The Six Essentials are important in life. They are: What you eat? What you drink? How you exercise? How you rest? What you breathe? What you drink? What you eat:
This should consist of 75% vegetables and everything else 25%. Why? To keep your body alkalized. What does that mean? It means that it keeps your body in a natural state, preventing your body from becoming acidic. What does it mean when your body becomes acidic? It means that weight problems may arise such as obesity and or diabetes (this happens when your body is super sensitive to insulin). Therefore, when your body is insulin sensitive, it opens the doors for every calorie you eat to turn into fat. Keeping your body alkalized will not only help keep your body low in fat, but it contributes to healthy body weight, lowering any risks from diseases like heart disease or cancer.
What you drink:
I’m guilty of this —> drinking pre-workout drinks before strength training. But as I write this article in this blog, I finally learned my lesson. Obviously, I have to practice what I preach. And guess what? I’ve worked out plenty of times without pre-workout, & guess what? I did fine. So, what you drink matters a lot. Avoid stimulants such as alcohol (only drink on special occasions, not on a daily basis). Avoid energy drinks (drink green tea, or oolong tea, or mud-water, or beet juice —-> all those give you natural energy without the jittery stimulant feeling). Avoid coffee. Yes!! You heard me, ladies and gentlemen. Coffee is an ultra stimulant. Yes, okay, drink it occasionally, but please don’t get hooked on it that you can’t live without it. What does coffee do to the body? Makes you jittery, makes you thirsty, gives you bad breath (yuck!), and as it takes the hunger away during the morning, which is the time when the body needs the most important macronutrients in order for your body to stay alkalized, this is why people who drink coffee can’t kick those pounds off their bodies. Why? Because while the stimulant effect of coffee takes away your hunger, you’re actually starving yourself. So when the body is in starvation mode, any food that you put in your body will be stored as fat. Bam. So what should you drink? Pure water (and naturally made or pressed vegetable and fruit juices). However, H2o is the most important one of them all.
How you exercise:
Now, I know how exercising can be such a drag sometimes, right? Especially for those with full-time jobs. Well, that’s when you need to exercise 3 or more times a week if not more. Allowing your career to keep you from working out slows down your metabolism, and as we get older, we’re more prone to injuries because our joints, without working out, will stiffen up. What happens with your body stiffens up? It just means that your body isn’t strong enough to protect your joints from injury. Another reason why you should exercise is to speed up your metabolism. When your metabolism is stimulated by exercise, not only do you control your weight, but if you eat right, you’ll burn fat, and your body will get tight (that toned look is always nice looking, right?). Plus, exercises that induces sweat, detoxifies your body from impurities (remember that impurities can cause the body to become acidic – that is why you need to combine your exercise with appropriate alkalized eating habits). And now with covid-19 and all of us being at the mercy of this aggressive virus, exercising is sooooooo important nowadays, because working out strengthens your immune system. Now, don’t get me wrong. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get vaccinated. This virus is so aggressive, that it will get anyone (possibly even those that work out). Yet working out, exercising, is almost like the vaccine (it is a layer of protection).
How you rest:
Sleep helps us recharge ourselves by giving us the ability to heal. It helps us recover from our workouts so that our workouts take effect and become more functional to what we want our workouts to do for us (whether your goal is losing fat, building strength, defeating stress, building flexibility, or simply just resting to focus the following day). Resting also relieves inflammation of the body. When we lose sleep, our bodies over-develop cortisol levels. Cortisol isn’t bad, it’s actually good for us. However, too much cortisol causes weight gain (mostly in the mid-section and upper back), your face gets full, acne starts appearing, you get headaches, irritability, slowed healing, difficulty concentrating, and the list can go on. These are signs of internal inflammation. Therefore, skip the heavy meals and stimulants before you go to sleep.
What you breathe:
Of course, clean air is better smog and whatnot. Sometimes we can’t get away from the city’s vehicle exhaustion, plus other chemicals in the air. We end up inhaling this. The way you can get quality oxygen into your body is through exercise, meditation, and learning how to breathe when you work out. Those who I train personally or who have taken my classes, understand that breathing while you exercise is crucial. Remember, “Inhale through your nose when you move one way, exhale through your mouth when you move the other. My tip is to exhale in the resistance.” Been saying those breathing queues for more than 25 years. The reason for this is because the lungs need that oxygen to feed the muscle when you’re working out. The lungs is like an actual muscle. The more you use your breathing techniques, the stronger they get. When your lungs are strong you have a chance of building that threshold from high-intensity exercise. Also, once again, this virus covid-19 attacks the lungs, am I correct? So if your lungs are purified and you use them properly, then your own lungs can save your life. Pay attention to your breathing (use those lungs —> when you breathe in or inhale through your nose, your lungs should expand abducting them from your spine, and when you breath out or exhale your lungs should shrink back towards your spine. Also, try to go enjoy nature where there are lots of trees. Plus, the more you breathe properly and inhale clean air, the more your brain will appreciate your efforts. Aaaaaa, the brain is a totally different article.
What you think:
To me this one is the most important one to really pay attention to. Remember that when you think negative, then negative things happen in your life. What you think or feel manifests the person you become. The brain is smart but stupid. How? If you tell your brain that you can’t, then you won’t. But if you tell your brain that you can, then your WILL will find a way. What you think, you attract. What you think, takes into effect. The way to improve your thought process into positive thinking is to replace negative thinking with positive imagery in your mind. Another way to improve your thinking positively is by saying positive affirmations every day. I’ve been doing it for 20 years, and oh boy, they sure shape the person you are. Positive thinking motivates you to make life changes whether it’s choosing a new career, joining a body transformation program, or simply live in peace. The term “you are what you think” is literally true. So think great things for yourself, think in beautiful pictures, and repeat positive affirmations to yourself every day!
Author: Personal Trainer RocioPonce.com (c) 2021
