Frederic Patenaude Raw Foods Diet

Life is beautiful when you have nothing to limit you or curtail your confidence. Often times, being overweight, obese or simply lacking your desired level of strength can erode your confidence and give you a looser mentality.

A proper diet is essential for keeping fit and staying health, but the role that exercise plays in helping the body to be at its best is equally valuable.

Having a well-built physique and a solid core is a product of a combination of a healthy diet, regular exercise, and a beneficial workout routine.

When it comes to exercising to keep fit and healthy, push ups are one of the surest ways to go.

How to perform a Push Up

A push up is a calisthenics exercise that is traditionally performed by laying face down in a prone position. The exercise is such that it entails the lowering and raising up of the body with the aid of the hands to achieve an upward and downward movement of the body.

Of course, there are many variants of push ups, so one should never be limited to the standard variety.

You may begin with wall push ups, and progress as you increase in strength, to push ups done on the knees, traditional push ups, and even beyond that you will find there are plenty of variations to keep push ups relevant and challenging.

One of the most difficult I have found is the Planche push up, with your whole lower body raised in the air as you do the pushup, you put focused tension on your chest, shoulders and back.

The Benefits of Push Ups

Push Ups are an excellent exercise and offer many benefits to the body that are quite remarkable. Exercising with push ups is quite valuable because the push up, in all of its variety, is an exercise that puts strain on many different muscle groups. With push ups you can build strong abdominal (core) muscles, improve the triceps, build a strong chest and back, even your legs and buttocks will be strengthened. By increasing your overall muscle tone through push ups, you will more readily burn fats.

Push Ups are certainly the recommended form of exercise, they are convenient, require nothing but a little space and your own body weight, and provide over all results.

A quick update for you:

I’m currently in Panama City, not in Florida but in Panama. I’m surprised by how cheap food is here. I was walking down the street and bought some fruit from a street vendor, already cut up and sliced. For 5 thick slices of delicious pineapple plus one of watermelon, it cost me only $1.25!

I’ll be reviewing this country as a place to live for raw-foodists as part of my course “How to Move to a Tropical Paradise”. For more info, click here.

My fiancée Veronica and I will be starting our “raw” tour around the world fairly soon. To follow our adventures, check out our quick updates from every place we visit on Twitter.

Raw Cacao: a Healthier Alternative

With all this talk about raw cacao, people often forget that cacao is a fruit. In Costa Rica, we buy it to eat the delicious pulp around the seeds, and then throw those seeds away in the compost. There’s not much fruit on them, but they have an amazing flavor, reminding me of jujube candies with a hint of cacao flavor. Check out this quick video filmed at my friend Jesse’s farm, an a fan of exotic tropical fruits, who has planted over a 100 varieties so far!

My Top 10 Most Important Health Principles

The following except is taking from the Raw Vegan Mentor Club newsletter, a monthly printed newsletter I send to members of my Raw Vegan Mentor Club only. To learn more about this newsletter, go to www.fredericpatenaude.com/mentorclub.html

I prefer to look at health in terms of principles to follow. Here are the main ones that make the most difference:

1.    Eat low-fat — This one took me a long time to understand. At first, I understood that it was important to “not eat too many nuts”, but the low-fat concept took longer to be incorporated. It’s a key principle. Most people eat an overly high-fat diet. For ideal results, keep the percentage of your diet below 15%, and ideally below 10%.

2.    Create demand by exercising — Whenever I don’t exercise for several days or weeks in a row, I start feeling like a caged animal. To quote from an article from Parade magazine, by Dr. Henry S. Lodge:

“The hard reality of our biology is that we are built to move. Exercise is the master signaling system that tells our cells to grow instead of fade. When we exercise, that process of growth spreads throughout every cell in our bodies, making us functionally younger. Not a little bit younger—a lot younger. True biological aging is a surprisingly slow and graceful process. You can live out your life in a powerful, healthy body if you are willing to put in the work. (…)

Though we’ve moved indoors and left that life behind, our cells still think we’re living out on the savannah, struggling to stay alive each day. There are no microwaves or supermarkets in nature. If you want to eat, you have to hunt or forage every single day. That movement is a signal that it’s time to grow. So, when you exercise, your muscles release specific substances that travel throughout your bloodstream, telling your cells to grow. Sedentary muscles, on the other hand, let out a steady trickle of chemicals that whisper to every cell to decay, day after day after day.

