need to change up your diet and exercise program. You can do it.

Gradual Fat Loss is Better than Rapid

Lose weight slowly, this is the best path to follow. Rick Ross discovered this fact, and it is exactly what The Fit Apprentice Program recommends. Gradual weight loss. There is no need to starve in order to lose weight. Eat real food, healthy food, and create a moderate caloric deficit. You can start exercising with a simple walk every day. Slow weight loss is the best and most successful path to follow.

Plan your Workouts and Meals

If you have a personal chef, great, otherwise, you have to come up with a bunch of meals that you like. And that you can prepare. Think simple and single healthy foods. An orange, rice and egg omelette. Spinach, potatoes and salmon. A whole grain turkey or tofu sandwich. Cut out the heavily processed foods, or like Rick did, only eat them at a specific time of day. You have to have a lot of will power to do that. But, that might work for you. Be conscious and record what your meals are for at least a week. Get an idea of what you are feeding yourself with. How you are fueling your body. Take it easy, come up with some sample meals for yourself and stick with it. Watch the magic happen.

Have Fun

Find the workouts and foods that you enjoy. Just like the Fit Apprentice program, Rick Ross discovered the incredible power of deadlifts and pushups. You need to enjoy this journey. If you accept the idea of gradual weight loss and muscle gain, you will have fun. The goal is to lose weight and get fit, easily and comfortably. No suffering, okay? Real food, deadlifts, pushups, squats and walking is enough for a 75lb weight loss over a six month period. What are you ‘weighting’ for?

Have you lost weight, 10, 20 or 75 pounds?

How did you do it?

What key strategies did you use to get fit, especially if you were overweight or obese?

Is saying obesity is a national epidemic hyperbole?

Do you think that it is over the top to suggest that obesity is an epidemic?

Perhaps stating that obesity is an out of control plague is a bit too dramatic?

Let’s look at the data:

More than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of adults overweight or obese.

One-third (35.7 percent) of adults or more are obese.

More than 1 in 20 (6.3 percent) have extreme obesity.

Almost 3 in 4 men (74 percent) are overweight or obese.

Source Credit: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/

Food processing companies have stacked the odds in their favor.

Wherever you turn, someone wants to put bad food, processed food, down your throat that will damage your health.

That includes yourself.

There is no question that processed food leads to obesity.

We do this to ourselves, because we have the option.

The mass marketing media encourages us to eat their processed junk foods on one hand.

Look all around you, on billboards, on tv, an endless stream of ads for processed food.

On other billboards are ads for weight loss surgery.

Suddenly, people do not know how to lose weight, so they must resort to weight loss surgery.

For thousands of years, no one needed to be on a diet to lose weight.

Does this make sense?

Diets are necessary because of the fake foods that flood our bodies.

Obesity and Alzheimer’s

Can you believe that Oreos can lead to Alzheimer’s?

Of course, it is not one Oreo, or even Oreos, but the amount of processed food that results in obesity.

Alzheimer’s disease is expected to triple in the next 30 years.

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s.

Wait a moment and digest the previous statement.

I watched my Aunt deteriorate from Alzheimer’s over a ten year period.

Alzheimer’s is a devastating illness.

Brain scans of Alzheimer’s shows a mass that looks more like swiss cheese than a brain.

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, so, if you can prevent Alzheimer’s, you owe it to yourself to start now.

Beat Obesity and Prevent Alzheimer’s

The best known prevention for Alzheimer’s is to reduce obesity, depression and diabetes from your life.

There is no time to wait to get healthy.

You cannot say that today, I will carpet bomb my body with whatever I want.

Then, I will live a healthier lifestyle once I turn 40, 50 or 60.

It does not work like that.

Alzheimer’s for example starts 30 to 50 years before there are any symptoms at all.

Therefore, there really is no time to wait to get the right habits for your health.

Over 50 % of people over the age of 85 exhibit some form of dementia.

Losing your mind is not a good place to be.

If you want to live to the age of 85 and beyond, you need a healthy brain.

You need your mind along for the ride.

The best way to prevent Alzheimer’s is to stay healthy in your body and mind.

Besides Obesity, You Must Manage Depression

Not only staying at an ideal weight can prevent Alzheimer’s, but also dealing with depression.

Untreated depression quadruples the risk of Alzheimer’s in men.

And doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s for women.

You cannot wait till you get sick, to get serious about your health.

Depression is a high risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

There are more than 50 million Americans who suffer with depression at some point in their life.

Depression is not only associated with Alzheimer’s.

