26: Second Project: Clear the Weekend!

1: Take a Day Off Work
2: You can Live in Two Realities: Always Behind or Always Ahead
3: Work out your Catchup Chores
4: Things for you to do

1: Take a Day Off Work

Today is Friday the 1st November 2019 and I have taken the day off work.
The reason being is that I have seen something important in creating this blog:

"I am always Chasing My Tail
and I will never get ahead unless I take action now!"

Does this sound familiar?

For my Second Google Spreadsheet Project I decided to list down all the things I needed to do at the weekend, estimate the time required, and map out how I would do everything..
It is a normal weekend BUT to my amazement, I have over 13 hours of things I need to do BEFORE I can get onto the things I also NEED to do!

I was going into the weekend thinking I had 4 or 5 hours of chores but it's a lot more.
In reality I would not get everything I need doing done. Instead, on Sunday night I would be wondering where the weekend went and wondering why I still have lots to do. This sets up the 'Chase your Tail Time Zone" or what I have called "Always Behind".

2: You can Live in Two Realities: Always Behind or Always Ahead

When I think of all the things I have to do it is overwhelming!
No wonder people like watching sport, drinking, biking, or anything else that gives you an excuse to get away from the things you know need to be done, but you feel too "fed up with it all" to look at.

Where as if I was living in the 'Always Ahead' reality, I would have to be forward planning and do things systematically and technically before they were due.

I want to live in the "Always Ahead Reality" which will require me to reorganise a few days, drop a few things, plan, and get ahead. Then develop a plan to always keep me ahead. This is where the Google Sheets are going to be invaluable.

3: Work out your Catchup Chores

This is the list that shocked me into reality.

4: Thing for you to do

1. Start using the Google Spreadsheet and create a 'Get Ahead Sheet'
2. Make a list of all the things you need to do
3. Give each item an estimated time in minutes
4. Sum it up and see what it looks like
5. Get stuck in and clear it

You want to get into the Reality of 'Being Ahead"

5: Monday 4:30 am. 

I didn't manage to get everything done because of unscheduled events. Friends, competitions, and the realities of life... but I did get a lot done and there are only a few small things left. I am pleased with the result. I am going to keep at it and by next weekend I should be living in the world of being ahead. One particular chore was time consuming and I haden't allocated enough time to. That was clearing a mouse out of the kitchen cupboards. Plus I entered a Karaoki competition and got into the finals. And then two parties and a few friends over. I am actually happy with what I did manage to achieve.

Here are some things that helped:

1. At the parties, i did drink alcohol for a couple of hours, but then I switched to water. Lots of water.

2. I didn't watch TV

3. Pre plan wholesome meals with as near zero sugar as possible

4. Cook a base on Friday night that meant weekend meals were 3/4 done

5. Review the list and keep working at it.

Pre planning this particular activity and having a list is absolutely the way to stay focused and get things done. It made me very happy to see that I had done so much.

An improvement to effective planning and action is to do shopping early.

6: Today's Plan

Well it's just turned 5:00 am.

Time to get up, drink water, dress, get to gym.

I need to add to the list a few things and I can see this is an ongoing process. What is going to happen is the list is going to get smaller and fresher. Stick with it. I can see the benefits.

Update: 5 March 2021

Just read this. Although the exercise was good, I didn't manage to stick with this level of planning. I know it would work and does work.

Second Update 31 May 2021 :3:30 am

Well I am still chasing things that need to be done. I/we do actually do a lot. A big difference is work. When you work from home it is both good and bad. Work and home mix tends to be affected by discipline. I have evolved to working around the house for 2 hrs a day. Exercise is also 2 hrs a day. Then the rest of the time is work.

25: First Project: Meal Planning and Shopping

I just SAVED 15 Days a Year!

It took me almost 10 hours to create a spreadsheet with my household meal plan.
All I can say is "How on Earth did I ever manage without it? It is fantastic!"

1. I worked out all the nutrients required to build muscle and create a good strong body and mind
2. I plotted 4 weeks on a spreadsheet
3. Planned the ingredient of each meal into it
4. Went online and looked up a local supermarket's order web site
5. Located items
6. Saved 'Favourites'
7. Set up an account

And now....

1. Never have to go to a supermarket again! 
1. Save 3 hours a week 
2. Fuel 
3. Vehicle Maintenance
4. Reduce my carbon footprint)
5. Reduce stress
6. Never run out
2. Always have the ingredients required
3. Save on cost of food by seeing and ordering specials
4. Reduce food wastage
5. Ensure nutritious fresh foods
6. Did I mention saving approximately 3 * 52 hours = 156 hours = 15 * 10 hour days a year!

The Nutritional Plan

The nutritional plan I have created is brilliant!
It's mainly low GI and GL veggies with a small amount of meat and fish.
Every ingredient is listed and I can easily order from it.

Create Your Own Meal Plan

I will create a video to show you how I built this meal plan.
Or contact me and I can help you.

24. Why Master Time?

1: The Daily Reality of Time Usage
2: Interesting Facts About Your Daily Time
3: Get Time Back!
4: Quick Stock Take On My Personal Blog Project
5: The Art of Time Management, Project Management
6: Learn how to Setup and Use a Google Spreadsheet

1: The Daily Reality of Time Usage

Do you feel there isn't enough time in the day?

Is time seeming to speed up?
To understand what is happening you need to analyse what you do with your time.

There are 24 hours in a day and you use time as follows:

• 8 for sleep
• 9 for work
• 2 for meals and getting ready
• 1 for travel and tasks and 
• 1 for conversations. 

This leaves you with only 3 hours (180 minutes) a day of free time.

2: Interesting Facts About Your Daily Time

Based upon the above situation:

• Every 18 minutes you waste represents 10% of your daily free time. 
• Watching one 60 minute episode of Coro Street represents 33% of your free time 
• A 120 minute long film represents 66% of the free time in a day. 

Time is just like money, unless you keep track of it, you can lose it.
Time may be disappearing for you because it's slowly being caught up in work, tasks, and entertainment.
It is important to take stock and see if you can claim back some of the time that is disappearing.

3: Get Time Back!

If you can save time, you will get time back!

Comforting Thoughts: If you can save:

• 1 hour a day, you have increased your free time by 33% & a whopping 7 hours a week!
• 2 hours a day = 66% and 60 hours a month!

In addition to managing your existing lifestyle, if you were going to live 300 years, then you would want to achieve development projects that:

• Kept you fit and looking good
• Educated you
• Established wealth and renewable income
• Involved you in Travel
• Created a lovely Home and Living Style
• Grew Family and Friends
• Kept you Mentally Active

So using time effectively is a very important part of the process.