3.    Listen to your body and fast when necessary — One of the best things you can do when you feel a bit “out of it” is to skip a couple of meals. It’s amazing how quickly our good mood comes back with a little fasting. You just have to pay attention to your body and avoid eating when you’re really not hungry — but just have an appetite for something.

4.    Avoid stimulants — Stimulants are a double edged sword. On the one hand, they appear to give you energy. But on the other hand, that energy is only borrowed, and you have to pay it back later, with interest to boot. The most common culprits are caffeine and Theo bromine (in cacao).

5.    Fruits and vegetables are our natural foods — I don’t like the “raw is law” principles. Most raw-foodists have an extremely unhealthy diet because all they try to do is eat raw-foods and avoid cooked foods. A lot of raw foods commonly consumed — such as cacao products, raw cakes with coconut oil, nut bars, and many others — are not really healthy. What we’re designed to eat are fruits and vegetables. Eat only raw fruits and vegetables, and you will be very healthy.

6.    Follow a strict dental hygiene routine — I used to think that diet was the most important factor in dental health. I thought that if you have a good diet, your teeth would be healthy. Years later (and 30+ cavities repaired), after lots of research, I understand that this disease called dental decay is actually contagious. It’s a war against bacteria. The bacteria will feed on anything: sugar, carbohydrates, morsels of food stuck in the teeth. If you try to win the battle with food, you will lose.

You have to eliminate the problem at the root: by keeping the bacteria to a level where they cannot do much damage. The way to do this is to have a very precise and disciplined hygiene routine. For me, it means 4 minutes of brushing (in a certain pattern) with an electric toothbrush after dinner, followed by flossing, tongue scraping and water irrigation with my VitaJet.

Then I also brush in the morning and before or after lunch. The good thing is once you’ve been able to keep your bacteria level very low for a long time, plaque no longer accumulates. Then if you get lazy one day and don’t brush, the bacteria won’t really be able to do any damage. The problem is when someone has had any problem with their teeth — a standard form of dental hygiene is simply not enough to eliminate the problem at the root. For more information, go to www.fredericpatenaude.com/oralhealth.html

7.    Keep your body hydrated — You need more water in hotter weather, and less in cold climates. It’s very hard to trust our sense of thirst to guide us. The best thing is to actually make a habit of drinking extra water when you think you’ll need it. In the tropics, I have to drink at least 1 or 2 extra liters of water every day. A good habit is to start the day with one liter of water with some lemon juice.

8.    Keep your body alkaline — It’s very simple: fruits and vegetables make your body alkaline. Most nuts and grains are acid-forming. Animal products are the most acid-forming of all. To keep healthy bones and low-levels of inflammation in the body, eat alkaline foods at least 90% of the time.

9.    Get the right amount of sleep you need — There are different opinions on sleep. Natural hygiene generally recommends sleeping as much as possible. However, it’s also possible to get too much sleep. It’s been found that the one thing all depressed people have in common is getting too much sleep. As soon as they put the alarm clock back on, a large percentage of these depressions go away.

So to me, it’s more a matter of finding the right amount of sleep. I found that in my twenties, I needed more sleep. I could not do well if I got less than 9 or 10 hours of sleep every day. Now at 33, I find that I need less sleep. I also function better on the days I don’t get enough sleep. I do well now with 7 to 9 hours of sleep, depending on my activities for the day. More than 9 hours makes me feel a bit “comatic”, so I avoid oversleeping as well.

10.    Eat some blended greens — Eating some greens will make a big difference in your health. But more if you can actually assimilate them. Try to consume some greens in a blended form: either in a blended salad (or Veggie Stew) or as a green smoothie. Once a day, a big bowl or tall glass is about what we need.

This was just an except of my monthly newsletter. The same issue also contained a complete lists of all my “top lists”, such as “my top raw recipes”, and “my top favorite health books”, and much more! To find out about becoming a subscriber, go to: www.fredericpatenaude.com/mentorclub.html

Last week I wrote a little article on unique Christmas gift ideas. Since I got some positive comments on it, I decided to follow it up with another list of gift ideas!