You are probably not surprised to find out that depression is also associated with obesity.

Depression is associated with obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

If you are suffering with depression, you have to get help.

Help does not mean prozac, zoloft or effexor.

That is not the first place that you should turn to for help with depression.

The first place to look is staring at you from your plate.

Your food.

The food that you are eating has an enormous influence on your health and well being.

Is the taste of food worth becoming obese?

Only you can answer that question.

The Catastrophe of Obesity

Obesity is a risk factor for over 30 medical illnesses.

Obesity, depression, alzheimer’s, and heart disease are interrelated.

They all appear to be risk factors for each other.

In fact, they truly appear to be expressions of the same unhealthy lifestyle.

Did you know that the size of your brain has an inverse relationship to the size of your belly?

As you gain weight, the size of your brain diminishes.

According to Dr. Daniel Amen, MD, there are 22 studies which say the following:

As your weight goes up, the actual physical functioning and size of your brain goes down.

How is that for a horror show?

Now you do not need aliens or cannibals to shrink your brain.

You can shrink your own brain with obesity and/or depression.

Are cheese doodles, snicker bars, pop tarts and mcdonald hamburgers worth shrinking your own brain?

If that is not scarier than the haunted house on elm street, what is?

You are literally losing your mind because of obesity or depression.

Obesity is Not Your Fault

After you read this paragraph, you will discover that obesity is not your friend.

Excess food, is not going to help you in life, in any way.

You might not have known how risky obesity is, and that is not your fault.

And in fact, don’t be defensive if you are obese, it is not your fault.

Food manufacturers play a big role in obesity in America and around the world.

High fructose corn syrup is a common ingredient in junk food.

HFCS is an artificial sweetener which is cheaper and sweeter than sugar.

Food manufacturers love HFCS, because they make more profits.

You can find HFCS in many processed foods, such as breakfast cereal, soda, ketchup, cookies and even meal replacement bars.

From now on, make sure you check the ingredient list before you eat any processed food.

If you see high fructose corn syrup, move on in the aisle.

At least you now know what this man made substance will do to you.

HFCS did not exist before the 1970’s and this substance is dangerous to your health.

High fructose corn syrup shuts off your body’s natural appetite control switches.

This is why you can chug down tons of soda without ever feeling like you are full.

Source Credit: https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/happens-body-eat-sugar-082609934.html

Obesity is Not your Friend

Sorry, Ben & Jerry are really not your friends.

When you do become obese, if they are your only friends, they will not be there to help.

If you really do hate yourself, then you should definitely gain weight.

The more weight, the less healthy we all become.

This is proven over and over and over again.

The fat on your body is not your friend.

Fat stores toxins and produces cytokines, a substance that damages brain function.

The fatter you are, the less judgment and reasoning capability will you have.

Did you know that fat on your body takes testosterone and turns it into estrogen?

Do you hate man boobs?

It is time to deliver the baby from a man’s belly.

It is time to restore testosterone to men.

We must reduce obesity, especially obesity in the belly.

Having a six pack is not for cosmetic reasons, it is for your health!

Reduce Your Obesity First

If you want to help other people get well, you better take care of yourself first.

If you don’t live the message, you are a bad messenger.

So, if you are suffering with obesity, it is time to end your obesity.

Make wise decisions and prevent health crisis, especially when you know that you are vulnerable.

The brain is approximately 3 pounds in weight or 2 % of your body weight.

But, your brain uses 25 percent of the calories that you consume.

The brain is the most metabolically active organ in our body.

If you don’t feed your brain the proper nutrition, your outcome will not be health.

If you want to get well, the first thing to do is to get your food right.

Even before picking up a barbell or doing a pushup, you have to get the fuel right.

You need the right food for your brain and body, literally for your mind and body.

Great Resources to Defeat Obesity and Depression

Is weight loss after 50 possible?

What do you think?

I always thought that weight loss after 50 was impossible.

Plus, I had my good friend always reminding me that I am a Fat Bastard.

And that does not mean that I was drinking Fat Bastard wine.

He just meant that I was fat and could not lose weight, hence, a fat bastard.

And he said that I had crossed over to the dark side.

Because I had just turned 50.

And it was impossible for me to get in better shape.

If you are already fit and leading a healthy lifestyle, perhaps you can review, comment and encourage today’s workout.

As you might know, I have been pushing myself as much as possible to get into better shape.

I started a couple of years ago attempting to get more fit.

I could not even see my feet because of my uncomfortably large 50″ belly.

I hovered around 250 to  275 pounds.