4: Quick Stock Take On My Personal Blog Project

Well I have personally been following my own advice and I am now:

1. Eating better
2. Exercising
3. Planning every day
4. Taking B Complex + Omega 3 Fish Oil + Magnesium + CO-Q10
5. Drinking about 1.5 liters of mineral water per day
6. Writing an average of 2 blogs a day

And it's only been 8 days into the project. People chuckle when I tell them the title of this blog but then they seem to cotton on to the idea. "If I looked after myself better, would I live longer?".

300 is a stretch but I would be happy with say ten extra years of health as opposed to 10 years of the alternative. So what does it take and how far can you take it?

5: The Art of Time Management, Project Management

Okay so I have made my calendar, put it on my phone, and I now know the rules of my day.

The next step is to review my projects, of which I have several. They have been difficult to conclude because... well... you just run out of something. I won't pause to think too much here. If you have engaged in a big project, you may know that there is a wall you hit and for many of us, we don't get over it.

However; I know how to resolve this and to do so, I am going to use a Google Spreadsheet.

To help you learn the process I am going to build a project sheet for this Blog from scratch and show you the concepts and methods I use to keep projects, and other parts of my life, in order.

6: Learn how to Setup and Use a Google Spreadsheet

This video covers the basics. If you haven't already watched it, please do and setup your own Google Sheets as a lot of what I will be doing in future will be using them extensively.

23. Working out you Best Time Usage Strategy

Working out you Best Time Usage Strategy

1: How to Find 63 hours of Free Time a Week
2: What to Do
3: Making a Project List

4: Setup Google Accounts on your Smartphone

1: How to Find 63 hours of Free Time a Week

Time is important, you only get so much of it. You may prefer to take it easy and just enjoy watching the Tv or playing sport. Then you probably have no need to master time or even find free time. However if you are a student or you have a project or two you want to complete then mastering the use of time is essential.
With a proper time plan you are going to feel more comfortable and less stressed.

By using Google Calendar you can work out the best structure of how to manage your time.

Here is an extreme example where the free time equals 63 hours and is highlighted in the red-orange colour.

The plan includes/per week:

1. Free time: 63 hours
2. Sleep: 46 hours (avg 6.5 Hrs per day)
3. Gym: 5 hours (avg 1 hr Monday to Friday
4. Work: 46.25 hours
5. Dinner: 5 hours (excludes weekends)
6. Chores: 6 hours

The objective of the plan is to provide the maximum amount of free time to get study or special projects done. It relies upon the following factors:

• When you wake up, get up. Don't delay
• Prepare everything before you go to bed
• Go to sleep, Sunday to Thursday at 11:30 pm and wake up at 6:00 am 
• Only 6.5 hours bedtime so get to sleep as quickly as possible
• Find a gym close to work/study so you can leave early in the morning, miss traffic, exercise, shower, and make a short trip to work
• Prepare all meals beforehand
• Process a "Sunday List" on Sunday morning as soon as you wake up
• If you are going to socialise, keep it to a 1 to 2 hour event and factor it all in to your plan
• Don't let events or people hijack your plan. Once you have completed your project you can enjoy some well earned free time

Now this is an extreme plan. It's the one I use to get this blog completed. I just stick to it like clockwork and never deviate. It is not easy but then I won't be doing it forever and it will help me achieve my goals.

I accept that 7 hours of my free time a week may be spent helping other people so I effectively get 56 hours of free time. It's just a factor to consider. Each week I still manage to make all the meals, keep the house tidy, workout, do my work, and have social time.

2: How to Create Your Own Plan

Set up a special Google account and using the free Calendar, build your time management plan.

See "Organisation Tools From Google"

3: Making a Project List

By making a simple project list you can add entries to your diary.
But for real project work I use Google Spreadsheets.

Use the video tutorial below to learn how to use Google Sheets. This is the entry level requirement to develop the Project Planning Lists.

4: Setup Google Accounts on your Smartphone

Setup the new Google Account on your smartphone:

Android: See www.androidcentral.com

Apple: See www.igeeksblog.com

22. Organisation Tools from Google

Organisation Tools from Google

Google resources are impressive and free. I use them to help me plan everything I do.
But I keep my personal planning in a separate email account than my actual email so that there is no confusion. I am using this account only to organised my life. I am not using it for any other purpose.

How To Setup A Google Planning Account

1: Create a separate Google Account for your planning and home management

Sign up for a new Google Account. Don't use your existing one unless you are happy with sharing your information with other people.

a) Right click on the link below and from the drop down box, select 'Open link in Incognito window"  https://accounts.google.com

b) Complete the signup process

Be sure to remember your user name and password and use your normal email address as a recovery one when asked to provide one.

c) When you select 'Next', you will be asked for your phone number. 

(1) Make sure to select the correct country 

(2) Just put your full phone number in.

d) Complete the signup process and you will arrive at this Welcome Dashboard:

We are interested in the free applications of:

Calendar:  For planning

Drive:        For spreadsheets and documents

e) Setup the new Google Account on your smartphone:

Android: See www.androidcentral.com

Apple: See www.igeeksblog.com

Using Calendar

This is just a quick tutorial on how to use Calendar. We use it to plan our time and events.

You can also merge 2 or more Google Calendars.

Make sure to add Google Calendar as a widget to your phone.

21: Supplements for Reducing Stress and Building Muscle

Supplements for Reducing Stress and Building Muscle

1: Reducing Stress and Fatigue
2: Stress Management
3: Energy
4: Building Muscle
5: Fish Oil

Supplementation is the fastest way to make sure you are getting all the essential and non essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids your body requires. An exceptional meal plan is still essential though.

1: Reducing Stress and Fatigue

Of all the things happening in your life Stress is the worst situation for longevity.

You want to get rid of it and for a quick fix you can try supplements as well as stress reducing activities:

2: Stress Management

• Supplement: Magnesium powder added to water
• Meditation
• Breathing
• Exercise

In the long run you want to get stress under control through other means.

3: Energy

So you are exercising a lot but running out of energy? These recommendations will fix that.

• Supplement: B Complex
• Supplement: CO-Q10
• Hydration with water
• Exercise
• Sleep

4: Building Muscle

Vegan Chickpea Protein fortified with Minerals, Vitamins and Aminos

Oh it's so tempting to just jump into supplements because I know I could use them to really get into shape. But no, I won't. Supplements are a real food and I am not denying their ability to make a difference, I have seen it. For this blog I will be going through several months of just eating clean as I want to see if good food supports the objectives of building muscle mass.

