Blogs - By Shane

BOOM MOOD!!!

So it’s a Sunday at 12:30pm and I have exactly 22 minutes before I am supposed to train!

So why am I taking time now of all times to sit here and start this latest entry?

Shouldn’t I be warming up and crushing shit in the gym before I start my actual workout. Warming up with your workout while eating the left over animal carcass from the night before for my PRE workout meal?

Nope, I’m here… writing a blog entry.. why?

Because I’M FLAT!

And it occurred to me that many people may feel this way from time to time.

So I have decided to shed some light on how I’m going to turn my FLAT mood in to a BOOM mood!

I say Boom mood because to me being in a BOOM mood is the best.

It’s when your energy is so high all you feel like doing is taking on anything and everything. Picking heavy stuff like an Olympian, running as fast as Ussain Bolt! Haha (I wish)

But you get what I mean, yeh?

It’s that unstoppable mood where you can be anything you want, do anything you set your mind to! This is the mood I’m going to be in at the end of this blog entry!

Guess what? It’s as EASY as that. I have, with that last sentence, put the energy into the universe that by the end of this entry I will be READY. I will be READY for what ever it is that I need to be ready for… which today is, TRAINING UP A STROM!

Now, obviously just SAYING you’re going to be a certain way will not guarantee that you ARE that way…

but it’s a STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION…and if we step pne foot after the other in the right direction, eventually we’re exactly where we need to be!

Now what? Now that I WANT to feel this way. I have SAID I want to feel this way… What do I do now?

Simple! Behave this way.

Think, right now, what do I need to do to start to shift what I’m doing with my behaviour and make a certain way that it will start making me feel/be a certain way?

I need to get my training gear ready. I need to set up my body so it matches my mind. I need to set up my MIND so it matches my BODY… I need to vibrate at the right energy to get both mind and body in line and on the SAME track!

Before I sat down to write this, while I was driving home I started to think..

It’s to hot to train…

Man I feel weak today, no energy.

I can train tomorrow…

It’s Sunday yeh, Monday is a better day to train.

Sunday is for doing nothing…

I’ll just watch what I eat and not train… I’ll be fine…

In the space of a 10 minute drive I had ALMOST COMPLETELY talked myself in to training TOMORROW…

But then it dawned on me that UNLESS I’m PREPARED TO GET MY ASS TO THE GYM NOW that I will not have the physique that I dream about, that when Monday comes I will probably have carried the same mentality in to that session and will STILL need to change my thoughts.

I kept driving and as I noticed that I was ‘STINKING THINKING’ I asked myself WHY? Why was it to hot? Why was I too tired… we’re all freaking tired!

Why was SUNDAY all of a sudden a NATIONAL REST day?

Why was MONDAY better then SUINDAY??

I could not give myself an honest answer so I said to myself this line that resonates so well with me at the moment. That line is “There are two types of people. People that CAN and people that CAN’T”

I intend to be a person who CAN!

With this powerful thought I will put my socks and shoes on, I will wind up the gym doors and turn the fans on.

I will put ALL thoughts to the back of my mind, to be delt with another day. I will load the bar more and more EVERY TIME my mind starts to tell me today is not the day and will punish it for continuing a cycle of SHIT ASS THINKING and only reward it once I have achieved what I WANT FROM IT!

What do I want? Simple.

I want to be better then I was yesterday!

See you in the gym!

In health and happiness,

Shane Richards

Chloes - Dexa Reults Broken Down!

Hey guys,

So for a while now I wanted to write something up to just get your heads thinking. 

I wanted to come up with a quick 10 minute read at the most, that would leave you all sitting at your computers going. “Aha!!! That makes sense”

Sooo I was thinking about what to write and right here next to me is the results for 

Chloe’s DEXA scan.

I started thinking that her results were AWESOME and it matched her level of  

COMMITMENT and it matched her level of CONSISTANCY over the last 12 months.

Chloe, as you all know, puts in 100% every day. 

This 100% being on her Physical goals, her mental goals and career goals.

She is a source of motivation and support, for more then a handful of people.

But let’s get on to looking at her results and breaking them down so we can show 

you what CONSITANT EFFORT and COMMITMENT to your bigger goals can really do for you.

Down to the nitty gritty:

What were her STATS?!?!

1^st Dexa: Body Fat% 25.5%
2^nd Dexa: Body Fat% 18.5%

Ok so lets take a look at this. We can see a MASSIVE improvement in her total % of body fat. 

Chloe has dropped 7% that’s not small feat. Let’s see below how she did this!

1^st Dexa: Total Body Weight: 55.9 Kgs
2^nd Dexa: Total Body Weight: 56.9 Kgs


This is the AWESOME part. It floats my boat when I see this results because it just 

emphasises that the SCALES MEAN SHIT!

Yes I swore! But it annoys me that people seem to JUDGE their success 

off a measurement that means NOTHING and then are SO connected to that result…

Why?  -__-

They forget about all the hard work they put in, the learning that goes into their training,

their performance increase in stability, endurance, speed, power, strength, stamina, HEALTH, HAPPINESS, PURPOSE, SELF WORTH, CONFIDENCE…etc

Some people just look at a numbers on the scales and JUDGE themselves by it…

We need to STOP doing this to ourselves…

The beauty of this is that Chloe has lost 7% body FAT and GAINED a whole KILO!