Then I would starve myself back down to 260 lbs or sometimes even 230 pounds.

One evening at midnight, because I had no order in my life, I was sitting in an all night deli on 43rd street.

I was thinking about having a second blueberry muffin.

As I thought about it, I knew I could not even bend down to tie my shoes.

I was almost ready to cry.

I did not know what to do because I had been on many diets from my childhood.

I had the idea that I was going to only eat what I thought was real food.

Vegetables, berries, some fruits, nuts, beans and protein like eggs and tofu.

Everything that looked very processed to me, I was going to avoid.

That was it.

I included in the processed category more than the obvious candy, licorice and ice cream.

I also included highly processed grains like bread, muffins, bagels.

I said goodbye to my blueberry muffin and hello to blueberries.

I really hated saying goodbye to Oreos, my drug of choice to de-stress.

Ten months later, I had begun to do deadlifts, squats, pushups and walking.

I woke up one morning and realized that I was already under 200 pounds.

Weight loss after 50 was not impossible.

I had just taken off over 75 pounds.

I just had a few simple rules.

I had read tons of diet books, but these few rules made the difference.

The deadlifts, squats and pushups made a big difference as well.

Losing 75 pounds seemed like an impossible feat to me.

In addition, the heavy depression and anxiety that I was constantly fighting, had been lifted to some extent.

At least as good as any antidepressants I had taken in the past.

My weight was down over 75 pounds and my waist was down over 12 inches.

The reduction in pounds and inches did more than just allow me to feel more comfortable in my body and clothing.

There was a snowball effect.

The better I felt physically, the better I felt in mind,  and suddenly many other facets of my life began to change.

I am still under construction.

But I know that what I have built since that evening over two years ago in a corner deli has been nothing short of a life transformation.

So, more than weight loss over 50 is possible.

You can lose weight and you can get more toned.

You can even build more muscle.

You can even look ten to twenty years younger than you look today.

You can look and feel a lot better than you do now.

Especially if you are over 50 and feel like you will never get in better shape.

That is a myth.

Your body is always striving for health and life.

All you have to do is give your body good fuel, rest and exercise.

My goal has been to share what I have learned.

This has been as big a discovery for me as perhaps the new world was for Magellan.

I am still working on getting to my current goal of 15% body fat and cholesterol lower than 150.

My first goal was to get to 240 pounds, then to 225 pounds, then 210, 200 and I am closing in on 185 pounds.

My second goal was to get to a 32 inch waist from a 50 inch waist and I am at 36 inches now, so almost there.

And in terms of body fat, I was initially clinically obese, over 30 % body fat and now I am closing in on 20% and my goal is 15% currently.

My secret goal is to get to 10% body fat!

So, if you are already an athlete, or knowledgeable weight lifter, I would appreciate your input, comments, advice and encouragement.

You might also know a friend or family member who has given up on ever getting into shape or getting back into shape.

It is especially difficult for a former athlete who has gotten really fat to get back into shape since their frustration is much greater than a person who has never been in shape or ever competed in sports.

I write this blog both to get input to help push myself along the way as well as for those people who are suffering with depression and/or obesity or just plain dejected about ever getting into shape.

I can tell you that losing weight and gaining muscle is possible, even weight loss after 50 and even after 55.

My guess is that even at older ages it is more than possible to get stronger.

You do have to change your habits.

If you are willing to change your habits, then you will experience different results.

So, what is Hashi Mashi?

Is it all about just losing weight after 50?

No.

Is it only about having a better attitude, going through the day without meds to feel calm and secure?

No.

Sure, those are some of the great benefits of real food, deadlifts, squats, pushups and plain old walking.

But at the end of the day, I believe Hashi Mashi is about transforming your life.

Because I have experienced it myself and want to share this information with anyone else who is interested or curious.

No, there is no rocket science here and I am not a medical professional and do not pretend to be one.

I am exploring getting ACE certification as a health coach in the near future, but in the meantime, this is just about my experiences and why I think they might be useful to you.

And do not think that I am saying that you need any type of life transformation.

I sure did and I found these tools and principles of what I call Hashi Mashi Lifestyle to help me.

I am confident that eating real food daily and focusing on some core body building workouts, strength workouts along with making sure to get moving for a walk every day will have positive benefits for anyone, especially for a person that is not doing that at the moment.

Have you been successful in achieving weight loss after 50?

How about at any age?

Have you become more fit?

You can follow my 30 day experiment to lose 20 pounds in 30 days here.

Please comment and share your story.