Many supplements have lots of sugar and I am aiming to transform my body and mind with just natural foods. That said I will be using a chick pea protein to fortify my smoothies. I want to make sure that my body and mind receive all the nutrients they need. However I won't be using 'Bulk Up' or 'Slim Down' or any other formulae designed to shape your body. No I will just be using a natural pea protein to increase this important nutrient and cover my macro nutrient base.

5: Fish Oil

Omega 3 are Essential Fatty Acids required for so many functions of the body. The best source is from deep sea wild fish which is molecularly distilled and mercury free.

Benefits include:

1. Heart health
2. Brain function
3. Joint health

20. Strategic Planning To Achieve Projects

Strategic Planning To Achieve Projects

1: How to Create Uninterruptible Time Zones
2: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
3: Look After Your Health
4: Finding the Time
5: Sleep is a Major Controler
6: Mistakes

As a human you are subject to so many distractions that it's almost impossible to get anything done. If you can't get things done it is going to impact you in many ways.

1. Health issues due to the stress of not progressing
2. Success limitations because you need to achieve tasks to succeed
3. Personal Development is hindered because you are locked into a frustrating interruptive routine

Distractions, there are so many. You know what I am talking about:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Messenger
• Emails
• Phone calls
• Accounts
• Food
• Children
• Adults
• Relationships
• Work
• TV
• Entertainment
• Friends
• Chores
• and exhaustion

How can you ever get anything done? When you are exposed to interruptions often, you tend to get depressed and give up on the project. Fear not, there is a solution. You just have to develop a strategy and work the strategy.

1: How to Create Uninterruptible Time Zones

To achieve anything you need to allocate the right amount of time but where can you find the time?
The strategy is to create a 'quiet Zone' for yourself on a regular basis. A zone where no one can get hold of you. A zone where nothing can interrupt you and then within that zone, work through a planned approach of achieving the goals you want..

This is a simple technique:

1. Learn how to use 'Google Spreadsheets' (there will be a tutorial on this)
2. Map out your project within a spreadsheet
3. Allocate estimated times required to achieve the result you are after Be generous
4. Total up the time required
5. Decide on when you want to complete the project
6. Divide the time required by the days available
7. This gives you the hours a day required
8. Place the times within the 'Google Diary' and operate a diary from now on
9. Place the diary on your phone
10. Review your diary each day and make sure to tell your friends about your quiet time zone
11. When the time comes, switch off your phone
12. Use the 'Google Spreadsheet' to maintain your plan. Adjust it if necessary and recalculate time required
13. Work the plan
14. Set a stopwatch and record your progress
15. Review your spreadsheet each night before you go to bed

2: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

People who have been exposed to life changing stress can end up with PTSD. (See WebMD).
Now PTSD is a diagnosis usually reserved for people who have witnessed or been involved in life threatening situations. I put forward the idea that people who have set targets to achieve, but who are constantly struggling to achieve them, have a very similar condition to PTSD.

The condition can cause you to be defocused, confused, upset, and even depressed. Your best treatment is to improve and establish:

1. Exercise
2. Nutrition
3. Sleep
4. Create Uninterruptible Time Zones
5. Create a plan
6. Work the plan

You can achieve your goals. You just have to be truly organised.

3: Look After Your Health

If you feel stressed, look at taking the following supplements:

1. Magnesium
2. Ashwagandha
3. B complex
4. COQ10
5. Mineral Water

This is also an excellent article with lots of great herbs and advice Care/of

4: Finding the Time

There are so many ways to create time. Here are a few:

1. Stop watching TV as much. Limit yourself of stop all together
2. Plan meals. Build multiple meals at the same time. Sometimes I will cook two or more dinners at a go
3. Set up a chores board so other people within your house and work are delegated tasks
4. Don't procrastinate
5. Get up. Don't just lie in bed
6. Stop watching youtube. Get to sleep sooner
7. Stop facebook for a while
8. Get as many things done in one journey as possible
9. Have a Sunday task list (see this blog)
10. Do ten organisational things before you go to bed
11. Don't drink alcohol or cut back
12. Plan
13. Ask people to help. But make sure they do help and not just do something one or two times and the forget it

Also, work out your best time to get things done.

5: Sleep is a Major Controler

If you get to sleep at 11:00 because you are watching TV, and you need 8 hours sleep, you are going to wake up at 7:00 am.

However if you go to bed at 9:00 pm, and wake up at 5:00 am, you have just created 2 hours where you could get your projects under way.

6: Mistakes

Sometimes people just ignore everything and put a whole lot of time into one dash. Then they have to catch up on what they have not done. Slow and steady wins the race.

Or the project can seen so overwhelming, you give in. Don't give in. Just create a plan, and work the plan. Once you tell your mind that you have everything planned, and that you are working the plan, a huge amount of stress will be lifted from you and you will feel a lot better.

19. Exercise Aches and Pains

Depending on how intense you are working out, you can end up with aches and pains. This is normal.
If you are building muscle and strength, until you get to a particular level, your muscles are growing through the process of being "destroyed'.When they get to the position you want, it's only a question of maintaining them.

How Big Should you Build Muscles?

If you are into big muscles then I guess there is no limit.
You will be limited to your genetics, dedication to nutrition, and your exercise plan.
However In the 'Theory of Living 300 Years we are only trying to get into a good condition that allows us to be without injury.

Solutions to Pains

• Get up and walk around. This tends to resolve the pains.
• Or go for a gentle bike ride.
• Make sure you are including a teaspoon of turmeric in your daily smoothie.
• Add more protein to your diet
• Soak in a bath of epsom salts
• Make sure to do a 5-10 minute walk after exercise.

It is normal to ache up to 24 hrs after exercise. If in pain, that's a different thing. You will need to stop exercising until the pain is gone and then return to exercise but take it easier. If consistent pain look closely at your exercise techniques. They could be wrong.

If pain persists, make sure to see your doctor or health professional. Don't leave it unaddressed.

18.Muscle Maintenance

Muscle Maintenance

1. The rules of Maintaining and Building Muscle
2. How Do You Lose Muscles? - Atrophy (ah-trfy)
3. The Good News if you are Out of Shape
4. When to use a Gym
5. Muscle Groups to Work Through
6. Technique One: Recovery Buildup
7. Technique Two: Drop Weight Exercises for Building Muscles
8. Rules of Gaining or Reducing Weight

Mother Nature gave you muscles that can adapt in size and strength based on what you require of them.
If you use them, they will grow as long as there are nutrients that will feed the growth process.
If you don't use them and or provide the nutrients they require, they will not grow.

