Source: http://www.bornfitness.com/lost-motivation/

Imagine if you walked into school on the first day of kindergarten and your teacher handed you an exam for calculus. Or maybe even algebra. What would happen? You’d fail, obviously.

The same thing happens with diet and exercise. You walk into a trap. One that is designed for most people to start and stop with limited success, regardless of the plan. Instead of receiving a foundation built to help you accept your lifestyle changes, you focus on “best exercises” and “superfoods.” Sounds great, but that’s not enough for most.

In working with clients on every goal from fat loss to muscle gain, one of the most common weaknesses has become too loud to ignore. The situation plays out like this:

Step 1: You start a plan, feel excited, and dive in with extreme compliance.

Step 2: Eventually (usually around the 4-week mark), you’ve suddenly lost motivation, almost as if it was sucked from your body. Going to the gym is harder. Eating healthy is stressful. And eventually, you quit. Or you don’t exercise as hard. You make more exceptions in your diet.

Unlike most diet books, I’m not going to clear you of blame, suggest that you need to buy a supplement, or recommend “one change that will fix everything.”

Sometimes the problem is the plan itself, whether a faulty 4-week fix or a diet plan not designed for your body.

The bigger issue is you’re missing a basic conce…

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/03/30/savory-oatmeal-recipe/

This hearty and satisfying savory oatmeal recipe is sure to become your new favorite breakfast – and maybe even lunch and dinner, too. Thank you to McCann’s Irish Oatmeal® for sponsoring this post!

Oatmeal is one of my absolute favorite breakfasts (and, let’s be honest, dinner on occasion), but lately I’ve been wanting to mix it up from the usual sweet oatmeal. Enter: savory oatmeal.

<img src="http://www.fannetasticfood.c…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/30/472147018/peking-ravioli-and-other-chinese-dishes-youll-only-find-in-boston?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

These shrimp “Peking ravioli” (aka dumplings) were featured at the third annual Festival of Dumplings in 2014 — honoring Bostonian and celebrity chef Joyce Chen.

Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Chinese food has become ingrained in this country’s culinary landscape over the years — giving rise to some uniquely Americanized dishes like General Tsao’s chicken, beef and broccoli, and of course, the ubiquitous fortune cookie.

But some of the Chinese food you’ll find in and around Boston is something else altogether. Bread often comes as a standard add-on with any takeout order. There’s chow mein sandwiches and Peking ravioli (aka dumplings). There’s the thick, dark lobster sauce.

Over at WBUR, Merry White, a professor of anthropology at Boston University, and Stephen Chen, the owner of Joyce Chen Foods and son of celebrity chef and Boston restaurateur Joyce Chen, discussed the fascinating history of the city’s own spin on Chinese food.

The first thing to know is that Chinese food in Boston is heavily influenced by not just Chinese immigration to the city, but also the large Italian and Irish immigrant population there.

<img src="https://media.npr…

Source: http://clubindustry.com/blog/my-favorite-things-2016-ihrsa-show

This year’s IHRSA International Convention and Trade Show offered a lot of networking time, four keynotes, an exhibit hall with 380 vendors and education sessions on a variety of topics. Even though my favorite thing involves the people, I also had plenty of booth visits to see new products.

Behind the Scenes

read more

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Source: http://greatist.com/move/stretching-exercises-how-to-test-your-flexibility?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Most workouts involve a mix of strength and cardio. Maybe you do a dynamic warm-up, then a total-body workout or a quick HIIT routine, and possibly a quick cool-down. Sounds nearly perfect, but here’s the thing. There are three basic components to physical fitness: strength conditioning, aerobic exercise, and flexibility. You might be working on the first two, but chances are you’re not giving that last one enough attention.

The Need-to-Know

Flexibility is obviously important for some people (looking at you, Misty Copeland and super-bendy yogis), but what benefits does flexibility have for the average person?

“Flexibility leads to a reduction in injury as well as increased performance,” says Karena Wu, physical therapist and clinical director of ActiveCare Physical Therapy in New York City. When you gain flexibility, “your speed might be better when it comes to sports, and strength and endurance will be the best they can be,” Wu says.

But it’s tough to develop flexibility—especially when you’re stuck at a desk all day. “Even if you work out every day, but there’s only a three-minute stretch at the end [of your class], that’s not enough,” says Jackie Dragone, barre director for Flex Studios in New York City. Plus, age is working against you. “You lose water content throughout the body [as you get older], and if you sit all day, the muscles will shorten up,” Wu says. Tight hamstrings and hips, anyone?

Luckily ther…

Source: http://refineryfitnesspdx.com/have-you-tried-collagen-protein-you-should/

Good Afternoon and Happy Monday!

I hope you have enjoyed this glorious sunny day here in Portland today.