1.    Glass straws

I love drinking coconuts and smoothie with a straw, but I don’t like to use plastic. I tried bamboo straws, but they ended up tasting weird and molding after a few uses. My favorite types of straws are glass straws. Good ones are hard to break, and they are reusable and toxin-free. They make a great gift as well. Look for “pyrex drinking straw”. The only place I found them is Glassstraws.com, they also have an ebay store.

2.    Pineapple Slicer

There are lots of ways to open a pineapple, but none that are as easy as using a pineapple slicer. The best thing about the pineapple slicer is that it removes both the core and the skin of the pineapple, but also empties the pineapple and leaves you with an empty pineapple that you can use as a bowl for enhanced presentation! Because pineapples come in different sizes, I recommend getting all three sizes: small, medium and large (sold in a pack). I prefer the ones made by VacuVin.

Get them online

3.    Veggie Chopper

This tool is my favorite kitchen tool by far. It’s called different names, such as the “tomato chopper” or “salsa maker” or “Chop Wizard” but the idea is the same: cutting perfectly square pieces of vegetables in no time. I use it all the time to make salsa, gazpacho, vegetable soup and salads. If you’ve seen the infomercials for it, then my advice is: believe the hype. It’s a great and cheap tool. The best one is the “International Fruit and Vegetable Chopper.

Get it online.

4.    Keen Hybrid Shoes

Everybody is now raving about the Vibram Five-Finger shoes. I haven’t had the chance to try them yet. However, I’m in no hurry because at the moment I’m perfectly satisfied with my Keen hybrid shoes. They’re a cross between a sandal and a shoe, and they’re perfect for hiking, going to the beach, and doing water sports such as river walking, rafting and more. At the moment they’re the only pair of shoes that I wear. I even use them for running. I personally recommend the sandal type. For men:

http://tinyurl.com/ykcz9fn

and women:

http://tinyurl.com/yj8wyar

5.    Low Fat Raw Vegan Cuisine DVDs

Another shameless plug! But over 1000 customers who enjoyed my latest raw DVD series “The Low-Fat Raw Vegan Cuisine” can’t be wrong. I created these DVDs because I saw something missing in the raw food movements. All raw food recipe DVDs only showed you how to make extremely high-fat recipes based on the “gourmet” raw diet popular these days. This series is different, and shows you a much healthier and tastier way to eat. It’s also a great way to introduce someone to raw foods, because unlike a book where they may raise many objections based on the arguments, these DVDs go straight into food preparation, which answers the number one question people ask “What can I eat on this diet?”

Check it out here:

http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/lowfatdvds/

NOTE: You have to order now if you want to make sure to receive them before Christmas.

6.    Oral-B Triumph Electric Toothbrush

I looked for a long time for the ultimate toothbrush. For the past 2 years I’ve been using the Triumph and my teeth have never been so good. I tried the SonicCare but couldn’t stand the vibrations. The Triumph is a much better toothbrush and also makes a great gift!

Get it online

7.    A shirt or other clothing by Icebreaker

Clothes as gifts are nice, but only if it’s something unique that people will appreciate and use. Here’s one secret: cotton sucks! When it’s cold, cotton doesn’t keep you warm well. When it’s hot, it doesn’t wick sweat away. It’s slow drying also. But it’s cheap and feels nice, and that’s why everybody wears it. A much better fabric is merino wool. No, it won’t feel at all like the wool you’re used to. One company makes amazing shirts, underwear and other clothes from his material. Check it out at

www.icebreaker.com

8.    Tribest Personal Blender

Love your blender but don’t want to be bothered with the extra weight on vacation? The solution is a travel blender. I’ve tried many of them and they all sucked, except the Tribest Personal Blender. It’s not nearly as strong as a Vita-Mix, but works fairly well. Make raw dressings on the road! Anyone who blends will appreciate this gift.

Get it online

9.    Needak Rebounder

Ok, this one might definitely be more a gift for yourself than for someone you know! But if you’ve been looking for a good, low-impact exercise you can do in your apartment during any kind of weather, the rebounder is the way to go! In my opinion, it’s not worth it to spend on a really expensive one. A cheap one will also frustrate you. So go for something in-between. The Needak rebounder is made in the USA and works amazingly well. If space is a problem, get the folding version.

