To vegan or not to vegan, that is the question.

Should you go vegan?

Yes or no?

The choice is yours.

I’m not vegan, however I know plenty and they’re happy as Larry.

Fairly healthy too.

They’re also not the preachy kind either who try to force their beliefs on you, they’re like real sensible people who just want an easy sustainable life 🙂

Did you know there are a lot of reasons going vegan improves people health:

– They start eating more nutritious vegetables
– Processed food intakes takes a considerable dive
– A greater awareness of their food is gained
– Accountability, consistency and adherence suddenly appear
– Eating more nutritionally dense foods, yep this again

There are more reasons, however those are the initial ones.

Do I feel this is for everyone?

Nope.

However it’s not as terrible as some people make out, for starters you won’t waste away (unless you’re not planning your meals correctly and eating enough calories).

You will get plenty of protein.

The food options you’ll have are numerous.

All in all you’ll have little to none of the perceived issues that people say you will have, unless YOU aren’t planning your nutritional needs correctly, however that’s all on you, nothing to do with being vegan.

As with anything it’s a choice, be that for moral or perceived health reasons.

You often find when you get in to discussion with people about these topics they take one of two routes for some reason to convince you of their bias/point:

– argumentum ad passione (appeal to emotions)
– argumentum ad hominem (personal attacks)

Sometimes both.

Occasionally people draw in morality to the fray as well, usually rendering their points moot at best.

If you want to get a point across try to be reasonable and friendly, attacking someones morality or trying to emotionally blackmail them isn’t the most optimal route to take, just saying.

Now in our modern world we can live in any which way we choose, however it seems that people want to force others to conform.

If said people don’t conform all hell breaks loose.

When contemplating a choice try to gather the facts, the unbiased, non-emotionally charged facts.

Them look at the bigger picture and decide if it’s for you.

Say it is for you, great, fill your boots.

However perhaps it’s not, no worries, let go of that thought process and move on.

Seems simple enough, right?

If you’ve been toying with the idea or transitioning, do your research and perhaps give it a go, or don’t, it’s your choice after all.

Enjoy,
Ross

Lift, Lift, LIFT!

“I want to be big and strong”

 

^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.

 

“I want to be lean and strong”

 

^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.

 

While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.

 

I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.

 

These sports all centre around lifting:

 

– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)

– Body Building

– Powerlifting

– Strongman

– CrossFit (some may not like this one)

 

Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:

 

– Improved bone density

– Ligament/tendon health

– Delayed sarcopenia

– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few

– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)

– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)

– Increased strength for sport/daily life

– A boost in confidence

– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)

 

Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.

 

Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.

 

However….

 

If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.

 

Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.

 

What if lifting isn’t for you?

 

That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:

 

– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun

– Martial Arts

– Gym Classes

– Track & field

– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)

– Climbing/outdoor sports

 

There are almost endless options.

 

Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.

 

Now go, have fun and make progress.

 

Ross.

FREEZE!

Morning Guys,

Today I have a nice simple tip for you.

This simple tip will help save you money, improve your health and help you achieve the results you want.

Are you ready for this life changing tip?

Buy Frozen Vegetables

You will find that in a lot of supermarkets these days they have ‘fresh veg’ and ‘frozen veg’ and while the difference in price can be quite large, the difference in the amount of nutrients you will receive might surprise you.

Fresh veg that you can buy in a supermarket isn’t always as fresh as it could be, after all, it could have potentially been left on the shelf for several days before you bought it, thus losing vial nutrients each day it sits there. Frozen veg on the other hand is picked and frozen within 24 hours (Well, it was on the bags I looked at this weekend just gone, I would check the bag for a 24hour frozen notice.), this means the veg will continue to retain its nutrients and they will only start to decrease once you have defrosted them.

*I am not knocking fresh veg. If you can buy fresh veg either daily or every other day then more power to you, but the only issue that will have is the cost (people are stingy these days).

Apart from the frozen veg potentially have a more nutritious punch than its fresh counterparts in the supermarket, you will also find the price quiet appealing. For example, you can buy 100g of fresh veg for around £1, where as a frozen bag can cost as little as £1.40 for a whole kg! That’s 10x the amount for only 40p more, in my eyes that’s worth taking a gamble on.

The next time you go shopping make a not of how much your fresh veg would cost and then wander over to the frozen isle and make some comparisons. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Enjoy
Ross