If you are looking for the perfect career option, you might be thinking about majoring in finance. However, you could be wondering what your job opportunities will look like if you do end up getting this degree. Luckily, this is a career field that has a lot of different opportunities. These are some of the potential careers in finance you can look into.
Financial Planner
Some people need a lot of help with their personal finances. They might be having trouble meeting their financial goals or might just be looking to make the most out of the money they’ve saved and worked for. For these individuals, a financial planner can be incredibly helpful.
After majoring in finance, you can choose to help people with their personal finances by becoming a financial planner. In this job, you will help people determine how to handle their money, achieve their financial goals and plan for their future. You’ll need a broad and varied view of finances and be able to advise on a variety of financial topics.
Budget Analyst
Many businesses and non-profit organizations like to have someone who will take a second look at their budget to help determine where they can make cuts and changes. As a budget analyst, you can help these businesses and organizations to improve the way they spend their money.
Office Secretary
If you love the idea of working in an office, you might like the idea of being an office secretary. With this type of job, you will help with handling finances, but you may have to wear a lot of other hats as well. This could be a good fit for someone with a finance degree. Someone with a human resources degree or general business degree might also find this as a good job choice.
Accountant
One of the most common jobs that people with finance degrees look for is a job as an accountant. Of course, there are all sorts of different accountants.
You could choose to primarily work with individuals who need help with their taxes or you could work for a business and handle their payroll, budgeting, taxes and more. You could even open your own accounting firm and provide accounting services of various types to those who need them.
Credit Analyst
If you choose a career as a credit analyst, you will generally work within a bank or lending institution. Your job will be to take a look at the credit profiles of individuals who apply for various types of loans. After assessing their profiles, you’ll determine whether or not they qualify for the loan.
Insurance Actuary
If you choose a career as an actuary for an insurance company, your job will be to calculate risks. As you might already know, insurance companies generally base their customers’ rates by the chances of them filing a claim.
Professor
If you are passionate about finance and would love to share it with others, you can always consider working as an instructor at a college or university. By teaching finance classes, you will be able to improve your own education and share your knowledge with the rest of the world.
As you can see, engaging in these careers in finance can be a wonderful thing as they can open up a lot of doors for you. If you think you might be interested in one of these careers or another career in finance, consider looking into your options for attending a school with a good finance program. After that, you can start working your way to achieving your career goals.
When you are running a business, you have a lot of hard decisions to make.
Should you hire more people or keep running on a skeleton crew? Should you expand to that new location or keep your business small? Can you afford to sink your cash into merchandise or should you hold on to it a while longer?
No one has a crystal ball, so making business decisions can be a very stressful thing to do. One thing that can help is paying attention to what is happening within the economy, both locally and nationally.
Local Economy Matters
If you live in an area where there is a general push to support small businesses, that can definitely help your small business to do well. Doing business in a place where the cost of living is low can also help you to keep your business expenses low. You won’t need to pay someone $100,000 a year for working at a drive thru when the cost of living is low.
Living wages are, by definition, lower when the cost of living is low. In essence, this means that the cost of doing business can be kept lower in these areas as well.
It’s also important to pay attention to things like foreclosures and bankruptcies in your local area. Some areas have a greater concentration of economic issues or have those issues earlier than the rest of the country.
It’s not every person’s responsibility to keep track of every single thing that happens in business. However, as someone who is aspiring to be successful, you need to be observant of the situation, especially if you are making business decisions.
Looking at economic trends can give you an indication of which way the overall economy is headed. Maybe things are still going great in your small town but foreclosures are up across the nation. There’s a good chance it’ll affect your town, too.
There are many different economic indicators you can look at to determine how the economy is doing. There’s even a lipstick indicator. When lipstick sales go up, it generally means the economy is in a downturn and people are still treating themselves in smaller ways.
Some of the most common economic indicators in the United States economy are:
Consumer Financial Stress- When spending goes down and debt loads go up, that’s a good indicator that the economy is heading for a downturn.
Housing Starts- When people build more new homes, the economy may be on an upswing.
Bankruptcy- More bankruptcies can mean that people are ready to put their debt behind them and move forward.
Foreclosures- As with bankruptcies, foreclosures can indicate that people are ready to move forward and get on the right track. High foreclosure rates and high numbers of foreclosures at a specific area can also indicate that there is stress in the banking system, as we saw in the foreclosure crisis of 2008.