Get it online

10.    The Perfect Health Program

Want to convince someone who really needs it of the benefits of the raw food lifestyle? A book is often not the way to go. How about the best series of CDs in the world teaching the different aspects of health, in a friendly, non-confrontational way? That’s what the Perfect Health Program is about! Order with the coupon code GIFTIDEAS and get an amazing 50% off the CD version! Go to:

http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/perfecthealth.html

Enter coupon code: GIFTIDEAS
This coupon expires in 48 hours.

- Frederic’s Update

- Tips for the cold weather

-  Questions from the Readers!

- Can the iPhone Help You Succeed With Your Health Program?

Right now I’m here in Costa Rica, where I am relocating for the next 6 months with my fiancée, enjoying the tropical air.

After many years of spending most of my time in cold climates, with a few months a year, I found that I enjoy the “tropical lifestyle” so much that I could not enjoy living in Canada for most of the year.

For me, the tropical lifestyle means being able to walk around in comfortable clothes and short-sleeved shirts, leave the windows wide open day and night, enjoy warm tropical air, enjoy the sunshine and bright days (even when it’s gray, it’s still brighter than up north), and being able to go to the beach and travel around the country as a tourist, while living there as well.

It used to be that I could see myself living in Canada 6-8 months a year and in the tropics the rest of the time. But now, I don’t even enjoy the month of May in Canada. Too cold and rainy. Same for October!

If your dream is to live the tropical lifestyle, I really encourage you to make it happen, but one step at a time, like I did. That avoids a lot of disappointments. If you’re interested in this topic, I highly recommend my course “How to Move to a Tropical Paradise” available at:

www.fredericpatenaude.com/tropicalparadise.html

In December of this year, I’ll be welcoming participants of this course to a special “Day in Costa Rica with Frederic”. Wanna come? Check out:

www.fredericpatenaude.com/tropicalparadise.html

What if you’re left in the cold? Here are some tips and ideas from my Raw Vegan Mentor Club newsletter. There is WAY more in the actual newsletter, including what to do about low-body temperature. If you’re not a member, check it out here:

http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/mentorclub.html

Here are a few more tips to make the most of the winter and avoid some of the problems related to this season.

Tips for the Cold Season and the Raw Diet

•    If you can, get some sunshine, first thing in the morning, even if it’s just stepping outside and getting a bit of sunshine on your hands and eyelids. This will help tremendously to keep your mood up during the cold season.

•    Get some full-spectrum light bulbs. They make a big difference, especially when you’re working on the computer or reading. These types of light bulbs can be ordered online.

•    If possible, take a vacation south so you can get necessary sun and vitamin D!

•    Grow your own sprouts and indoor greens, to get some super-fresh vegetables to add to salads.

•    Make raw warm soups in the vita-mix. Warm them up in the dehydrator, if necessary. As a compromise, you can steam some vegetables and blend them in the vita-mix with some of the cooking water for a delicious, salt-free soup.

•    Exercise! Remember exercise is the best thing to keep your mood up and your health during the winter.

•    Help your body increase it’s resistance to cold by letting it regulate it’s temperature more naturally.  Don’t immerse yourself 24/7 in the same hot environment at work and at home while wearing multiple sweaters.  Your body will not learn to adapt and raise and lower your body temperature when necessary in the different seasons. Wear lighter clothing if in extremely warm buildings, but bundle up when going outside. Your body can adapt just like outdoor animals can in the different seasons if you help it.

“Who Else Wants to Watch Professional DVDs and Become Confident in the Kitchen With the Most Amazing, Simple and Delicious Low Fat Raw Recipes Ever?”

Four Pounds of Fruit a Day

You suggest to eat 4 pounds of fruits a day. How do I weigh the oranges and grapefruits ? with the skin or without a skin? Some big oranges and grapefruits are heavy course of very thick skin. How would I do it?

ANSWER: The suggestion of 4 pounds a day is a STRICT minimum to get started on the raw-food diet, but nowhere near the amounts necessary for optimal health for most people. The amount is with peels. It’s far better to measure food consumption by calories, because some fruits have much more calories per serving than others. The idea is to get most of your calories from fruit.