1. The rules of Maintaining and Building Muscle

1. Nutrition and exercise are paramount to maintaining muscle mass
2. Of particular nutritional interest is hydration and protein
3. You do not need to get the protein from animal products
1. A cow eats vegetation and survives perfectly well on this. 
2. Vegetation has a lot of protein
3. The protein in vegetation is:
1. Alkaline and therefore more efficient
2. Alive
3. Assimilates better
4. Muscle structure is based on the use of the muscles:
1. If you work in a field lifting and walking all day then the muscles will likely be long and thin
2. If you lift weights for a few minutes a day, the muscles are likely to be short and fat
5. Muscle mass is grown by over exercising the muscles and creating micro tears in the muscle fibers.
   As these fibers repair, the scar tissue increases the size of the muscle
6. If you don't exercise a particular muscle, your body will absorb the muscle mass it no longer requires
7. Muscle energy is derived from mitochondria (little alien organic motors) that reside in each cell of the muscle fibers. A cell may only have one mitochondria per cell but as you exercise, the mitochondria can duplicate multiple times over a short period of time to provide you with more muscle energy. 

2. How Do You Lose Muscles? - Atrophy (ah-trfy)

Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations, poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, excessive amount of apoptosis of cells, and disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself. Wikipedia

Take a moment to review your lifestyle.

• If you don't put your muscles through a full range of movement, and involve them in weight resistance, you will lose them. 
• It does not matter how far you run or bike. If you are only maintaining a constant pressure on the muscle, it will not grow. 
• If your muscle activity reduces, your muscle cells will remove any additional mitochondria it doesn't need. This will reduce the total amount of energy capable of being produced by the muscle.

So take a typical  day in sedentary type jobs. The only muscles that gets exercised are legs and arms.
The rest; abdominal muscles, back muscles, gluteal muscles... they get a quick pass through during the exercise but do not get specifically trained. Consequently the muscle mass reduces and common ailments start to occur such as hip, back, abdominal, and shoulder issues.

However, as our exercise reduces our nutrient intake doesn't. In fact in most cases we increase nutrient intake and the energy continues to flow to where the muscles used to be. Muscle fibers are replaced with fat cells. Then we start to lose function and we injure because of lack of strength. Because of aches and pains we use our muscles less and the cycle of degradation proceeds.

We call this growing old when in really, it is just lack of maintenance.

3. The Good News if you are Out of Shape

The good news is that you can recover much of what you have lost.

The correct process of recovery is to regularly work your way through an entire body workout using light weights and then gradually increase the weights. You can use things within your home and immediate neighbourhood  to build up your strength and progress.

4. When to use a Gym

A lot of people can maintain a reasonable muscle mass by simply maintaining a regular 'All Body Exercise Routine" but you have to use the practice of "weighted resistance" where you are actually lifting weights. Walking is fine but you are only exercising a small group of muscles. You also have to exercise everything else. I use a gym. They have a lot of gear and it keeps me entertained. But it's a commitment so don't subscribe lightly.

5. Muscle Groups to Work Through

The best order to workout with weight resistance training is to work from the ground up.

Identify exercises to work out your body in the following sequence:

1. Ankles
2. Calfs
3. Knees
4. Thighs
5. Glutes
6. Abdominal (3 areas)
7. Lower Back
8. Chest
9. Shoulders
10. Neck
11. Arms

B) There are two techniques of muscle training that I recommend:

6. Technique One: Recovery Buildup

This technique is only trying to get the muscle back on track.

1: Start with the lightest weight. Don't concern yourself with the weight because as you progress and build muscle, you will be increasing the weights.

2: Work through each muscle group and use light weights that suit the area being exercised

1. Find two exercises that work the muscle group from two different directions and alternate them
2. Set a repetition goal. For example: 
1. Exercise 1: 10 reps
2. Exercise 2: 10 reps
3. Exercise 1: 10 reps
4. Exercise 2: 10 reps
5. Exercise 1: 10 reps
6. Exercise 2: 10 reps
3. Move to the next muscle group and repeat steps 2 to 4.

3: Rest and recover after the exercise and be sure to eat and drink properly. Do not overdo it. It is tempting to do so but just allow your muscles time to get used to the idea that you want it exercised. If you overdo it you are going to be sore and that is not good. Take it easy.

4: Next time you do the exercise, either:

1. Increase the reps
2. Increase the weight

5: Technique is important

1. Count to 'one' for the contraction: Count 'one two' for the return.
2. Breath in for the contraction, out for the release
3. Think of the muscle you are exercising. Feel it. This is the 'mind muscle connection'

6: Increasing the load

There is no hard fast rule here.

If you do 15 reps at 1 Kg then the total load of exercise is 15 reps * 1 Kg = 15 Kgs

If you do 10 reps at 1.5 Kg then the total load of exercise is 10 reps * 1.5 Kg = 15 Kgs

If you do 5 reps at 3 Kg then the total load of exercise is 5 reps * 3 Kg = 15 Kgs

All the same thing except the 5 reps at 3 Kgs probably have a better effect.

1. If you increase the reps, that is simply going to take longer to complete the exercises
2. If you increase the weight, this will have the same effect as increasing the reps.

Once you have mastered this phase, you will find that your body is taking shape and muscles are now receptive to your intentions. 

The one thing that ruins body shape and growth is your nutrition. You must get this right.

If you are exercising but your tummy isn't changing shape, the issue is your diet and no amount of exercise will change this. Go back through the nutritional training.

17 Good Morning :) Forget Breakfast

A premade lunch with 25 gms of protein

Forget Breakfast? He's Mad!

Lunch is the most important meal of the day. I know that is going to be confusing to many people but in a society where the norm is to be overweight, you have to realise that the rules you have been taught are simply wrong.

By holding off eating, it allows your body to go into scavenger mode. Your inbuilt nutritional scavenger system is going to realise that it's not getting bacon and eggs or cornflakes, and will automatically engage 'survival mode' and start running through all your cells cleaning out the rubbish in them so it can burn it as fuel.

As a consequence, all your bodily systems are going to work more effectively, you will lose weight, your thoughts will become clearer, and you will have taken more control of your life.

In the beginning your thoughts are going to be a bit foggy on the idea and your Reptilian Brain is going to do what it has done every day of your life and complain! (It's really just a baby mind.)

But if you hang in there, and take control of it, like letting go of any addiction, in a few weeks everything will settle down and you will wonder why you ever bothered with breakfast.

Instead you will use the breakfast time to be more organised and plan proper nutrition.