WOW! Ironic huh? Chloe managed to GAIN weight but yet has NEVER been so 

LEAN in all her life??

I’ll leave you with this thought for a bit while we move on. If her weight went up by a KILO 

and her body fat percentage went DOWN by 7% then would it be safe to say that the

scales have NO FUCKING IDEA when it comes to your success in the gym??
Stop treating your scales like the be all and end all of success! 

They are useless, chuck them out and never look back! Go on, I’ll wait here…………………….

Ok good, you’re back.
Venting is good hahaha now we can move on.

(the last 8 plus years of being a PT I have said this countless times every time I say it gets more passionate haha)

1^st Dexa: FAT mass: 14.3 Kilos
2^nd Dexa: FAT Mass: 10.6 Kilos

This measurement is THE AMOUNT OF FAT ON CHLOE.

From the TOTAL weight only 10.6kg of her is FAT.
This is the number a lot of people should focus on. Not the TOTAL body weight.

3.7 Kilo loss of Fat mass. Pretty cool huh. If you have even seen on the 

internet just HOW MUCH 1 kilo of fat actually is on its own then you will see a huge shift here. 

Go on, google it!

1^st Dexa: Lean Body Mass: 39.9 kg

2^nd Dexa: Lean Body Mass:  44.3 kilo

This measurement is the amount of LEAN MUSCLE Chloe has.

An impressive 4.5 Kilos of Muscle has been added to her body.
wow… that in SURE to increase her metabolism.

As we know, the more MUSCLE you carry the more metabolically active you are.
In short it’s like the more you have, the more you PAY to have it… like life… ?!?!

This is ONLY due to Chloe lifting HEAVY things.

I’m going to put it out there and say WITHOUT this increase in Lean Muscle she would NEVER have LOST the 7% body fat… instead she would have remained SKINNYFAT…. Instead of lean.

What’s skinnyfat? Well it’s not exactly fat and not exactly skinny… a common condition. Yes, it’s that technical. haha

The beauty of Chloes results are this:

Commitment and consistency to your training can not be stressed enough.
Simply put, NO you will not see results that BLOW your mind in 3 months, 6 months or

 maybe even 8 months BUT when you LOOK BACK over a prolonged amount of time 

(ATLEAST a year) you will see a change to:

STATE of mind

COMMITMENT TO YOUR HEALTH

Energy levels

Confidence

Body compositions

Happiness

Emotional stability

Understanding of your OWN BODY!

Take home message is:

THROW YOUR SCALES AWAY
Be CONSISTANT with your training. 

A WEEK OFF will not help you if you’re able to get to the gym, get there!
Be committed to taking on a new focus of challenges in the gym to keep things fresh.

 It’s OK not to be able to do something first go, heck even your 100^th go! 

Learn to be OK with this.
It’s OK to feel intimidated by exercise. Embrace it. I do! 

There is LOTS that still intimidates me and I’m a trainer of 8 years!!

Get out there, be positive, train for FUN, take it all in your stride and 

ALWAYS FIND A WAY to make it work…

 you have NO other options because this is your only one, success!

Change the story you tell yourself. 

Things like I’m not good enough, I haven’t trained enough

 I don’t eat well enough.. blah … blah… blah…

Know that so long as you’re giving this YOUR BEST SHOT

 then you ARE GOOD ENOUGH you will SUCCEED because there is always a way.

 We will be here with you searching for that way, that path, EVERY week.

The trainers here at HF Fitness really do CARE about you all. You can see that, you know that.

This is your opportunity, your life! Let’s take control. The tools are here. Learn to use them. 
Take as long as you need.

In health and happiness,

Shane Richards

Chloe's Journey ..... to be continued :)

WOW what an adventure... short BUT sweet and yet just the beginning... 

Emotionally, Mentally and Physically!!! 

or those of you who don't know much about me here it is... 

I'm 24, I'm a personal trainer working at a local gym and at Holistic Foundations. 

Previous to PT I've done hair dressing, and also worked in a kitchen, preparing, 

cooking and proportioning food.

It was here I developed an obsession with the scales and how I felt about my

body, I went from a healthy weight of 58kg (thinking I was "fat") I took it upon myself to 

cut calories, avoided all FATS  and took them completely out of my diet. 

I also OVER exercised excessively which then had me down to a miserable lowest 

weight of 46kg.

Id lost just about all my muscle mass, developed a condition called compartment 

syndrome due to over training and poor nutrition. I'd also develop a mild case of

what I'd consider bulimia, binging on meals followed by making myself vomit after. 

I've never really spoke much about this although my family, and friends at the time 

would often ask how I lost the weight, and show concern I was to skinny, I'd cover

it up, I was happy with my body and that's all that mattered. I was quick to become 

a very defensive person when people would make comments, these patterns and 

habits continued for months...

The day that saved me...

My sisters engagement party, We had plenty of photo's taken and after having them

developed I remember looking back at the photo's.

My brother made a comment "Chloe look how skinny your arms are" I remember 

seeing what he saw, for once I didn't defend myself, I looked and thought "wow"

 I look sick.. I don't look "fit" I have no muscles, I had done all this "hard work" and

was at square one... 