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Traveling in the Raw! Family-Friendly Raw Destinations

Hello! You have clearly had a lot of experience travelling and raw-food-ing, could you possibly tell me where the best holiday destinations with the most fruit are that are also family friendly? (I am from New Zealand – so even seemingly ‘obvious’ destinations (ie California??) would be very helpful!). Thank you so much! P.S. Thank you for all your info/books etc! Without them I would still be eating a not-quite-so-SAD diet, but not 100% raw!

ANSWER:  Here are some of my favorite holiday destinations where you can find the most fruit and that are family-friendly, with average cost of living.

California: Great for the health food and raw scene. Car rental is usually a must to get around because of the large distances. Lots of raw restaurants and the best well-stocked health food stores. Hotel room prices start at $100-130 for a decent room. Food costs are average for first word countries. Must visit if you’re into raw-foods!

Hawaii: Great place to visit and easy to get around. Some raw restaurants and good fruits at the farmer’s markets and some good health food stores! Hotel room prices for a decent room are above $150. Food costs are higher than mainland USA.

Thailand: The ultimate place for fruit. Very safe and children-friendly. Cheap accommodations and good rooms for families can be found at around $50, with other more comfortable, higher-end options at prices far below North American (ultra-cheap but clean rooms are also available in the $10-20 range). Food costs are ultra cheap too.

Bali: My favorite island and still magical in spite of the tourism. Super children-friendly. Prices only slightly above Thailand, but very affordable.

Costa Rica: Where I choose to live most of the year. Great for families and nature lovers. Lots of Bed and Breakfast types of room (where a fruit breakfast can usually be served — just ask). Lots of fruit if you can drive to the farmer’s market. A good idea to rent a car or at least a driver to see more of the country and be able to get fruit. I love the Southern Area (San Isidro + Dominical, Uvita). Families can rent a room for around $75-100 or less in most areas, but less expensive options are also available.

If other readers have some more ideas, please feel free to comment!

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Raw Food Videos

I was able to access the videos on the Raw Food Mentor Club website this morning. Thank you so much for including videos on this website. The information you are providing is helping me to deepen my commitment to the Low Fat Raw Food Program. I really appreicate all of your sincere efforts on behalf of all of us. Caron

NOTE: The raw food videos are a new feature of the Raw Vegan Mentor Club. Not a member? Find out more at www.fredericpatenaude.com/mentorclub.html

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Sun Tea

Hello Frederic, I was wondering if Sun Tea (which is made by putting a tea bag in a jug of water, then letting it set in the sun for a few hours) would be an acceptable beverage for somebody who wants to adapt a raw food diet. At least in my part of the world, the temperature of the water would never exceed 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and the tea leaves are dried, so I don’t see any cooked element in it. Of course, there is some caffeine in some teas — but you could also make it from a herbal “tea” with no caffeine. I’d be extremely interested in hearing your opinion on this in an upcoming blog post. Best regards, Tom

ANSWER: I don’t see anything majorly wrong with that. I personally avoid all forms of caffeine and would recommend to do the same for optimal health.Your health is your own, so if you choose to include some sun tea in your diet for your enjoyment, then so be it.

I know that for many of you, you are in the middle of winter, the weather is bad outside and you are letting some of your good health habits slip.  That’s why I want to use this blog post to encourage you to get back on the right track and get your lagging energy back.

Eat a Good Breakfast: It’s important for the rest of your day to eat well in the morning.  Now, I know some of you are saying *but I’m just not that hungry first thing in the morning*.  Well, you still need to get something into your system, so that your body will have the fuel it needs to get a good start to the day and not overeat or *crash* later in the day.  Just having a smoothie will get you off to the right start.  I share some great smoothie recipes monthly in the daily menu planner that’s free with your membership to the Raw Vegan Monthly Mentor Club.  Check it out at: http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/mentorclub.html

Eliminate Oils in Your Diet:  Eliminating oil from your diet will seriously improve your levels of energy.  Oils are pure fat and are not whole food.  I’m not saying don’t have some fat in your diet – you need it, but you can get what you need by eating only *whole foods* (such as avocados and nuts) and avoid all concentrated fats.  A little bit of olive oil is not going to hurt you, but you should just stop buying oils. For a good salad dressing, try blending a little avocado with a tomato and some balsamic vinegar. Most people really enjoy that one.