This Morning

This morning I got up at 5:00 am after having 6 hour sleep. Felt good, just got up, pulled on my preplanned clothes and went for a walk around my local area . No sluggishness just up. How you feel in the morning is directly proportional to what you did the three or more days before.
If you ate junk food, drank alcohol, stayed up watching tv, didn't exercise, then you are likely going to wake up feeling like a few more hours sleep would be nice. This is the mere fact of the matter.

Your mental frame of mind is a rollercoaster of life's events. Some of them you control and some of them you don't. The more you can control, the more you are going to enjoy life and progress.

To recap on yesterday:

1. I did not eat until 1:00 pm and stopped eating at 5:00. Total fasting period 17 hours
2. Ate good food and no meat
3. Prepared meals for the next 3 days
4. Exercise 2 times: a morning 1 hour walk and meditation, and in the evening, a 1 hour stretching and weight training session
5. Got the house super organised
6. Tidied 3 acres of garden (big garden)
7. Looked after 1 cat, 2 ducks, 10 tropical fish
8. As it was technically a Sunday, I also processed Sunday's list (to follow)
9. 9 hours of solid work
10. Watched 1 hour of TV
11. Posted 5 blog topics

I have no kids at home but I do live with overseas students and I do most of the house work as everyone is studying. This lifestyle I have is only manageable because I am super organised.

9 Lunches in 30 Minutes

As per my blog: 10: Premade Lunches I have prepared 9 lunches. There are three people I am cooking for and I have a kitchen management strategy:

1. No breakfast as we are all Intermittent Fasting
2. You can have a breakfast as there are items available but you get it and tidy up after yourself
3. Black fresh ground and filtered coffee in the morning with no sugar
4. I premake significant lunches that are a whole meal
5. If you are hungry, just eat the meal. Else hold off eating for as long as you can
6. I do not put high glycemic index foods in the lunches (such as sugar) so they will not make you crash
7. I do put at least 25 gms of protein in each meal
8. Each meal is pretty close to containing all the essential and non essential minerals and vitamins
9. We drink mineral water only sometimes with lemon and himalayan salt
10. When you come home dinner is only 15 minutes away as I have pre-prepared everything
11. Everyone chips in to getting dinner done, and the kitchen tidy

In the long run, no one is hungry, fatigued, or disorganised when it comes to the home and meal environment.

Outside of my organisation of the house, people do what they like which includes drinking, smoking, eating snacks, and staying up late. You just have to let people live as they want to. Just because I am setting a process in motion does not mean everyone has to follow it.

8:00 am, I have to work just like everybody else... or do I?

16. Ten Things Before Bed

Nutrition is only a part of the overall picture and there are some very important parts to organic degradation that we are starting to address by revamping when and what to eat.

It's no small ask to live 300 years as apart from religious writings, no person in recorded history has ever lived that long. Although science has said it is possible, no one knows how to really do it because no one ever has.

Another part to the challenge is your state of mind. This World is tough and your biggest threat to happiness is how you rationalise and resolve issues.

Personal Note: I actually don't mind how long I live because in doing so it would just make me stress and that isn't a good thing. In reality I have a very strong belief about death and I am kind of at peace with it. But I love a good challenge and well I am the kind of guy who will give longevity a go :)

his is the right attitude to have because stressing about something is a killer!

If you were to live 300 years you would have to cope with:

• Your daily struggles
• Lost friends, family, and loved ones
• What you would do to entertain yourself
• Moving through history
• Having to constantly adjust to new ways
• Coping with World events
• Health issues
• Monetary issues
• Reality issues

And your own eventual departure.

Considering this information, your mind is your next asset to get into order. If you are constantly disorganised, stressing, or lamenting over what to do next, you will not last long. All that thinking is going to release the stress hormone called 'Cortisol'. It is the number one killer of animals. See Psychology Today

It's another big subject so let's start off slowly with something simple.

One frequent time that people stress is in the morning when they wake up. 

They are personally disorganised, interrupted with by children and their partner, and even the family pets can be a nuisance. Your only solution is to get organised.

The important lesson here is 'Anticipate Stress and Resolve it before it manifests'.

Based on this rule I do ten things before I go to bed and I encourage you to do something similar. I process a list of things to do.

1. Dishes away
2. Meals prepared
3. Clothes sorted
4. House tidy
5. Drink small glass lemon mineral water
6. Clean teeth
7. Keys, wallet sorted
8. Phone and headset charged
9. Day's plan set
10. Diary and Finances reviewed

This 'before bed' list saves me from ever having morning stresses and helps keep my cortisol at bay.

Because I know there are other stress traps, I have a lot of other lists I process such as:

• The 10 things to do on Sunday
• 5 Things to do before you leave the house
• Yearly forward planning of everything

They are all designed to eliminate unrequired stress.

I will be showing you how to manage these list for yourself in the 'Google Resources' section.

15. The Good Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

There are two important oils we use to create healthy food:

1. Cooking oil
2. Dressing oil

Things to consider

1. It is handy to have an oil that you can use as a salad dressing
2. If cooking in oil, it is important that it's properties hold together as it gets hot
3. That it is a natural oil and not heavily processed

There is one oil that fits this profile and that is 'Extra Virgin Olive Oil'.

Regarding oils squeezed from seeds, i suggest studying 'lectin'.
The 'Extra Virgin' definition of olive oil is important. It refers to the less processed and higher quality olive oil because not all olive oils are the same. Some are better than others.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Benefits include:

1. Rich in healthy Monounsaturated Fats 
1. Omega 3 + 6 (@ 11%) < essential fats
2. Oleic acid (@ 73%) < reduces inflammation
2. Large amounts of Antioxidants
3. Vitamins E & K
4. Anti Inflammatory Properties
5. May help prevent strokes
6. Protection against heart disease
1. Lower blood pressure
7. Not weight gaining & weight loss
8. Potential Alzheimer's prevention
9. May reduce type 2 Diabetes risk
10. Anti Cancerous
11. Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
12. Antibacterial properties

It's the good oil. A spoon a day is a good measure.

Ref Healthline

Rules for cooking with oil

• Never burn it as this changes the health properties of oil into unhealthy
• Never reuse it as this collects impurities that on reheating can cause health risks

Olive oil is so versatile:

• Salad dressing
• Cooking
• Massage
• But do not use it as a moisturiser.

You can use olive oil as a healthy dressing or you may also like to try:

Balsamic Vinegar

Balsamic vinegar is a dressing and can enhance the flavour of many foods.

Great as a dipping sauce, salad dressing, add flavour to soups, and open to experimentation.