How did that make sense? 

I then decided that something wasn't right and I knew I needed to make changes.

I done some research and soon discovered I'd have to put on weight to get where 

I pictured I already was... 

Mentally this was a HUGE battle for me. To think I needed to go back up on the 

scales done my head in and I struggled with it a lot. I firstly changed my calorie intake.

I took on more food and kept exercising WAY to much (2-2.5 hours a day).. 

With this I discovered I now developed Gall stones and had massive 

Gall bladder attacks.I was hospitalised and told I had to have my 

Gall bladder removed.. Not wanting surgery I avoided this with slowly introducing 

different foods back into my diet.

Watching my weight go up and up and not seeing the change in my body happen 

fast enough "or at all really" had me frustrated, confused and even more unhappy 

then before. I was training, I was eating so why wasn't I getting results...

Having the passion / obsession with training and exercise I did but  then feeling

so uneducated was frustrating, SO it was at that point I decided to take on cert 3

and cert 4 in fitness and get myself a personal trainer at the local gym (Lynne)
 

This had to be the answer!! I was definitely going to see results now I had all the

tools right in front of me..right? Wrong!  

Turns out It still wasn't that easy, there was so many different diets, supplements,

 "right" ways, "wrong" ways, eat more of this less of that.. 

Aahhh I was going around and around in circles..

Working whilst completing my certs in fitness gave me confidence as a trainer

(although I still had a lot to learn about myself) I was ready to build a business

in the industry and help people for fill there fitness goals so I started my own

business at a local gym...

It's there I would discover a whole other world!!! 

My first Day...

I'd been introduced to many different trainers, but there was one in particular

that stood out. We chatted for ages  about training about food, a light bulb had

gone off in my head!

This guy made more sense in 10minutes then anyone or anything else did in 3 years!!

I had to learn more.. I booked in one on one consults with him and my now 

boyfriend - Shane.

Shane, taught me step by step, consult by consult how to research and make small 

changes and choices at a time that would then lead me to, see clearer,  think 

clearer, connect with my inner self, connect with different energy and become the 

person I had wished to see.

Once we touched on those aspects of my health we then tapped into my nutrition.

Shane required a food diary from me, from there he would also help me change 

the way I thought about food and how my body would use it for fuel.

I was scared, I was still weighing myself and the thought of having more 

meat and "FAT" blew my mind.. But I trusted Shane and I know what he said made 

sense, I knew it worked, I'd seen it work... 

I just had to change the way my mind thought.

"Chloe - you are what you eat and you will use fat for fuel"  

I would chant in my own head. I started to love my new "diet" and I soon realised

that this isn't a "diet"  this is lifestyle change this is what the human body 

is designed to do.

A balance of the 6 foundations of health.. 

Thoughts, nutrition, hydration, rhythm, movement and breathing. 

I needed to tap into all of these. While this seems simple it has been a rocky 

road and let's just say nothing comes "easy" the last 12 months has been one 

roller coaster ride.

I have been through huge life changing experiences, from separating

from a 7 year relationship, to solicitor battles, to moving out, to changing work place,

to Shane and I taking our friendship to a relationship and lastly ME deciding 

to do a Herbal Cleanse of MY body...

Yeh, It has been tough but heck I've learnt SO much about myself along the way.. 

I knew I needed the cleanse at this time in my life I was ready to clean out and 

de-clutter not only did this help me to de-clutter the inner me but also the

outer. It was the icing on the cake (sugarless of course lol)  to moving forward

in my life and to take action for my own self happiness.

If there is one thing that stands out above the rest from cleansing its how much 

more positive I've become as a person and I have accepted that for now my 

body does have trust issues from years of uneducated abuse but staying consistent 

and "educating it" with what I fuel it with,I know it will shift in time and I'm happy

to accept all the stages of change.

let's face it,  its a lifestyle change not a "QUICK" fix for a body building competition.

 
"it's never to late to be what you might have been" 


Chloe :-)  

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What's NEW at HF FITNESS?

So, a lot has happened and in such a short time! The only way to update you all is to create a blog post that will have all the info for you to read.

Let's start off with finding out what's happening 

This week coming
(9/7/2012)

Firstly, we are OFFICIALLY

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

My good friend Michael has converted to the BRIGHT side of life and is now a qualified Personal Trainer and is SUPER keen to get into his coaching roles at HF FITNESS. He is also taking on Personal Training sessions and is offering 3 x one on one personal training sessions for an extremely low price of $90. Make sure you contact myself or Michael by the 10th of July, which is when the offer will end.

 What's happening soon

Trudy is well on her way to completing her CERT IV as well and is now THUMP certified boxing instructor. As soon as she has all of her credentials in order we will be organising some times for boxercise classes. A combination of techniques, combos and fitness. Exciting on all levels.

HF FITNESS - Making Life easy!

Food Hampers are on their way! It's our goal at HF FITNESS to make your life EASIER!! Thus, the food hamper idea was released and is almost in full fruition.You will be able to get everything you need for a nourishing weeks of dinner and snacks right here at HF FITNESS straight after training. Taking the stress of shopping out of your life!

More in depth details on this as we get them in but so close we can taste the amazing meals and see the benefit this will have on our community. 