Today I want to talk about my newest obsession, Collagen Protein!  Oh my goodness, I love this stuff and want you to try it too.

Collagen Protein is  the second-most common substance found in the human body, with the first being water. Collagen protein provides the basis for strong connective tissues and healthy skin, and is a building block for all the body’s systems.

Unfortunately, as we age, collagen breaks down, causing thinner, less elastic skin, weaker connective tissues, wrinkles, and other signs of aging.  Boo! But by supplementing with collagen protein you can  help restore the collagen supply and allow the body to repair itself.

Collagen Protein also helps:

Boost Metabolism
Improves Skin Tone and gives you a nice glow!
Improves SLEEP– deeper and more restful
Helps relieve joint pain
Improves mobility and flexibility
Helps with weight loss- great source of protein that fills you up!

The best part is that you can simply add one tablespoon of collagen protein to your morning cup of coffee or tea. You can’t taste it and it provides you with 7 grams of protein in that one little cup of tea.  Bam!  A great way to start the day.

I use and recommend Dr. Axe’s Collagen Protein but there are other great brands out there as well.

Give this a …

Source: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2016/03/28/camp-nerd-fitness-2016-heres-how-to-book-your-spot/

“Camp was a long weekend where I could be comfortable being myself, meeting others, and learning new things, in a way that I have never experienced outside of Camp.”

“I was most surprised by how comfortable I felt at Camp – after the initial shock of being there, it felt like home, and people whose faces I had never seen before felt like friends.”

“This community is the most supportive, empowering, and non-judgmental group I’ve ever been a part of.”

– 3 campers, Camp Nerd Fitness 2015

FINALLY!

It’s time to officially pull back the curtains on my favorite five days of the year: Camp Nerd Fitness 2016 THIS September 21-25.

For the past two years, hundreds of Nerd Fitness Rebels have descended upon the gorgeous mountains of Georgia for an epic long weekend of fun, fitness, video games, costume parties, and everything in between.

It’s our own private Hogwarts, complete with Headmasters, costumes, and a questing system woven throughout the entire experience.

I know I’m not alone in saying every year this is a life-changing event. I’ve left each event the past two years a complete mess: my sides are sore from laughing, my mouth actually hurts from smiling so much, and my hand is sore from all the high fives. And yet it leaves me energ…

Source: http://www.theminimalists.com/p015/

By Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus · Follow: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

In this episode of The Minimalists Podcast, Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus discuss the perils of consumerism, and they answer the following questions:

How do you ensure the clothing you buy was created responsibly?
Where do you draw the line between spending more money for higher quality goods and getting sucked into consumerism?
How can you be a fandom collector and still be a minimalist?
How do you shop responsibly at warehouse club stores?

Stream

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Mentioned in This Episode

Article: Happy, Smart, and Useful
Book: Essential
Book: Everything That Remains
Book: Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life
Essay: Let’s Play a Minimalism Game
Essay: Start Here
Event: How to Write Better
Event: Tuesdays with The Minimalists
Meetup: Minimalist.org
Recommendation: Juicer
Recommendation: Racing Extinction
Recommendation: Stuffocation
Website: Buy It Once
Website: Patagonia
Website: Ultimate Success Formula
Tour: Minimalism Documentary

This episode was produced by Shawn Harding. Our theme music was written and performed by Peter Doran. Our podcasts are completely free, so if you found value in this …

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/7VkIWOOBBDw/

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” ~Les Brown

Fear used to be the driving force in my life.

I didn’t even know that I was living in fear at the time. I hid behind labels like “stress” and “anxiety,” but those are just clinical terms for fear.

Truthfully, my dreams terrified me because they seemed way too big to achieve. At the time, I wanted to excel in my new career, get into the best shape of my life, and create meaningful relationships—and I felt like I had a long way to go.

So naturally, I got really stressed out.

And why, oh why, did it feel okay?

It seems like stress is such commonplace now that we think we’re slackers if we don’t feel tense all the time. But that’s just our fear finding excuses to stick around.

Once I finally realized that stress was just an option, I started looking for a way through it. And I found the answers in a simple Japanese philosophy called Kaizen, which is the practice of continuous improvement through small, consistent steps.

I learned that whenever we’re scared about making change it’s because the steps we’re taking are too big, and these leaps of faith will trigger a life-saving biological response: fear.

But luckily, there’…

Source: http://greatist.com/move/exercise-moves-how-to-do-the-perfect-push-up-burpee-and-more?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

If you’ve ever been in a workout class and felt lost as the instructor shouts, “Burpee! Plank! Kettlebell swing!”—we understand. While those moves may not look all that difficult, each requires a little extra attention and know-how. That’s where we come in. Below are step-by-step guides on how to perform 8 classic exercises with perfect form, so you know where to feel it and what muscles you’ll be strengthening.

…