According to www.medicalnewstoday.com the benefits of Balsamic Vinegar are:

1. Improve Skin Health
2. Reduce Blood Sugar
3. Healthy Digestion
4. Lowering Cholesterol
5. Lose Weight
6. Healing of Wounds
7. Reduce Hypertension
8. Relieve Congestion
9. Reduce Acid Reflux
10. Promote Blood Circulation

As opposed to dressings like Aioli and Mayonnaise, Balsamic Vinegar is the healthy choice.

However, if making a wrap, Aioli is hard to beat for the creamy texture, smoothness, and flavour.

14. Take a look at your Fridge

So when anyone in your house is hungry, the fridge is one of the first places they look.

Here is my fridge.

It looks obsessively organised and yes I did tidy it up a bit but I kind of do this every week.

There are three things to watch out for in a fridge:

1. Bad food meaning foods that are not healthy
2. Food going off as this is bad bacteria that can affect other foods or worse, that you unknowingly eat
3. The fridge containing no food that people can easily eat

A fridge should smell fresh. Throw out old food, clean it with hot water, keep it free of bad bacteria and smells. If you are going to put leftovers in the fridge, be sure to use them or throw them out.

I always put leftovers in glass bowls with plastic lids. This way a) Plastic does not leach into the food, b) Easily clean the bowl c) Easy to see what is in the bowl. d) Fit more in the fridge. And I also review what leftovers there are each day and do my best to clear them up in the next meal I prepare.

One of the biggest errors in fridge management is to overstock it with things you aren't and shouldn't eat.

Keep it fresh, keep it clean, and plan your meals.

I shop two times a week. I do this as early as possible and do it in conjunction with other things.
Always take your own bags. Leave the supermarket bags with the supermarket.
I even have bags for my produce. It is the environmental thing to do.

13. A Typical Superfood Food Shop

Food is a weekly expense that represents a fair portion of your income. So you need to make the budget stretch but at the same time, find quality nutritious ingredients that you can make into meals.

I have just been out shopping with no particular focus. These are the ingredients that I just naturally purchase.

 I target vegetarian Superfoods, 'nutritionally dense foods', even though I would not class myself as a vegetarian.

At at October 2019 - This was $150 NZD (74 GBP) of shopping

This will need another $100 NZD (50 GBP) of shopping to feed three adults for a week.

My focus on meal planning is to have a substantial lunch, and a filling dinner. There are no fancy frills like deserts or starters. It's just the basic requirements to deliver healthy foods. I have bought porridge for those times when someone wants a breakfast and sprouted whole grain bread as a 'health' alternative to the usual rubbish bread.

Things To Note

I have linked a article to each item for additional information.

A

Gherkins (Superfood) are great for adding flavour to a salad. Each baby gherkins will deliver about 6% of your daily Vitamin K requirements, reduce blood pressure, and lots of other benefits. Don't overdo them though. 

Kiwifruit (Superfood) I add them to smoothies by: a) Washing them always b) Chop the ends off c) Keep the skin on (huge dietary fiber benefits)

Pickled Onions (Superfood) and add another zest of flavour to your meals.

Cherry Tomatoes (Superfood) add colour to your salads and because they are small, you don't need to chop them. This preserves their nutritional value longer.

B

A2 Full Cream Milk I personally avoid milk. Why? 1. It is expensive 2. I am a human and not a cow so why would I drink cows milk for health? . Even fully grown cows do not drink milk. There appears to be no evidence to support the claims made by milk companies that milk is healthy for you. If I do drink milk it is A2 for no particular reason. But I do not drink low fat milk under any circumstances. I will do a write up about milk later.

Yogurt (Superfood) Only buy 'Live and Active' cultures. Feed your gut with good bacteria for improved digestion, immunity and rendering of nutrition from food. Make it yourself and make sure there is minimal sugar.

Hummus (Superfood) Use as a spread or a dip for celery or rice crackers. Huge health benefits.

Olives (Superfood) Make sure to get the pitted ones (Seeds out) or you can easily crack a tooth.

C

Lemon (Superfood) I cannot say enough about lemons. I buy this pack from time to time as it is more efficient. Add lemon to mineral water to increase the benefits of drinking water and to also add flavour to the drink.

D

Free Range Chicken (Superfood) Free range is the minimum requirements. NEVER go for barn or cage chickens as they are not a superfood and it is an inhumane treatment of animals.

Wholegrain Oats (Superfood) If you need to have breakfast you may like to try oats. The benefits are significant. Be careful what you use as a topping though. Cranberries are a sweet treat to use on them as well as a small dab of honey.

Peanut Butter (Superfood) You can just have a spoon full or place it on a rice cracker. A great treat that will not cause you to gain weight :)

Kale (Superfood) Just introduce this to your family gently. It is not the tastiest of greens but it is super healthy. Chop it up and mix it in to spinach.

E

Red Onions (Superfood) Try to get spray free or organic as onions are one of the foods that can absorb herbicide sprays. 

Organic/Free Range Eggs (Superfood) Don't skimp on eggs. There is no comparison between caged eggs and free range, they are two totally different things.

Spinach (Superfood) The base of every good salad. Forget lettuce. Look for leaves that are dark green. I have bought the baby leaf variety for convenience. The full stem variety is apparently better for you but is not as convenient.

Honey (Superfood) But not the 'sugar added kind'. Honey is the only sweetener I personally recognise but it is still sugar. The promoted benefits of sugar are not strong enough for me to accept it as a food I eat. 

Read a Balanced View and A good review

Broccoli (Superfood) Apparently improves testosterone levels.

F

Mushrooms (Superfood)

Sunflower Seeds (Superfood)

Kumara (Superfood) Kumara, it is the ultimate vegetable and replacement to the common potato. 

The link I have posted her is to 127 Kgs where Shane went from 127 Kgs to slim. Nice :)

Cranberries (Superfood) Ideal for adding sweetness to something like a smoothie or porridge.

G

Peppers (Superfood) 

Mung Beans (Superfood)

Cucumber (Superfood)

H

Bean Sprouts (Superfood)

Herb Slaw (Superfood) Herbs are their own important topic. I am able to buy a bag of pre blended herbs for my salads. Please read below.