What's install in the future at HF FITNESS?

Spring Cleanse and workshops - learn out how you can cleanse your body from the toxins of the world we live in and the foods we sometimes eat.

Mind and body workshops - become in-tune with your mind and your body. Learn the techniques involved in creating a clearer mind and a better functioning body!

Competition days every month at the gym where you get to unleash all the hard work you have put in the whole month amongst your friends in some friendly competition. Pushing your self and accepting all challenges that come your way

Keep on living life, having fun and staying happy!


From the team @ HF FITNESS

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Top 5 ways to stay healthy


1. Sleep with the earth. Rise with the sun and start to relax with the sunset. I try to aim to get myself in bed at 10pm and be asleep by 10:30pm I wake up between 5am and 7am depending on the day. Sleeping to much make me feel soooo crappy. I get nothing done and i feel mentally congested if i over sleep. I actually feel better under sleeping by an hour or so then over sleeping by a few hours. 

2. Drink your body weight in Kg x 0.033 in water each and EVERYDAY. This could be one of the most over look health habit and could be preventing you from achieving your goals. It may be making you hurt. You need to keep your body well hydrated so it runs smooth. Easiest way to get an injury without trying is to become dehydrated. Make sure you focus on your water intake. If you drink coffee. Make up for it by adding at least a few HUNDRED mls more water.

3. Eat the best possible food. Always. No exception. You are what you eat. So it makes sense to be the BEST you can be. Avoid foods that will only STEAL and TAKE your hard work away from you. Sugary high GI foods will do you no good in abundance and in my personal opinion should be avoided. Do your research on everything you consume as it's your choice what you put in to your body.

4. Think positively and smile as much as you can. I know that sometimes I can be the FIRST to get uptight and frustrated over small things. BUT, i'm also one of the first to sit still and ask myself "does it really matter?" does getting frustrated and angry or negative actually HELP me in ANY way?? The answer is always no. Change your thinking, change your life. Some good advice I heard once was "Don't sweat the small stuff". After all if you have food, frineds and family majority of things can be worked out.

5. Get MOVING! Exercise is SUPER important and it really can be a stress release. The days that I don't train are some of my worst days, simply because I have not had a chance to use up excess energy and that creates anxiety within me. I use my work out for ME and time to focus my attention on things OUTSIDE my immediate lifestyle responsibilities. Training will never LIE or JUDGE me... it is as it is and I  do my workout with the thought in my mind that right now all i need to do is focus on my NEXT REP. This, to me, is relaxing! :) 


In Health and Happiness,

Shane Richards.

What makes us healthy?

 What makes us healthy?

You would think that this was an easy question to answer, right?
Turns out that almost everyone has their own opinion on what health is!

We all have that certain someone who claims to know something about what makes us healthy.

While many may claim to have the answers, we only need to look at the spiralling rates of Heart Disease, Diabetes and Cancer to see that many of the people feeding us information may not actually know as much as they may think!

I personally believe that it all stems back to the old saying “You are what you eat!” I quite literally believe that this is 100% true.

When you sit back and think about our bodies on a cellular level you start to see the connection. Our bodies are a collection of 100 trillion cells. Every second we are replacing old ones with new ones. What are we making these new cells from? Is it that sneaky meat pie we had for lunch, the chips we had on the side, the milk shake that we washed it down with?

Would it not be fair to say that, maybe if we ate foods like Free Range Chicken, Pasture Fed Beef, pesticide, herbicide and fungicide FREE fruit and vegetables then we could quite possibly make a difference to the state of health in our country?

Real health comes from good choices and EVERY dollar we spend is quite literally a vote that says that we want MORE of what we bought to be included into our life.

Who would YOU rather give your hard earned money (vote) to? A product manufactured in a lab and made up of ingredients we cannot even recognise let alone pronounce? Or do we support our local farmers doing it right not only by us (our health) but the livestock and the crops and providing us with real health promoting foods to nourish our bodies?

   How can we make change to our health?

Modify our lifestyle, vote with our dollar, make smart choices and buy REAL food, support local farmers doing it right by us, the animals and the soil!

Without making change to something in our lives we will not get anything different then what we already have. Find priority in our change and change will find us!

In Health and Happiness,

Shane Richards
Personal Trainer
Lifestyle Coach and Educator
Australian Weightlifting/Sports Power Coach LVL 1
Food Realist

www.holisticfoundations.blogspot.com
M: 0405 477 843

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Life changes, constantly!

Life is amazing and the only CONSTANT is change!

Pretty cool huh!?!

I was sitting here thinking of all the changes that I have made in the last year and a bit. Mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually over the last 12 months!

Here is what I came up with.

I changed:

My changed my hair

My changed my clothes

I changed the way I brush my teeth

I eat more eggs then anyone I know

I changed my diet and now eat mainly meat

 My diet is 70% fresh, happy, healthy and whole pasture raised animals

I have dropped carbohydrate consumption down to 60g – 120g max per day

I changed the way I vote. Instead of voting at a ballot box I vote every day with my dollar.

I care more now then ever about the environment 

I care about humanity and understand it more

I changed the way I see myself and now I care more about myself then I have in the past

I have a great connection with the earth and changed my perception and instead of always taking I try to give back to this amazing life force that gives to me everyday

I have created a website and change how my voice is heard

I have several new clients, together we are changing!

