Frederic Patenaude Raw Foods Diet

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?

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!

Want more energy? Here are seven quick tips that can help improve your energy levels:

1. Go to bed earlier. The hours before midnight count for double! If you get 6 hours of sleep from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. you will be more rested than if you get 6 hours of sleep from 2 a.m. until 8 a.m.

Energy does not come from *exercise*. It comes from sleep. So get in the habit of going to bed earlier. That’s the easiest, most effective way to get more energy.

2- Avoid eating late at night. If you can, avoid eating anything a few hours before going to bed. Your sleep will be more restful and you will feel more refreshed in the morning.

3- Practice Yoga — Yoga, with all its healthy stretches and deep breathing, is one of the most effective ways to increase your energy on a day to day basis.

4-Consume Less Fat — Make sure your fat consumption is low enough. Eating too much fat will leave you tired. Aim at 20% fat maximum per calories. Closer to 10% is better.

5-Consume Enough Calories — A lot of people don’t have enough energy simply because they don’t eat enough. If you’re an active man, you probably need about 2500 calories or more. If you’re an active woman, it’s probably around 2000. That’s like eating 20 to 25 bananas each day. So make sure you eat enough. If you have any doubt, go to www.fitday.com and check it over a few days.

6- Write it Down — Keeping too many things in your head will drain your energy. You’re constantly wondering what you may have forgotten, what you need to do but you’re not sure what it is… Get in the habit of writing everything down. I keep a notebook in my wallet at all time and couldn’t live without it. I plan all of my weeks in advance and I plan my day ahead of time. It’s the only way to stay sane in this modern world.

7- Try Energy Medicine — Diet is an important factor in health, but it’s maybe 10 or 20% at the most. Your emotions are an even bigger factors. One great way to keep energy moving in your body is to use some form of energy therapies, such as energy medicine or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique).

There’s of course a lot more things you can do to increase your energy. But these tips are some of the most effective ones I have found.