"Jody Fleiming says:

June 2, 2018 at 8:21 pm

My husband will be 85 years old next month and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 16 months ago. his main symptom were and rigidity or stiffness of his right-hand side.he also had some difficulty writing. The original diagnosis was confirmed three months later by a second neurologist. He was on one tablet of pramipexole (Sifrol), 0.25 mg three times a day. Four months ago his neurologist added Biperiden, 2 mg. he takes half a tablet of Biperiden three times a day. He still didn’t feel any better, Since the original diagnosis, his stiffness has slowly increased. He lost touch with reality suspecting it was the medication I took him off the Siferol (with the doctor’s knowledge) and started him on PD natural herbal formula we ordered from NATURAL HERBAL GARDENS, I spoke to few people who used the treatment here in Canada and they all gave a positive response, his symptoms totally declined over a 7 weeks use of the Natural Herbal Gardens Parkinson’s disease natural herbal formula. He is now almost 85 and doing very well, the disease is totally reversed! (Visit their website www.naturalherbalgardens.com) I am thankful to nature, herbs are truly gift from God. Share with friends!!

I

Bread (NOT a Superfood) I give bread a hard time for many reasons. I feel it is a lazy nutritional item that has little to no value. However let's be objective. Check out this write up from webmd.com. If you are going to get bread, it must never be the white variety. Whole Wheat Bread would be the better selection.

Chicken Stock (Bone Broth would be a Superfood) I have run out of time this week to make a bone broth so I am going to use some Chicken Stock for gravy which is low fodmap. Gravy can be a very bad ingredient to add to a nutritious dinner because it can contain sugar, msg, and dehydrated nutrients which can cause you to become dehydrated. I make my own gravy so I can be sure of the quality. Build about 2 litres of gravy and then freeze it in 500 ml containers so that it is available when you need it.

In Summary

So this is just what I buy. I will build meal plans based on this and see how many meals this shop generates.

12. Let's Take Stock

We are at the beginning of understanding what it takes to live beyond our current life expectancy and you have an unwritten destiny that you control.

At the moment I am focusing you on food and nutrition. It plays a unequivocal role in your longevity. Depending on your upbringing, my recommendations of food could easily be an extreme change.
Without question, vegetables are the way forward. It's a living food and contributes significantly to all the nutrients you need. Just imagine all the animals who survive by just eating grass!
As humans we have a huge selection of vegetation which are delicious and we know all the science to support the theories.

However, this could be a huge change for you. Relax, take your time, you don't need to make 100% change overnight. I didn't start until way into my 50's! As long as you are heading in the right direction, that is the key. The maximum benefits are achieved by making the switch as soon as possible but do so at your own pace.

There are lots of other topics we will be going through. This whole blog is about the journey through every aspect of life. When you take control of it, you can shape life into exactly what you want. That said there are always natural and desirable limitations. For example, you can't change who your parents are, you can't change the past, and you can't change what you don't want to change, but you can change your future, if you want to.

Your life comes down to some simple understandings:

1. Thoughtfulness: Your thoughts and actions control your life
2. Past Action: Your past actions influence today
3. Planning: Your ability to plan, and work the plan determine your journey
4. Focus: To achieve your goals you must focus on them

Four understandings that are quite complex and I am sure you will also have your own thoughts on the matter.

Let me validate these four thoughts and give you an example:

I am currently lying in bed.
It is 4:00 am and I have had 4 hours sleep.A big part of me wants to get up.
Another part of me wants to go back to bed.
I could do either because today is a holiday

• My thoughts are that I want to get up because I have a plan
• My past actions of eating for energy, training to get up, exercising and using techniques to maximise sleep quality, make the process of getting up easy (even though I have only had 4 hours sleep)
• My morning is planned out for maximum results. I know what to eat to avoid getting tired
• I am focused on achieving my long terms goals

So I am up.
Clothes are ready. Today I will have black coffee (see recipe), update this blog, and then off to the gym. I prepared everything I need to take the night before. I don't even need to put them in the car because they are already there. Just get up, get dressed, drink, go...

The exercise will clear any fatigue I may have away. After meditation, stretching, cardio, and resistance training; I am off to the shops for 7 am. On my return home I will have a glass of mineral water and complete the build of 3 day's worth of lunches for 3 people. Then get into 4 hours of programming. By 12pm I will have achieved a great deal.

Or I could sleep in and start the day at 10:00.
Based on what I am trying to get done, in getting up at 10:00am I will complete the same tasks by 6:00 pm and in reality, my day is done. Whereas with the early start, I have a further 6 hours or more each day that I can use. That is 7 days * 6 hours equals 42 hours extra a week I get to achieve my goals.

Sleep is important. It is a real killer to not get enough sleep. However there are some secrets about sleeping.

This post isn't about super human sleep habits or even about maximising productive time. It's about understanding one of the biggest controlling factors of your life and that is fatigue.

The main causes of fatigue are:

1. Poor diet
2. Not exercising
3. Dehydration
4. Mental confusion
5. Bad sleep habits
6. Staying up too late
7. Alcohol
8. Medicines

If you can get a handle on all of these issues, you are going to have a lot more energy. To maximise your life, you need energy. So food is very important and that is why we have spent so much time building the knowledge you need about food and how it affects your state of being. That said, food is love and the love of food is a passion that many people would never dream of giving up.

I will endeavour to develop more variety of recipes and flavours but in the meantime try to remember:

• food is fuel 
• eat to live and not live to eat

The meal plan will evolve. I love seeing the sunrise :)

11. Sugar, the most Addictive Drug on the Planet

It's not easy being 100% on track and it's important to consider some options for your sweet tooth.

Sugar

Our addiction to sugar far exceeds that of any other drug on the Planet and is responsible for far more health issues than any other intentionally ingested substance.

When you eat sugar, it automatically spikes your Insulin and deposits nutrients into fat cells.
There is no way around this biological mechanism. You get addicted to sugar as a child and the addiction continues into adulthood. As an addict, your brain will bang away until you either control it or satisfy it.

Where is my sugarrrrrrrr!?

Sugar Alternatives

1. STEVIA - Natural (so is sugar), very low calories and zero carbs. A good alterantive
2. Honey - All the issue of sugar but is better than sugar because it is unprocessed. Real honey that is.

Recovery

It takes about 4 weeks to lose the addiction to sugar but as an ex sugar lover you can easily return to the sweet stuff.

Benefits of Kicking Sugar

1. More energy, less crashes
2. Resolve cravings
3. Lower blood acidity
4. Avoid diabetes

Benefits of Maintaining Sugar

1. More food choices
2. Produces dopamine

Considerations

Your sugar addiction may actually be a magnesium/potassium deficiency. Most adults have this.

Try using higher levels of cocoa in chocolate. Avoid the mainstream bars of chocolate. 