I changed the way I store my foods (in glass) 

I don’t buy plastic bottles anymore (instead I use Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottle)

I try my best not to use plastic bags where I can (re-usable) 

I learnt to cook good whole foods

I changed how I cook and now slow cook 80% of my meats

I changed how I eat and now I eat raw foods more often

I have changed my perception on life. I don’t know that thinking and being positive will work all of the time, but I do know, negativity will! 

I now cook with stainless steel and not Teflon

I go to bed at 10:30 or before almost every night

I changed the way I breath (deep belly breaths instead of shallow neck and chest breaths) 

I changed the way I train. Smarter, not harder. 

I changed the way I see the seasons. I try to cleanse with them and work with them.

I changed the people I hang out with and socialise with. You can become a little bit of the top 5 people you spend your time with. Make sure you like them, not tolerate them

I changed the way I spend my 24 hours each day

I decided to start practical mediation

I changed my rush around and panic life style for one that’s slow paced and more relaxed. I now MAKE time to lay in the sun when it’s out.

I changed where I live 

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These are honestly just the changes I have thought of in the last 15 minutes I have been sitting here. I know there are PLENTY more and there should be!

Are you changing? Are you growing? Are you moving forward or standing still?

These are questions that I like to ask… Just like migrating animals, moving on with life means growth and survival. Standing still and not doing anything can mean death. It’s not so morbid or dramatic when you think about how important it really is for us all as animals.

It’s been one year. You will all make new years resolutions at the end of this one. But maybe we should first reflect on how much we have done THIS year and give ourselves a big pat on the back and say, well done! What can I do now to help me on this wonderful journey we call life?

Post thoughts and changes you’ve made to comments below!

Sourdough Over White Bread

(Guest Bloger - Kallie Kitas)

Hey Everyone.

Below is an article written by a friend of mine, Kallie Kitas (check out her health blog - CLICK HERE). I asked her to come up with an article talking about sourdough and refined white breads. She gladly excepted this challenge. I have copy pasted what Kallie wrote. Please after you read it i encourage questions, compliments and critisism. Kallie would be happy to respond to it all.

Thank you Kallie, I hope you  had fun with your guest spot on our blog!

Sourdough bread VS refined bread 

White bread accounts roughly 50% of people’s diets now days. There has been a significant 10% rise from 1911 where it accounted 40% of someone’s diet. What is the deal with white bread? And why are all these white processed stuff bad for us?

First of all, when buying bread or any food for that matter, it is always a good idea to read the ingredients, know what source and the processing methods are used and the quality of it.

White bread is probably the death of nutrition. What is it made up of?

• Cheap processed salts
• Cheap trans fats (hydrogenated oils)
•  Bleaches
• *High fructose corn syrup
•  Soy
•  Emulsifiers
• Preservatives
•  Treatment agents (oxidant chemicals)
•  Reducing agents

The tricky thing with most of these ingredients is that some of these may not be written at the

back of the ingredients list due to it not being required.

The fact is food that is white, processed and highly refined such as bread, is NOT nutrient dense food, and lacks minerals and vitamins. Also, when the grains become highly processed, the nutrition from them denatures and turns into sugar. Not only do the grains lose its nutrition from refined and processing methods, but also:

• 50% of calcium
•  80% of iron
• 50-80% of B vitamins
•  Vitamin E
•  70% of phosphorus
•  98% magnesium

What are the detrimental effects of eating this white sugary, trans fatty crap?

It results in vitamin and mineral loss such as B-vitamins, predominately B12. A loss of B vitamins causes certain illnesses such as Anaemia.

There is an increase rate of digestive complaints and diseases such as Celiac disease and Gluten intolerance. Also, a rise in asthma and allergies due to an enzyme used in poorly sourced and processed white bread called amylase. Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugars.

The wheat and grains that are used to make bread have been sprayed with fungicides, herbicides, insecticides hormones and pesticides. These all have an affinity to intoxicate us with chemical overload which contributes risk of diseases.

White bread is a mass production like maccas and the beef industry of factory farms, so speed and high heat are rolling in full action. The aftermath of the high speed and heat is a chlorine gas bath. The purpose of a chlorine gas bath is an aging agent as well as a whitener.

In addition, the white processed flour has turned into starch which contains literally NO nutrients (even from the start). All these chemicals that are put in bread release a chemical by-product called alloxan which is simply a chemical substance to induce diabetes in healthy

mice. 

On a side note, now there are breads that have fortified iron, omega 3’s and added nutrients. If an added nutrient is from a powdered form, it has undergone high heat, resulting into denatured enzymes which results in lack of nutrients and vitamins and an increase of carcinogens. You cannot create nutrients that the body doesn’t produce NOR replicate them through powdered crap. It’s all a marketing scheme and they do a pretty good job of it. 

So what’s the deal with sourdough bread? 

Sourdough bread is bread that has been processed traditionally through fermentation. There are live cultures such as lactobacilli and wild yeast in sourdough bread. The beauty with sourdough bread is that the grains have been picked organically (free of pesticdies, fungacides, insecticides etc) and soaked to remove the phytic acid to make it more digestible for our digestive systems. 

