Friday, May 6, 2016

Good Morning!

Good morning!
Yesterday was Happy National Day of Prayer!
Do you know what your brain is not designed to do? 
Action for Today:
My challenge to you is to think of an area of your life you are having difficulty in and want to improve.
For the next 21 days, take three minutes at the end of the day and write down what about that problematic situation you appreciate, what’s good and what you’re grateful for.
This could be a confrontational co-worker at the office, your job as a whole or your troubled marriage… anything or anyone that frustrates or negatively affects you.
I promise you, when you change how you look at a situation, the situation changes.
Who is up for this simple 21-day challenge?
Come on, just reading this and thinking about it won’t help you.
As Johann Von Goethe said, “Knowing is not enough; we must apply.”
Ideas without implementation are useless. Ideas executed have the power to change the world—particularly your world.
Take the challenge.
Not for me, for you. Will you?
3 minutes a day for 21 days.
Who’s in?
Declare that you will and what you are committed to being grateful for during the next 21 days in the comments below.
Don’t be a silent “lurker”, encourage others by sharing your declaration in the comments section.
Your Daily Mentor,
-Amber Davis 

The idea is a compelling one: If you eat the right foods, your metabolism switches into overdrive and your body magically starts depleting its fat stores. So, the theory goes, if you'd just eat more egg whites, or garlic, or grapefruit, you'd lose the weight you'd want.

Unfortunately, your body just doesn't work this way. Yes, carbohydrates, dietary fat, and protein can increase your metabolism (your body's ability to convert food to energy) slightly, but it's still a relatively small increase in the long run.

The fact is that when you eat any food, your metabolism increases to digest and use the food's calories for various functions. This is called the "thermic effect" of food—and the effect is always temporary. No one food can elevate your metabolism for extended periods. Green tea, hot peppers, celery—they've all been touted as "fat-burning" foods, but research has repeatedly shown that none of them cause any measurable increase in metabolism.

Interestingly, though, some recent data suggests that while certain foods may not "burn" fat, you may not absorb as many calories from them as once thought.

For example, David Baer, MD, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, studied the measured energy value of pistachios in the human diet. Baer's team found that the amount of calories study participants absorbed from pistachios was actually five percent less than the number of calories on the nutrition facts panel for the pistachios.
No, that's not a substantial amount you should obsess over, but know this: Your body doesn't absorb every calorie from the food you eat (some just pass through you undigested), particularly if that food contains fiber and/or protein.

Does this mean that eating pistachios will burn fat? Of course not. But it lends evidence to the concept that the amount of calories you think you're eating may not actually be what you're eating.

Other foods have followed suit with the pistachio study: apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and beef, are some examples. Scientists are still sorting out exactly what role protein and fiber play in non-absorbable calories.

What does this all mean for you?

1. Don't believe the hype about certain foods possessing "fat-melting" properties.

2. This is just another reason to add more fiber- and protein-rich foods to your diet.

Try to include meat or seafood, vegetables and fruit, as well as complex carbohydrates at each meal. Though this won't turn you into a metabolic machine, it will fuel your body and help you consume fewer calories from those foods you eat.

And it's no coincidence that those exact same foods help to fuel muscle growth, fight disease, and keep you fuller for longer so you eat fewer calories over the course of a day. Bonus!

You are full of greatness...