By the way, each month I publish a completely original and detailed menu planner that gives you new delicious raw food recipes for each week of the month, along with shopping lists and a handy weekly planner.  If it sounds like something you could use to take out the guesswork of figuring out what to eat (all my recipes are based on seasonable ingredients), sign up for my Raw Health Inner Circle. You’ll get your menu planner each month along with lots of exclusive benefits. Go to: http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/mentorclub.html

Take Vitamin B-12: too many vegans and raw-foodists have run into vitamin B-12 deficiencies, which can very badly affect your energy levels.  It could be because we’re meant to eat small quantities of animal foods. It could be because we’re not getting the right bacteria in our colon. It could be for a number of reasons, I don’t really know to be honest.  So, to be safe, all vegan doctors recommend to take a supplement.  I do, it’s the only supplement I recommend.

Drink Enough Water: I would say that most people are living in a state of more or less constant dehydration and are not aware of it.   In the winter, you are probably drinking water even less than usual.  If you’re consuming lots of raw fruits and vegetables, you’re already getting more water than most people, but sometimes, it’s still not enough.

What I do every single morning is drink about half a liter to a liter of water (500-1000 ml.) with some lime juice.   It’s hydrating and cleansing.

Exercise Every Day: humans are meant to live an active life. Being sedentary was not the norm for human beings, even in the Western world, until just a few decades ago.  My commitment now is to exercise everyday, and my energy level is always better after I do.  Even though I might not have felt like doing it when I started, I never thought to myself, “I shouldn’t have gone for that bike ride” or “That was such a bad idea to take that yoga class!”

On the contrary, I felt much better afterwards, and my energy level definitely comes bouncing back.  It is a basic human need to exercise everyday.   When you do this, you’ll be even hungrier for natural food!

I know you’re used to hearing from me about the latest in the raw foods and health movements, but I wanted to talk to you a little bit today about stress reduction. You can be eating all the right foods and following my plans perfectly, but if your mind and body are constantly under stress, it’s not going to do you as much good as it can.

One of the best ways to counteract stress is to exercise. We’ve talked before about the importance of daily exercise. Now, I want you to consider doing yoga as part of your exercise plan. Yoga is a great way to exercise because it utilizes all of the different muscle groups of the body and helps keep you flexible and toned and less prone to injury. But, more importantly, it’s meant to be a way to prepare your mind for relaxation and meditation.

The deep breathing that accompanies each yoga pose is intended to clear your mind and get you to focus on the physical movements you are doing. In the process, your body responds by releasing the tension and stress you might not even realize you have. Let’s try a simple exercise right now. As you are reading this line, breathe in deeply through your nose at a count of four. Hold slightly, and then release your breath slowly through your nose at a count of four again. You might already be feeling a sense of relief!

That’s because yoga has physical and mental benefits. It helps lower your blood pressure and heart rate and increase your intake of oxygen. As a result, you feel less anxious and tense. As your body gains strength and flexibility, you experience a slowing in the aging process and an enhanced feeling of well being.

Although some practitioners want you to believe that yoga is hard or mysterious, it really isn’t. In fact, like the breathing exercise you just did, you probably have already naturally done some yoga poses without even knowing it! Yoga involves stretching the body and forming different poses while breathing slowly and steadily. You feel relaxed yet energized at the same time. There are many different types of yoga, some which involves moving through the poses quickly (often referred to as *power yoga*), which other types require you to stretch deeply into a pose and hold it before moving on to the next pose.

Most yoga classes at fancy studios last 90 minutes, with about 60 minutes devoted to doing all of the poses and 20 to 30 minutes meditating. I know that sounds like a long time, but you can get some of the same benefits from doing just 20 minutes of yoga poses and 10 minutes of relaxation/meditation. So why not give yoga a try today?

I’ve received a lot of questions from you, asking “Frederic, I work behind a desk all day. I love my job, but I feel so stiff and out of shape by the end of the day. What can I do to offset sitting 8 hours a day?”