The starter for sourdough bread includes filtered water and grain flour that has been milled slowly and properly to not destroy the nutrients during the process. It is left to ferment so the microorganisms can expand and turn complex sugars and starches into foods/nutrients they can survive on. The microorganisms create enzymes to break down the process to nourish them. This creates a by-product of carbon dioxide which creates the bubbles on the dough which allows the dough to rise. 

Furthermore, through this process, lactic acid, acetic acid and ethanol are created. These products allow the bread to give it its flavour and natural preservative to decrease moulding. Sourdough breads do NOT use baker’s yeast OR any fake commercial sourdough starter parks as they’re highly processed and refined and left with no nutrients. It is the power with the wild yeast and lactobacilli that creates the yeast. 

The problem with baker’s yeast is that it is used for commercial marketing as it’s for mass production (such as white bread). It rises quicker and reduces fermentation time – this looses nutrients and good bacteria growth of the bread. This leads the bread not to be digested properly as it doesn’t allow the bacteria and yeast to synergise together. 

What’s wrong with a diet high in carbohydrates? 

However, as much as sourdough bread is BETTER over white bread, my recommendation is to consume sourdough bread from Sonoma once a week. A high carbohydrate diet can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. We all hear that a high carbohydrate diet is preferred over fat; however, our body needs FAT as fuel, NOT carbohydrate. 

A high carbohydrate diet (white breads, sugars, white pasta, white flour etc) deplete the body of energy and fuel that is needed which as a consequence fat storage begins. Carbohydrates that aren’t used immediately by the body are stored as glycogen which consists of two storage organs – liver and muscles. This then sends a signal hormonally to create any excess carbohydrates to be stored in adipose tissue. Not only that, a high carbohydrate diet raises levels of blood glucose. This puts a lot of pressure on the pancreas as it secretes insulin into bloodstream to create homeostasis. 

What are the signs and symptoms of a high carbohydrate diet?

• * Fatigue
• * Fogginess
•  Hypoglycaemia
• Bloating
• * Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Sleepiness
•  Increased fat storage
•  Depression
• What does a wholefoods diet look like?
• Free of processed, highly refined foods (packaged, canned, frozen foods) additives, chemicals, colourings, sugar, white flour, fructose corn syrup, protein powders, supplements, hydrogenated oils (trans fats, canola oil etc)
• Whole grass-fed meat, fat and protein – lamb, duck, chicken, pork, wild fish and seafood that isn’t factory farmed, raw pastured butter, extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil and coconut oil, whole cheeses and whole full-fat milk
•  Seasonal and organically grown fruits and vegetable’s
•  Lacto-fermented foods such as kefir and sauerkraut
• *Seeds, nuts, grains and legumes are soaked overnight to remove phytic acid to make it more digestible. Sourdough bread in moderation – once a week
• Raw honey as an alternative to sugar in moderation
•  Celetic sea salt over refined table salt and variety of herbs and spices (purchase from OVViO The Organic Lifestyle Store) to enhance flavour and taste
•  Bone broths – save all the bones from any meat that has been eaten and place in a bowl with filtered water, apple cider vinegar to extract the nutrients from the bone, Celtic sea salt, pepper and herbs and spices and simmer. High in many minerals such as glucosamine, calcium, selenium, magnesium and many more
• Consume loose leaf organic herbal teas (purchase OVViO The Organic Lifestyle Store) to reduce consumption of caffeine and energy drink.

Sources:

•  http://www.westonaprice.org/basics/dietary-guidelines 
• http://alive.com/368a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=453
• http://alive.com/368a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=453

Sick Animals - Vote with Your $$

Which would you prefer?

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The last week or so has been a real battle for me to understand certain peoples outlooks on animals and food.

To me, to be healthy means I take every opportunity to make an informed and educated decision that will best suit my personal, physical and mental goals. 

To do this, I make sure I understand what I'm supporting with every dollar that I spend. I buy from local farmers who farm in sustainable manners and look after their animals, their soil and the earth.

I have a question for everyone to think about. How can a person become and experience supreme health and wellness unless the animals, fruits and veg they consume are coming from a healthy source to begin with? 



Do people honestly expect to help repair nutrient deficiencies by eating animals that were less healthy then them to start with?

Lets use cage chickens as an example. If you are choosing to buy a caged chicken you are basically saying that you're happy to purchase/support the inhumane treatment of that chicken. You're also ok with it being abused almost if not all of it's life, kept in side ALL it's life (like a prisoner), never allowed to just sit and relax without having to FIGHT for it's life every day against other chickens. These animals are incredibly unhealthy and definitely nutrient deficient in so many areas. The obvious one is Vitamin D. Not being allowed outside has some serious health inpacts and effects. How will you make Vitamin D if the food you're eating to help you produce vitamin D didn't have it in the first place?

Instead, what you may opt to do to help support your OWN health, the ANIMAL and the ENVIRONMENT is first find a farmer who allows their chickens to roam outside, having a full and complete life. Allowed to eat their natural diet, allowed to bath in the dirt and dust and able to stretch out their wings and lay in the breeze relaxing not freaking out from over crowded pens. This way you to can be healthy and so can the chicken who has given it's life to help support YOUR life.

Consuming sick and dead animals will only lead to more of the same in humans!

