Today's Motivation

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Protein Bar

• 2 cups Uncooked Old Fashioned/Quick Oats
• 1/2 cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 4 Scoops Protein Powder 
• 4 tbls Milled Flax Seed
• 1/2 cup water

I warmed up my PB in the microwave for a few seconds to get it loose but other than that just combine everything in a bowl and mix well. Then press it into a baking pan or other square dish and put in the fridge or freezer for about a half hour. You can put a little water on your fingers before pressing so it doesn’t stick to you. Take the pan out of the freezer, cut the mixture into 8 or more bars, and wrap each individually or put in snack bags. Done!

This recipe makes about 8 bars

192 Cal | 16g Carbs| 8g Fat| 15g Protein| 3g Fiber

Found here!

The Need for Positivity

“Positive attitude is very important as it will make our life easier. In life, not everything goes as smoothly as we want it to be. There will be times when we will face problems and obstacles. The most challenging part is not when our life goes smoothly but how we react when we experience problems and difficulties.”

So how do we go about increasing the positivity in our lives?

Remove all negative influences

• Steer away from people who promote negativity or bring it into your life. Life is to short to not enjoy it.

Replace Negative thoughts with positive ones

• The mind can only hold one thought at a time. If you replace a negative one with a positive one there is literally no space in your mind for negativity. 
• In fact, imagine that you are already the positive happy person you wish to be. After all your thoughts create the life you lead.

Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

• Your thoughts and actions attract like thoughts and actions so make sure your are proactive about living a positive life. 
• Keep a positive quote or photo in your wallet or on your phone for a quick pick me up. 
• Surround yourself with people you love and respect and who love and respect you. You deserve it after all!

Acknowledge that things won’t always go right

• Acknowledge this, accept it and move on. Things happen that are out of our control. If it won’t matter in five years or we can’t influence the outcome then don’t let it upset you.

Smile

• It’s contagious!

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References:

http://EzineArticles.com/452600

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Positive

Stop the Body Hate!

A lot of my friends compete in the various levels of body building and the muscle hate I'm aware of is just insane. A woman's body can be womanly when thin, tall, curvy, with muscle, short, wide or narrow. Judgement and negativity really needs to be stopped. I love the look of muscles and I also love the look of feminine toned curves too. Just because something is not aesthetically pleasing to one person doesn't mean it won't be to someone else. The article from Tara at Sweat Like a Pig Blog below really sums up how I feel about the issues. All woman are beautiful no matter what and acceptance and love of all woman in all forms really needs to be encouraged. 

Just in the same way that women and men are expected to train differently, there is a clear differential between the sexes when it comes to what is acceptable for each to look like. A few days ago a friend of mine posted the picture below on Facebook. Although she is gorgeous the way she is, my friend captioned the picture by stating that the girl in the photograph is who she wants to look like.

It did not take long for the negative comments to roll in. The comments were along the lines of: she looks like a man, she has no curves, why would you want to have visible muscle, etc. What irked me the most was one comment which said the world is too fake if women are expected to have a six pack.

To me, she looked beautiful, womanly and sexy. I commented a couple of times before leaving it. I wasn’t wasting my time fighting an internet war with people I didn’t even know. But I see situations like this all the time, where people are so quick to judge without knowing the facts – and they still don’t listen when you offer a rational explanation.

To compete in a bodybuilding contest is physically and mentally exhausting, not to mention the constant criticism women face for doing so. Do people really think that women are doing it to fit into some mould of society?

I believe competing is a completely personal experience, and something that you do purely for yourself. The drive and dedication comes from within. I do not know a single competitor who hasn’t faced a negative response from a family member or friend. I haven’t even competed and I deal with these kinds of comments frequently.

Why is society so quick to tell a woman what she should and should not look like? 

Why is it okay for someone to immediately dismiss a woman’s goals as a bad idea, when you would never say the same thing to a man? Why are women tormented for being too fat, too muscular, too soft or too manly? Do I call men feminine if they have less muscle than me? No. Shouldn’t a woman be allowed to desire whatever body she damn well feels like?

As for the frequent suggestion that a woman is acting like a man if she lifts weights – why is resistance training such a gendered activity? I never feel more confident, strong or indeed more womanly than when I’m in the gym. I really do wonder if all the negative criticism from men stems from the fact that they are terrified of women being stronger or more muscular than them. The bashing is not only coming from men, but women too.

My biggest role model for positive body image is Dana Linn Bailey. As one of the most prominent female physique competitors, she cops a lot of flak for her body. Whenever she posts a photo on her facebook, about a third of the hundreds of comments she receives are incredibly rude and negative about her appearance (as an aside: WHY do so many people hate-follow people on Facebook, blogs, etc?!).

When I first saw a picture of Dana, I admit I thought she had more muscle than I would like to have. But I began following her and watching her videos, and she’s now one of my favourite competitors. I think she’s incredibly hot – she is proud of her own body, and she should be! I admire her so much because her training method is incredibly hardcore, and she doesn’t take shit from anyone. She’s not going to crawl up in a ball crying and miss her training session because someone said she looks like a “gross dude on steroids”.  She will hit it harder and show these idiots that it doesn’t matter what they say.

There is too much female body hatred in the world. Ladies need to stick together and support each other whatever their body shape may be. Please, let’s take the focus off body fat and focus on becoming as strong as possible. Embrace the body you were given and work to become the best version of you possible. Ignore what other people say and do it for yourself!

How can you say this woman:

Is more beautiful or feminine than this woman:

Or this woman is more beautiful or feminine than this woman: 

They are all beautiful woman and show that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. 

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Article can be found here. 

Today's Motivation

Coffee - good or bad?

Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world.  Theres no wonder a search on PubMed will give you almost 9000 research papers on it.  Not only is there a lot of research on coffee, there is a lot of bad research.  It’s actually one of the most misunderstood foods when it comes to deciphering whether it is healthy or un healthy for you.  There is research for and against coffee and tons of experts on one side of the argument or the other. When looking at whether coffee is good for you or not, you really have to take into account what form of coffee you are drinking.

What are the Pros of Drinking Coffee

• Coffee contains antioxidants
• Coffee contains polyphenols that are heart protective
• Coffee helps induce phase I and Phase II detoxification to help the body clean itself.
• Adding organic heavy cream is a healthy source of good saturated fats including CLA which help with optimal metabolism and hormonal function and support a lean body composition.
• Caffeine can increase mental clarity, focus, athletic performance, strength, and fat burning.

What are the Cons of Drinking Coffee

• Caffeine can cause elevated heart rate and increased blood pressure.
• Unfiltered coffee contains chemicals in the oil portion that increase LDL cholesterol.
• Bleached coffee filters can contain chlorine and other toxic chemicals.
• Non-Organic coffee is one of the most sprayed crops and contains lots of pesticides and herbicides that are toxic to the liver, nervous system and increase other health risk.
• Most coffee is made in plastic machines that when heated can release toxic chemicals into the water including BPA and other harmful plasticizers.  Coffee cups and thermoses have the same risk.  Just because a plastic is BPA free does not mean it does not leach other plastics.  Heating plastic of any kind is never a good idea.
• Most Coffee containing beverages are full of high sugar or artificial sweeteners that increase insulin, and negate any health benefits of coffee.
• Using low fat dairy products in skinny and fat free coffee products results in an increase in glycemic effect which leads to fat gain and diabetes.  Low fat dairy also is a major component for increasing the risk of colon cancer.

Overall, coffee consumption is a personal choice. If you want coffee to be healthy, you have to source it, brew it, and drink it properly. Avoid additives like milk and syrups and opt of black, organic coffee. 


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See full article here 

Today's Motivation