I’ve got some great exercises you can do right at your desk that will have you feeling better and staying more flexible, so no excuses! Also, take a look at some other products that I offer to get you on the road to fitness and health http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/products.html

Now, here’s my 3-part daily plan for you:

1. Stand up!!

At least every hour, you should at least just stand up. Reach your arms in the air, and get on your tippy toes, trying to elongate yourself as much as possible. Then, come back down on flat feet and reach your right arm up as high as possible and slowly bend over to your left side. Come back up straight, then reach your left arm up as high as possible and slowly bend to the right side. Shake everything out, and slowly bend forward, letting your arms dangle down. Don’t worry about keeping your knees straight or being able to touch the floor, that will come with time. Just use this time to get the blood flowing. Be sure you’re letting your neck relax and hang loose. Shake your head “yes” and “no” and let it release. Slowly, come back up to standing.

Do this at least every hour. It does not take a lot of time, and you will soon feel much better.

2. Relax your neck

Those of you working at a desk all day, probably on the computer most of the time, probably hold a lot of tension in your neck. It’s really important to try to ease that tightness. First, while working, try hard to keep your shoulders down and your back straight (good posture means a lot for easing tensions and also for good digestion!). Be sure your chair is at the right height so that you can comfortably have your feet flat on the floor and your arms parallel to your keyboard.

Here’s an exercise specifically for your neck: either standing or sitting, drape your right arm over your head and touch your left ear. Slowly lean your head towards your right shoulder. Be sure your left arm is held straight down (after a while, you might want to flex your left hand, so that your palm is parallel with the floor for an added stretch). Hold and slowly count to 10. Now, do the other side. Slowly and gently, roll your head clockwise one or two times; then, roll it the other direction.

Try to do this at least 2 or 3 times a day, especially after being at the computer for an extended period of time.

3. Stretch and flex your arms and hands

Another danger of sitting and typing too much is carpal tunnel syndrome, an ailment where you start to feel pain in your wrists and you experience numbness in different parts of your hands. Anyone who does repetitive motions for long periods of time needs to be very careful about this.

Here are some exercises you can do to ease the effects of too much typing or writing. First, hold your arms out parallel to the floor, with your palms facing the ground. Flex your hands up, as though you’re about to push against the wall in front of you. Hold while counting to 10 (for an added stretch, you might want to use one hand to push the other hand back towards you, and switch sides, but be very gentle and don’t yank or push too hard). Now, point your hands and fingers down towards the ground (again, you might want to very gently push the opposite hand toward you for more stretch). Now, hold your arms out to your sides and repeat the hand stretches up and down. Push outwards with your arms. Now, raise them up and interlock your fingers and face your palms to the ceiling. Push upwards, try to reach and push the ceiling. Bring your arms down and shake them out. Make fists with your hands, then stretch out your hands and fingers and wiggle them.

See, that didn’t take very long either.

Try to be more aware of sitting for too long periods of time. Get up and do these simple exercises. Or go for a walk down the hall and get a glass of water (you can never drink too much water!). Walk up and down the hallways for 10 minutes, then get back to work. You’ll feel better and ultimately be more productive in the work you do!

Okay, I’m getting a little belligerent, but here’s my opinion of yoga: yoga is a great physical and spiritual practice, but not a complete exercise it itself!

Don’t turn into a yoga “wimp”.

My tip for today is:

“Whether you’re a man or a woman, whether you’re young or old, lift weights for building strength.”

If you don’t already lift weights, you should start.

The benefits are numerous:

- Weight lifting will energize you, add functional strength that you can use
- It will improve your posture and reduce your risks of osteoporosis
- It will improve your balance and coordination
- It will improve your immune system and make you less prone to low-back injuries
- It will improve your digestion, your resting heart rate, your muscular endurance
- It will help you look younger, and help you burn more calories when you’re at rest (more muscles burs more calories!)
- It will improve your confidence and may your daily activities easier

And that’s not to speak of the cosmetic aspects!

Don’t start thinking that you will look like the pictures of ”Hulk” in the magazines… that’s very unlikely unless you train specifically for that!

Now… when I say weight lifting, I actually mean lifting actual weights, not just your body.

Although bodyweight exercises are great, and I really recommend them, I think everybody needs to actually pump some iron if they want to increase their strength.

Bodyweight exercises mostly build your muscular endurance.

Weight lifting builds your strength.

In theory, you could design some body weight exercises that can also build your strength… but those are too challenging for the average person.