Is it any surprise that 1:2 - 1:3 Australians are suffering from some for of cancer or other health related disease? When will we learn that getting back to HOW WE EVOLVED and supporting the LIVING EARTH will be the only way that will prevent this ratio from getting worse?

We have gone off our traditional diets SOOO much that it scares me to think how further off track we may get unless someone starts to see the link!!


The first people who can start this revolution of change, is you and me. Own your thoughts and decisions on ALL your health choices. Support local farmers doing it right by the soil, the animals and the earth. Make sure you eat organic, fresh fruit and veg grown without pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilisers.

We can do it. Together, we can make the world change for the better.



Health and Happiness

Shane Richards

Super Pooping 

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A lot of you will look at this post and laugh. But back in the day, seeing you poop sitting on a white porcelain bowl would have made many people laugh and look quite silly!



Why? Because a full squat position is the NATURAL way to defecate. Toddlers will naturally squat down to relieve themselves. Do you think our caveman ancestors (Grok) would have known what to do with such a device like the toilet?

No! Of course not. Grok would have just done what felt good and this was his natural instinct. This natural urge to fully squat down to do number twos is something that not only EASY but is a HEALTHY and FUNCTIONAL way to use the bathroom!

Not only do you get a FULL movement and evacuation you do so with minimal effort. You massage your organs at the same time, you stretch out your spine and you also get a great stretch in all your lower body muscles that sometimes NEVER see that range of movement. Keeping them moveing and keeping them flexible can only mean that when you're old and grey you will not need anyone to help you do something that you should always have the ability to do. Age should not prevent you from using the bathroom alone. Plus, even as a 90 year old, you'll have a pretty cool squat!!

Grok had his shit sorted, excuse the pun! haha He knew that he could eliminate all waste, and do it as quick as possible if he squatted down instead of sitting on top of something.

The lillipad has been invented to help us re-connect with our Grok selves!!
The lillipad is a wooden stool designed to help you get in to a proper position with having to stand on your toilet seat or instead of having it taken out! haha

There are other benefits to squatting and they are:



Proactive in avoiding colon cancer
Alleviate hemroids (hemorrhoids)
Optimum birthing position (gets you pregnant ladies prepared for birth and better control)
Beneficial spinal stretch (as discussed above)
Help prevent Knee and hip and degenerative disk diseases

What do you have to lose? Give it ago. You be the judge. I first experienced squatting this wonderful way of using the bathroom about a year ago now and have not looked back (unless it was a freezing cold morning and getting undressed was not an option!! haha) In hindsight I think never having to sit on a cold toilet seat again is a good enough reason to give it up!!

Post to comments your thoughts and let me know if you've had ago!!


Health & Chi

Shane Richards

The Cost Of Healthy Living

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I have been thinking about the  different types of reservations I get when I talk about eating whole, organic foods and buying the best quality food you can buy.

I decided to break down my own shopping budget for the week so that people can see that eating healthy is not a break the budget matter!

What I consume weekly (cooking for my girlfriend and myself)

$50 - Eggs (If you know me, you know I consume a lot of eggs)

$90 - Meat (When you buy roasts, they last a lot longer then single serves)

$21 - Milk (6 litres a week)

$16.90 - Cheese (A great healthy snack to enjoy between meals or after training)

$15 - Blueberries (can;t live without them haha in my yumy shakes!)

$8 - Coconuts (Food of LIFE. Do you have the food of life in your house?)

$15 - Fruit and Veg (added flavour and texture to some meals)

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$215.90 - Total (107.95 Each)

Now, the above list is WORST case scenario. I mean I never have to buy all that in one week. I put that list up, to show you what it would cost to go and buy everything you'd need to set yourself up with good food in the house, so that every meal you have something you can make that is fresh and healthy!

My bills there-after would almost be 1/4 to 1/2 less, every other week.

Keep THAT in mind before you tell me you only have $50 a week to spend on food.

Let's break it all down.

I spend $108 per week divided by 7 days in the week = 15.42 per day

I eat close to 6 meals almost everyday so daily price (15.42) divided by each meal = $2.57 per meal!

$2.57 a meal - So realistically even if you doubles the $108 to $216pw it would still be CHEAPER then chips ($5.17 per meal)

You won't get anything from any fast food chain (worth eating) for that price!

Especially when you consider once again that the foods I'm buying are all organically raised, they are fed on pasture in their natural environments and not treated inhumanly!

Supporting myself with good nourishing food.

Supporting the environment.

Supporting humanity and rewarding farmers for doing things right by the soil.

When you buy from big corporations and big chain supermarkets you help to secure their dominance on our food industry and support poor quality food and the destruction of our environment.

We need to understand by paying for goods we are voting to have MORE of what ever it is we're buying in our lives. I'm happy to know that 90% of my income goes to people who are doing it right and trying to create healthy wholesome foods.

 In Health & Happiness,

Shane Richards

--> Find Priority In Your Change and Change Will Find You!

Today I’m going to put things into perspective a little. Not only for myself but to share with everyone that change is possible. 

I’ve decided to share a little bit about my back ground and how I got in to looking for a better answer when it came to nutrition. And how I now OWN every health choice I make!
I live under the philosophy that someone won’t do better, unless they know better. This is one part of my 2 part philosophy. Part 2 goes with part one. Find priority in your change and change will find you. 