Look for the darkest chocolate you can handle. Dark chocolate is actually a handy treat, satiates, and is good for you (in small doses). See Heathline

When you pull into a gas station and they have those bars on special, DON'T BUY THEM!
They are just trouble. If you want a treat, look for natural liquorice.

10. Premade Lunches

Pre-prepare your Fuel Success!

To eat correctly it's a great idea to make pre planned lunches for the week.

I do this two times a week on Sunday (for Mon/Tues/Wed) and Wednesday (for Thur/Fri/Sat).
It takes about 30 minutes each time and is so simple and affordable.
Definitely cheaper than buying rubbish lunches and you can design amazing foods packed with real nutrition, energy, and life! So very easy to do you will wonder why you never did it before?

You are also able to design lunch based on your goals such as losing weight, adding weight, or building muscle. You just need to recognise what macros you are needing to consume.

Instructions

1. Buy 3 x 1 litre glass containers with lids with vents for each person you are pre preparing lunch for. (Make sure to wash them before using them)
2. Buy 3x small jar per person. (This is used to store dry ingredients)
3. Buy ingredients (see below)
4. Layout the dishes and place individual items of 'The Base Ingredients' in them.
5. Place lids on top, open breathing vents, place in fridge
6. Put dry ingredients in small glass jars

Note: Do not mix wet ingredients with dry as the dry ingredients will go soggy and the tast/texture is lost. Instead pack dry ingredients separately and tip them into the salad just before eating them.

About The Base

I keep it simple.

All meals will have a pre prepared base made up of whole food, live nutrition.
It is important to wash the ingredients, dry them, and place them in whole and not chopped (except curly kale. Chop this up).
If you cut the items, invisible bacteria will immediately start the process of decomposition and we want to avoid this.
Its also important to not put in the dressing as this will make the ingredients soggy.
Put the dressing in on the day you intend to eat the lunch.

Ingredients of The Base

To maintain muscle mass, and for people who have excess fat stores, to reduce weight,
I put all the following ingredient in each container as the base of the meal.

1. Spinach
2. Kale
3. Small whole tomatoes
4. Boiled or roasted red potato
5. Slice of Avocado (if not too expensive)
6. Olives
7. Small onions in jar
8. Sun dried tomatoes
9. Pine nuts
10. Almonds
11. Brazil nut (only 1 per meal)
12. Cashew nuts
13. Walnuts
14. Seasame seeds
15. Pumkin seeds
16. Chia seeds
17. Beetroot (cooked)
18. Aoli
19. Whole grain pasta (source of carbs)
20. Feta

The Night Before

Then at each dinner time, I also cook an extra amount of a protein based food to be placed in each base.

Protein Based Foods

• Boiled egg
• Chicken (no skin or)
• Fish (can use a tin of tuna)
• Tofu
• Spicy bean mix (I will post a recipe)
• Other left over items that are protein

In the Morning

In the morning before people grab their lunch, I have trained them to add the following:

1. The Protein prepared the night before
2. A dressing (see dressings)
3. Twist of salt and black pepper
4. Fill a drink bottle with mineral water and a slice of lemon and ginger
5. But Not the dry items in the glass jar. This is added just before eating.

Dressing

The best dressing is balsamic vinegar.

It aids in digestion, has no sugar, and is low in calories.

However, Aoli is delicious :)

Wrap

Sometimes I get gluten free wraps and provide them with lunch. People still take the base but tip the contents into the wrap.

Why The Variety of Foods?

To feel satiated you need approximately:

1. 20% protein
2. 40% low gi carbs
3. 40% low gi starches
4. And some good oils.

In addition I add lots of things to provide a wide balance of Living Delicious Nutrients (LDN).

Building Muscle

If your goal is to build muscle mass, you will need to calculate your protein requirements and other macros based upon your goals. You could use this diet but you may need to supplement it with Protein shakes to up the protein content.I will be putting some meal plans together to suit the accumulation of muscle mass but this plan listed here is an excellent base for anyone.

9: Lunch

One Meal A Day!

Some people who do Intermittent Fasting (also know as IF) only have one meal a day!
I find this a bit restrictive because you have got to take on nutrients and the one meal a day approach minimises your opportunity to do so.

However there is also another fasting technique where you fast for one or more days.
I won't talk about this too much as you are probably still struggling with the idea of missing breakfast!

Just know that fasting is done by many people, it's easy, and it is truly a healthy thing to do.
If you are wanting to lose weight, improve health, and live longer, IF and longer fasting is the place to be.

Lunch

This is the first meal of the day.
It hasn't been hard to wait until 12pm to eat something and over time it's really very easy.

You can ease yourself into the idea by just pushing your first meal out by 1 hour more each day or just get straight into it.

You may think you would run out of energy or lose work/education focus but once you have become accustomed to the process, it is easier to not eat than it is to do so.

Without food, I have done many 50 km cycle rides, competed in races, and at the end of the race, even at 12 pm, I am still not hungry.

The hunger that most people experience is not real hunger. It is only your Reptilian Brain running its childish routines to get you to put something in your mouth because it doesn't know any better.
Once you have shown it that you know what you are doing, the hunger feelings will subside.

IMPORTANT: Consume no sugar, bread, or simple starches like rice else you will keep triggering your hunger response.

What I Eat

1. 15/30 minutes before the smoothie, I eat a small bowl of natural unsweetened yoghurt and black currants. This improves gut health and digestion
2. 1 Brazil nut.
3. I build a smoothie that contains as many nutrients as possible.

Commonly I will blend:

• Mineral water
• Kiwi Fruit (with the skin on)
• Cucumber
• Mung Beans
• Chickpeas
• Vegan Protein Isolate powder with no sugar but lots of clean essential and non essential nutrients
• Turmeric
• Maca Powder
• Brewers Yeast
• Ashwagandha
• LSA Powder
• Walnuts
• Spinach
• Kale
• Beetroot
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Banana**

** The Banana is the odd item out here. It is high in sugar and carbohydrates. 

With the banana this combination of ingredients tastes sweeter but I do notice a slight energy reduction as a result. Without the banana the smoothie can be a bit dull. To sort this out add 2 kiwifruit instead of the banana or look at other things you can add below.

Great To Add

1. Guava
2. Peach
3. Cranberry
4. Apricot
5. Avocado

What NOT to Add

1. Strawberries: They contain oxalic acid which reduces mineral absorption

Other Lunches

Smoothies are a great quick fill and cover such a huge amount of nutrient requirements that you cannot get by just eating a sandwich or a pie. However I also pre make 3 days worth of meals which are both nutritious and convenient. Look out for blog 10: Pre-made Lunches which I will make tomorrow.