SelfhelpMagazine

by Kurt A. Krueger, M.S. Ed.

Everyone wants to improve themselves and many want to improve their bodies. There are two key practices that have been proven to work by many different athletic figures throughout history. The two methods that will help you achieve results in a few weeks is healthy eating and discipline. Below are tips to help you gain discipline and give you a guide to form healthy eating habits.

Healthy Eating

High performance nutrition describes the important benefits for both physical and mental health. You can improve your endurance and strength by up to 50%, your I.Q. by 20 points, and balance your mood swings with proper nutrition. Optimum nutrition comes from what we put in our mouth and our mind.

Fresh, pure, unadulterated and whole foods are the best as proven throughout the centuries and verified by modern science. Food needs to be balanced with the appropriate vitamins and minerals which are not present in our food. Modern scientific investigations are proving that many degenerative diseases are preventable and/or curable by a proper diet and supplementation combined with positive thinking and visualizations.

Phytochemical supplements work to heal within the cells and are best for everyone: better than vitamin C (but not replacing it). Newsweek has said, "Just a few years ago, scientists didn't know phytochemicals existed. But today they are the new frontier in cancer-prevention research."

Some special phytochemicals are being proven to help balance the endocrine system to produce the right amount of needed hormones, recuperate after training, and heal wounds, while others help stimulate the immune system to prevent HIV/cancers and even reverse them.

Preparing for health, academic, business, and sporting competition starts months before with basic nutritional practices. The first step is to detoxify the body by eating pure, whole and fresh foods.

Curb your consumption of junk foods -- sugar, white flour, artificial flavors and colors, and preservatives. Junk foods decrease total body vitality in both immediate strength and endurance.

Biggest Stumbling Block

Many nutritional programs for healthy foods exists today. Why do so many people still find it difficult to eat healthy foods?

Most people who try to change their habits are unrealistic. They set goals that are not reasonable. Bottom line, the most successful nutritional program is the one you can stick to. Experiment with different approaches. You got to find out what you actually are willing to do to help yourself.

How can you experiment and learn about your abilities? Keep a journal and pick a day to comment in that journal at least one day every week. If it's Saturday mornings, then use that time to comment on what you tried last week, and how successful it was. Also add a new thing or two that you will change this next week.

For instance, if you know you reach for junk-food snacks because you don't have anything else on hand. On Saturday morning then, you might think back on your week and decide that you had not spent enough time devoted to preparing meals and snacks.

Experiments to Try:

• Your next goal for the next week, then, might be to devote more time shopping, chopping and cooking than last week.

• You might also decide that you want to larger dinner meals to have extra food that you can eat for lunch the next day.
• Or you might like to experiment with cooking several re-heatable meals on Sunday for the week.
• You might realize that your biggest problem is disciplining yourself to eating only the foods that are prepared, and not pulling into 7/11 for a pint of ice cream on the way home from work.

Such discipline is a big challenge. Some people will cook a chicken dish for Tuesday's lunch, for example, but when lunchtime rolls around, they will join their work friends for lunch or grab a candy bar for dessert.

Here are a few more experiments to try:

• One way to avoid this tendency is to plan social lunch times at least a day ahead of time, and when you do join your friends, you make sure you go somewhere with a healthy menu or healthy menu selections.
• To avoid augmenting a day's prepared foods with high-calories or junk foods, pack crisp fruits or protein bars for snacks.
•  If making time for preparing food a challenge for you, find a few healthy cookbooks that offer 30-minute recipes, crock-pot cookery, or other time-saving cooking approaches.
•  Ask your neighbors, friends or family members to help you by exchanging healthy meals with you.
  If you like how someone cooks specific, healthy foods, ask them to have a weekly meal exchange with you, where you both cook twice the amount of food you normally would for a meal, and trade at least 1 meal every week.

 If you can think of other creative ways to consume healthy meals or other aspects of healthy eating, please leave a comment below!

Proceed to Part IV

About the Author:

Kurt A. Krueger, M.S. Ed. teaches the techniques of Peak Performance Training through Success Systems International. He has been a University faculty member in Psychology and Physical Education, 11923 West Trail, Kagel Canyon, CA 91342.