From Dr. John Berardi’s Gourmet Nutrition book

1) Eat every 2-3 hours
2) Eat lean, complete protein with each meal
3) Eat veggies with each meal
4) Eat “other” carbs only during and after exercise
5) Eat a balanced fat profile containing 1/3 of each type of fat
6) Ditch the calorie-containing drinks
7) Use whole foods as your primary source of nutrition Have 10% foods
9) Develop food preparation strategies
10) Balance daily food choices with healthy variety

“If you’ve never had a messy kitchen, you’ve probably never had a home-cooked meal.”–Rabbi Irwin Kula.

Real life is inherently messy, and yet we live in a society obsessed with cleanliness and tidiness.  This is in-spite of the fact that the research suggests that those who are more successful, more intelligent, and better parents are by nature more messy, have more clutter in their closets, and more papers strewn on their desks.

I don’t mean “hobo” messy, but I do mean SEEMINGLY disorganized.  Think of Einstein.  For that matter, think of ANY Genius of renown.     The above picture is of Francis Bacon’s Studio.  He is without doubt one of the greatest Painters of the 20th Century and his place of creation is anything but tidy.

Part of what it means to be healthy, is accepting life as it is.  Try to Control ONLY those things that are controllable, no more.  Any attempt to do so will only lead to failure, and failure causes undue stress.  Stress causes Cancer, Heart Disease, and a whole myriad of other problems.

So get in the kitchen, make a mess, and have a good meal.  Your heart and mind will thank you.

Check out this video of a morning training session for Sumo at a training Stable in Tokyo.

Apparently, there’s a new Fitness DVD on the market … A sumo fitness DVD. Now, I love Sumo. And I’m a Fitness Trainer. So, the idea certainly peeks my interest. Here’s the article from the Gaurdian.

If I can find a copy in English, I’ll buy it. I’ve always felt that Sumo is a far underrated Sport in the west. And the modern training techniques are far underrated in Sumo.

I think the marraige of Western Weightlifting, modern sports science, and traditional Sumo technique would make for a tremendous Sumo Wrestler. It would be interesting to see their take on using traditional Sumo to help the average person gain a fitness edge.

“For their size, many wrestlers have a low fat ratio. They’re professional athletes, after all,” said Hideki Yazaki, of the Japan Sumo Association, and added that the exercises are “fun, so we hope parents can get kids to do them instead of playing computer games all day.”

Amen Brother. Amen.

The first was earlier in 2006.  The Second was recent … revenge.

Then …

Man, I love this stuff.

I’m convinced that going through an extreme period of fat loss causes cellular changes that make it easier to get lean with each subsequent diet. I think of this as the body’s “fat loss memory.” So, I make sure that every two years my body gets reminded of its ability to drop fat successfully by dieting down really low. That way, in the future, I’ll always be able to successfully manipulate my body composition without the typical complaint: “It’s just harder to get lean as you get older.” It doesn’t have to be that way!-Dr. John Berardi

Remember — it doesn’t matter what you eat or how you exercise between Christmas and New Years. It matters how you eat and exercise between New Year’s and Christmas !–Alwyn Cosgrove

Holiday Diet Tip:

On Christmas Day … eat ANYTHING you want.  Really.

Then, when the 26th comes, get back on the horse.  I am a big believer in one day a week of cheating … just let Christmas day be that day.

So long as you are good about your diet durring the week lead up, and the week after … you’re golden.

Dieting isn’t supposed to replace your life, but rather, help you structure it for the better.

Merry Christmas,

enjoy.