People often don’t understand or know any better. How can they then be expected to do better? The reverse is common also. People often know what is better for them but have not surrounded it with priority or enthusiasm to help change. So in my opinion, a person would need to first understand a better way, then second make it their priority to change. 

Sometimes, a person is forced into change i.e. health related illness, emotional energy either expressed by them selves of by an external force like a wife or a child to change their habits and ways. Stuff like this. Sometimes change comes from looking at other people, wishing that you yourself had what they had. You look at these people and say “wow, it’s really working for them! Maybe if I change I can also have it work for me.” (Just to clarify “it” Can be anything. It’s your change!) 

Now I guess the reason I changed was a little of column A and a little of column B. (emotional and health) I had some pretty restricting health problems and I had seen some things in some people that made me think change needed to be done. It was just that the things I had seen were not very inspiring. 

My parents at the time represented a bunch of things that I did not want for my life. They seemed to be un-happy, they were angry, bitter, negative, victims to the world and stressed. This was obvious to anyone who knew them. So instead of me looking at someone I wanted to become, I was seeing and living with people who I knew I didn’t want to become. 

Mum, dad if you’re reading this, please know that I am EXTREMELY happy for the experiences you guys gave me. With out you two maybe I would have not started on my amazing life journey. Maybe I would have taken life for granted for a lot longer and missed the multitude of opportunities I have taken already. This is in no way, shape or form an insult to you! You were good parents but you had a very different lifestyle to the one I wanted for myself.
I feel that if you have seen a life that is not right for you, not only seen it, but lived it for a considerable amount of time then it will motivate you to push towards the things you DO want in life, eventually. 

Change is not hard, unless that is what you make it. I used fear as a motivator. Fear is a powerful emotion. It pushes us to our best. It can sometimes however devour us in irrational thinking, negative thinking and worst of all procrastination. The fear of doing NOTHING with my life scares me the most and makes the idea of change an easy one. 

Do you have fear in your life? If so, what are you doing to use it as a way to get what you want out of life. After all, life is about growing and achieving the things in your mind that make you happy. It can be anything! 

Blame is useless and I don’t blame my poor nutritional habits on my parents. Sure they were older, had more experience had the income and the resources to give a better nutritional up bringing. But did they know better? How could they DO better unless they KNEW better? Did they know that through my younger years how important OPTIMAL nutrition was? That because of the foods I was eating it was adding to the chance of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, a bunch of autoimmune disease and hormonal suppression? 

Probably not. Did they realise that not only was it important for my growth and development of my body but how important it was to my mind and metal ability? My ability to handle my own emotions, my own thoughts? 

All too often do we put the responsibility for our well-being in the hands of other people and then blame them when things go wrong. This is a waste of time and energy!
Eventually I had the information. I had grown up, I was now in charge of the things I did, the food that I ate and the way I lived. I took advantage of this. Now I was the only person who was going to help me! This is very liberating. 

Over the next 7 – 8 years after moving out of home I studied the human body, the effects of foods, the different types of ways of eating and came to one conclusion. I needed to own my own health decisions; I could not listen to others about what was good for me. I needed to learn them, listen to my body and do what it needed. Sure I could see in line with some of the health recommendations but ultimately it would always seem to lead to an ulterior motive for this advice. One place you can see this in full force is our food pyramid or product pyramid as I like to call it. (an article on this soon) 

The best advice I have ever received was to look at the source of the information. Is there a reason that this information is being presented in a particular way? Do they have something to gain from you doing this and the best question of all. What if they are wrong? These question help me filter through the useless crap I find on the internet and help me side up to things I like and see merit in. Thus enabling change!

In conclusion, if a once negative, nutritionally void individual can see a clearer brighter future in changing my ways one step at a time until I’m where I want to be and can implement small things in to my life in order to help, so can you, so can anyone.
We all have the same TIME each day. It’s just what we each do with our time that makes us different. What will you do today to bring you closer to happiness and your much wanted goals?

As always, keep smiling and stay awesome!
Also, if there is anything or any story you would like to add. Please do not hesitate to add it to the comments section. If you share your thoughts then people can get a broader perspective. Plus I like reading comments! haha

 

Health & Happiness,

Shane Richards

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Define yourself 

 I have seen a few things this last week that got me thinking!

Who do we define ourselves as?

What do we stand for?

What won't we stand for?

Are you the party animal? The comedian? the victim? the passive one? The aggressive one? The over weight one? The smoker? The healthy one? The fit one? The drunk one? ect

These things will create us, define us. Give us direction.

The reason that I bring it up, is simply because if we change our perspective, we change our life.

Don't you agree that if you see yourself as the person who doesn't like training, hates movement and trying to eat well, then you will become what you perceive.

You start to become someone who is not healthy, doesn't like to train and won't eat well or make healthy decisions because that's not how you see yourself deep down.

Does it not make sense then to change your definition of yourself when trying to make change? Create a big enough WHY/NEED to change and you will.

If you don't have a big enough WHY/NEED for change then you will rely on will power. Will power alone does not work all of the time. Only the extremely disciplined will be able to have enough will power to make change for life.