The Maximal Life

Bulletproof Your Energy, Even After A Sleepless Night

When your body doesn’t get enough rest at night, you are more likely to eat unhealthy food the next day. Even missing one good night’s sleep can destabilize your blood sugar, which reduces your physical and mental stamina. Maximal Achievers play the long game. When we work hard, we know we need to rest just as hard. According to a study published in May 2017, people who don’t get enough sleep, eat significantly less protein and more fat. They also also show or experience a heightened motivation to seek food for reward. So the bottom line is if you don’t get adequate sleep, you can expect an increase in temptation for more unhealthful foods than you typically experience. Now you know what to expect, and you can be prepared to break the cycle. Making positive choices for food input requires a strategy, an actionable plan made in advance. Let’s start with three simple motions you can use to keep you on point: One is Amp Up Your Hydration. Two is Use Caffeine as a Tool, Not a Crutch. Three is Stabilize Your Blood Sugar. We cannot always be where healthy food choices are accessible, but now we know, we can lay down the blueprints for making healthy food and drink options accessible in the environments where we often find time to eat. Maximal Achievers use the three motions to make a plan in advance, so they can shield themselves from the negative consequences of short term sleep deprivation. It is always possible to fuel our bodies with the Positive Input we need to live The Maximal Life!

Body Intelligence: The Ancient Wisdom Of Champions

As the only resident inside your body, only you have access to the ancient wisdom within yourself. No one else knows better than you what is going on inside your body. Getting in touch with the physical dimension of your being is the single most powerful way to ground yourself in the present moment, and retain agency over what is being read by others. There is  a simple body awareness exercise, to assist in focusing your full attention on your physical and emotional body. This technique is called REPORT and stands for: Responsibility, Exhale, Pay attention, Outline, Recognize, and Take action. Responsibility. It your responsibility  to place ALL of your attention on yourself for just the next two minutes.   Exhale. Take three slow, deep, full breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.    Pay Attention: Close your eyes, and mentally visit every part of your body. Really pay close attention to each individual area within yourself, and when you are ready, open your eyes.  Outline: Create a verbal outline of all that you notice; Start with your feet and work your way up.   Recognize. Sometimes when we declare the truth of our body, the sensations shift as a result of our new awareness. Simply to recognize your body’s reaction to being acknowledged.  Take Action. Take an action that benefits you in the present moment. If your shoulders are tense, relax them.  Whatever you experience anytime you practice REPORT, you will encounter a conscious, whole- body experience. And help you lead your Maximal Life.

How To Recover From A Bad Night’s Sleep

Consider how your routine can suffer a setback due to something simple such as one red eye flight, anoddly timed conference or just an unusually long day. Your well settled day can get disrupted. Suddenlytime management is difficult, you feel groggy in the middle of the day, tired for no reason! According to statistics, about 40% of Americans don’t get enough sleep at night and as many as 44%between age 30 and 49 sleep less than six hours in a day. This hampers your personal success, cognitivefunction, energy levels and ups disease risk. Here are a few simple tasks for how do you bounce back from short term sleep deprivation. Resist the urge to hit ‘snooze’ after a late night. Get out of bed and take a cool shower to really wake up.Drink some waterto rehydrate. Don’t miss your workout if that is a part of your morning routine.Remember to eat a proper, nutrient rich breakfast to stimulate the brain and offer sustained energy. Getsome sunlight to send the wakeup message to the body and brain. Begin with the most important tasks while you are fresh. Instead of coffee, sip on green tea or an herbalconcoction such as Ashwagandha, which supports the metabolism and acts as a tonic. If you feel sleepy inthe afternoon restrict the nap to no longer thana 20-minute power nap. A Maximal Life isn’t about sprinting or short spurts of activity; it is about a steady speed that can remainconstant over time–it’s about developing the endurance for a marathon.

Your Gut Will Make You A Winner

Our brain and gut are connected by an unimaginably dense network of neurons that constantly take information back and forth. Because there are just so many neurons and neurotransmitters in the gut, scientists now call it the second brain. Just as the brain can make the gut feel wrenched, likewise the gut can make the brain feel peace or pressure. There are many things that we cannot control in life. However, our diet is one aspect that is within our control. By carefully choosing what to put into our gut and rejecting that which is toxic, we not only control our physical health but our mental wellbeing as well. Choose foods that are high in nutrition such as seasonal produce, plant-based protein and low-glycemic carbohydrates. Choose probiotics and prebiotics to keep your gut healthy. Choose a healthy protein shake with L-Glutamine, an amino acid that’s absolutely essential for peak physical and mental performance. Make one positive change today. Replace a gut destroying food item with a gut enhancing alternative. As Maximal Achievers, we cannot accept sub-optimal energy levels and a compromised immune system as a way of life. Do what it takes to build a strong, healthy digestive tract.

What Is Sarcopenia? Do You Know It’s Stealing Your Life Right Now?

We have all seen how advancing age seems to rob people of vim and vigor and strength. Sarcopenia is a condition in the elderly where the muscles seem to shrink in size and loosen, the body loses strength, and energy levels are no longer what they used to be. One's quality of life and range of activities deteriorate as the body becomes frailer, weaker and less mobile. Researchers have found a connection between diet and lifestyle and muscle mass later in life. Researchers have recommended a daily dosage of quality protein, but more importantly a per-meal protein recommendation. Seniors should aim for 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal. This would help to compensate for the way that protein uptake is blunted when carbs are consumed along with protein. Don’t wait until you experience the debilitating weakness of old age. Start to bolster up your body’s muscle stores with high quality protein right now. Find realistic ways to make sustainable changes to your lifestyle. The goal of healthy ageing–a process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well being in older age–starts right now. Maximal Achievers invest in your healthy tomorrow, today! Keep living the Maximal Life.