Can you reasonably expect to do a “handstand pushup” (which means you’ll have to stand on hands, against a wall, and push up)?

That’s the way to build strength on your shoulders using body weight exercises only.

But with weight training, you only have to lift a weight above your shoulders to achieve the same benefits. So this is much more accessible to most people.

Don’t think you need any special equipment to start weight lifting, or any expensive gym membership!

All you need are a set of dumbells. Overtime, you can purchase heavier ones or buy a set of adjustable dumbells (If you can save for it… I recommend the best in the world… the Powerblock, a http://www.powerblock.com)

Then you also need an adjustable bench.

And that’s it! That’s all you need to get started.

Of course, you also need to know what exercises to do.

For that, you can learn the routines from a friend. You can buy a book on the subject (a good eBook I recommend can be found at: http://fredraw.westy04.hop.clickbank.net/)

All you have to do is to train for about 30 minutes three times a week, and you will build more strength!

Remember, this is important especially as you get older, and especially if you’re a woman (although men need it too!), because typically women and old people tend to avoid strength-building activities.

So start getting stronger now!

My tip for you is one that I’ve recently implemented with much more diligence in my life, and seen a huge difference in the way I feel:

“Exercise Before Every Meal”

It’s amazing once you realize how much exercise is related to nutrition and digestion! In other words, exercise improves every aspect of your assimilation, including:

- The ability to process sugar efficiently (called “insulin
sensitivity”)
- More efficient digestion and uptake of nutrients
- More natural hunger, more desire to eat natural foods.

The natural pattern is simple… you have to create “demand”.

You have to empty your fuel tank before you fill it again.

You have to lower a bit your blood sugar before rising it again… other wise you’re just filling up an already full tank!

The way to do that is to exercise before every meal.

It doesn’t have to be a big deal. This morning, I walked to the grocery store and back, to get some fruit for breakfast.

I happen to live where there’s a lot of hills, so just doing that is a mini-workout in itself.

If you don’t have “time” to exercise, at least spend 2-3 minutes doing some jumping jacks, before you start putting foods in your body.

Make it a commitment to exercise every day, and you’ll be surprised be how great you feel!

Also, plan your main workout of the day before a meal, and do some “mini-workouts” before your other meals. Your “mini-workouts” could be:

- Going for a walk
- Going for a sprint-run
- Doing some bodyweight exercises, such as pushups and squats
- Jumping on your mini trampoline
- Etc.

Get the blood moving!

If you’d like to get a very powerful exercise program based on simple, bodyweight exercise you can do anywhere, I highly recommend that you check out the “Lightning Speed Fitness”
program at:

http://fredraw.superbeing.hop.clickbank.net

“Rebounding Exercises For Health”

My health tip for the day is: “If you’re looking for an indoor exercise, try rebounding.”

What exercises can you do on a rainy day? Some people like to go jog in the rain, the mud and the cold. They are the brave ones. Good for them.

I like to watch them from my window.

But seriously, that’s not my style.

What do I do instead? I found a great workout I can do inside on a rainy do (or when it’s too cold to go outside).

It’s rebounding, a way to exercise that is complete and has several health benefits.

I won’t talk about the so-called benefits of “cellular exercise.” Because of the up-and-down movement of rebounding, apparently the lymph gets moving and this helps to detoxify and slow-down aging.

For me, the real benefits of rebounding is that it’s something you can do inside on a rainy day. Plus, it can be a great cardio-endurance-toning workout if you know what to do with the rebounder.

So two tips for rebounding:

1. Get a good rebounder. Not those cheap ones at Walmart. Get something that will last and will give you a real bound. My rebounder is a NEEDAK that I got on E-bay.

2. Get a DVD workout for rebounder. Most people have no idea what to do with their rebounder. I had one for years and the only thing I was doing with it was to jump up and down once in a while, and it got boring. Since then, I got a great DVD which as several workouts, one which is 45 minute long and is great for many aspects of fitness. You can get it from www.urbanrebounding.com, a company that also sells rebounders. I haven’t tried them but they look great and for a great price too.

NOTE: If you’re not in the habit of exercising regularly, you might want to start with that first! Don’t think that a rebounder is going to be the magic solution that will get you in shape. You have to get in the habit first.