Knowing Where The Economy Is Headed Helps You Make Better Business Decisions
Imagine you are in the restaurant business. You want to open a fancy French restaurant in the hottest part of town. Rent will be high. Overhead will be high. Meals will be pricey.
If the economy is headed upward, you have a better shot of making it work. However, if everyone around you is having their houses foreclosed and filing for bankruptcy, it’s obvious that they wouldn’t have extra cash to spend on an expensive meal.
Legal Intakes Can Clear Up Confusion
When you have two or more economic indices that seem to be contradicting each other, you may need a little more information to make sense of it all. Legal indices track legal intakes across the country and can help clear up any confusion about two indices that seem to be at odds with each other.
If foreclosures are up but legal indices show they are old foreclosures moving out at the same time housing starts are up, that’s a pretty good indicator that the economy is on an upswing after all.
When we look back across our lives, it is often the most prominent of events and landmarks that we remember: a kiss, a birthday party, a new job, or a sporting achievement. Yet it is the way we live our day-to-day lives that truly defines who we are and how we feel. Happiness breeds happiness, and it is important to start with the fundamentals.
All around the world, ordinary people and famous achievers alike have developed ways to buoy their daily experience for thousands of years. Whether due to the local climate, religious and cultural tendencies, or just a chance habit that caught the imagination of others in that region, every place has its own techniques to share on how to make regular life just that little bit nicer.
So let’s take a look at things folk from around the world do to give their day that tweak it needs, and how you can adapt these ideas to your daily life.
Japan
The Japanese have a relatively new ‘tradition’ to reconnect with their souls. It’s called ‘shinrin-yoku’, or forest-bathing, and was developed in the 1980s in an atmosphere of suffocating cityscapes and omnipresent technology.
To practice shinrinu-yoku:
Go for a walk in the forest, or a wooded area of your local park
Take time to think about every sound you hear while you walk
Appreciate the smells and the texture of the trees
Reconsider your existence in the context of our ancient natural world.
Hawaii
The Hawaiians have a particular method for dealing with problems in everyday relationships: ‘Ho‘oponopono’. Whether it’s your partner, a friend, or a colleague at work whom you feel has done you wrong, Ho‘oponopono is a means of figuring out things by yourself rather than responding rashly and making things worse.
Allowing resentment to build will ultimately hurt you more than the person to whom it is aimed. Instead:
Take a deep breath
Find ten minutes to think things through
Be grateful for what you have
Forget your own needs for a moment and consider the other person’s point of view
Express your own feelings calmly
Work towards mutual forgiveness.
Norway
‘Friluftsliv’, or ‘free air life’, is the Norwegian practice of spending time in the outdoors. Aside from the benefits of fresh air, subjecting yourself to decent amounts of natural daylight can help you to regulate your sleep and stay in touch with the natural rhythms of the world around you.
If you spend most of your time indoors:
Establish a morning and/or evening ‘outdoors ritual’, such as walking the dog
Use every coffee break at work as an opportunity to get some fresh air
If it’s warm enough, eat lunch outdoors; otherwise, take a stroll through the park before you eat indoors
Look beyond the borders of your town. It’s usually easy to find a national park or natural area to visit on the weekends.
Germany
If the Norwegians are all about heading into nature by themselves to ‘re-connect’, Germans are more about reconnecting with each other. ‘Gemütlichkeit’ is that particularly German manner of celebrating togetherness with a frothy beer, a song and a dance.
To get some of this goodness in your own social life:
Be careful not to take the people you live and work with for granted
Never miss a chance to raise a toast
Take time to greet people properly and say meaningful goodbyes, even if you see them every day.
Spain
The famous Spanish siesta is an endangered animal. Sadly, even as experts more frequently recommend an afternoon nap to boost workplace productivity, many business managers are concerned that lost time and energy is bad for profit margins.
To take a healthy, effective siesta:
Nap for no more than thirty minutes
Sleep in an armchair or sofa rather than a bed
Make sure you do it regularly and not just as an occasional treat.
We are a generation of multi-taskers – but often, allowing our work and personal lives to overlap means doing a bad job at both and truly enjoying neither. A little daily ritual to demarcate the various areas of your life can help you more accomplished and relaxed. The French do this by taking a small drink between work and the evening meal: the apéritif.
To leave work behind for the day:
Change into a new set of clean clothes as soon as you get home
Switch off work notifications on your phone
Pour yourself a drink of something special – it doesn’t have to be boozy!
Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil
In 1909, the French Society of Hygiene told us: “Yerba mate raises morale, sustains the muscular system, augments strength and allows one to endure privations.” What they did not mention is that drinking this special tea in the company of friends is also good for the soul.
To tap into the South American ritual of mate-tea drinking:
Always offer a drink to everyone in the room when you’re brewing up
Try to establish a ‘tea tray’ culture for meetings at work
Try the real thing – yerba mate can be found in lots of health shops and some regular grocery stores.
Turkey
‘Keyif’ is all about idle moments of relaxation and contemplation. Remind yourself to take a couple of these each day – the manner of doing so is different from individual to individual.
To identify your moment of mindfulness:
Slow down – take the long route from A to B, and never be in more than a hurry than you need
Pay attention to what makes you happy, be it the sound of the breeze in a tree you walk past each day, or a particular seat in a café that makes you feel calm
Try watching a few ASMR videos for some ideas on how the mundane can become almost transcendental.
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bosnian people like to break up their morning with a slow coffee, brewed in a special pot and served with sugar or candy. It’s thick and tasty like Turkish coffee, but just as important is the symbolic side: taking time to discuss the day’s events or a business proposition.
Enjoy tea or coffee as an experience in itself, not something to fuel you while you work
Use your coffee break to talk to other people, rather than staring at your phone
Look into buying a Bosnian coffee set online – it will change your life!
As the world of online trade and digital media continues to boom, the prospect of making a living over the internet has become an attractive one. However, despite how encouraging it is, not all people have the guts to start. Many of them are deterred by the prospect of having to start from scratch.
Building a successful website can seem like a daunting task to someone who has never done it before. In addition to a great design concept, you also need a comprehensive business plan, the know-how to improve your searchability and the right strategy to bring traffic to your website.
Fortunately, you can bypass a large part of the work by buying an online business that’s already existing. Once you find one with potential, all you need to do is keep it running and focus on its growth.
However, as is the case with any business venture, entering the world of E-commerce without sufficient prior knowledge could be disastrous. Some websites may appear to be promising acquisitions but require more work than you’d ever bargained for. Others may have a bad history or even be blacklisted.
Yet, these are not enough reasons for you to give up your dream of becoming an internet entrepreneur. Simply take some time to research your potential purchases and ensure you are fully prepared to work on your goal.
Of course, before you do any of this, you need an idea of the type of business you would like to own. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to be passionate about your endeavor.
Purchasing An E-commerce Site
If you are convinced to buy an online business, a good place to start is by browsing listings on an established marketplace, such as Exchange. There are numerous e-commerce business brokers to explore, with listings at all price points across a huge number of industries. (And if you’re into buying a website, check out Empire Flippers.)
However, it is not as simple as just finding an affordable existing site and expecting to turn it into a profitable venture. Unfortunately, some of the seemingly more affordable options may have hidden problems that could severely hinder your success. For example, the site may have been previously blacklisted or be under an AdSense ban.
As such, there are a few factors you ought to investigate before you start buying an online business.
The Good and the Bad
The true value of an online business lies in its potential for growth. When people purchase an existing business, it is generally either of the two reasons:
1. They have a passion for the industry and wish to grow the business as a long-term venture.
2. They plan to flip the website, increase its traffic, ranking and profitability before selling it.
Whichever you aim to do, you will need to investigate several factors in order to get a full measure of the business you are considering. Take, for example, the presence of an active community.
Check comments and forums in order to determine how many people are regularly using the site. Be aware of the site’s bounce rate- the higher it is, the more people simply navigate away from it.
Go over all links, titles and headings and check them for relevance and functionality. Factors, such as keyword density and authoritative functional backlinks, can impact the success of a website. Consider using the Wayback Machine to explore the site’s history and get a feel for how it could be improved.
The Right Price
For your investment to be worthwhile, it is vital not to overpay for your chosen business. However, determining the true value of an acquisition can be challenging, particularly if you are new to website brokerage. Fortunately, there are a few factors which can help you put together a more accurate picture of a site’s current value.
Existing revenue streams, such as AdSense, sales and donations. Do not be fooled by a recent spike in revenue. Instead, look at a site’s long-term performance to get a fairer idea of how the business performs on average.
Volume of traffic and its sources. Be sure to scrutinize traffic referrers. You could be fooled into thinking a site has high traffic but it may just be coming from dubious sites rather than Google or legitimate sources. Check also that you have traffic coming from websites, social media accounts and subscribers. Mailing lists can also be very valuable- if put to good use- as they allow you to connect with a site’s community and raise awareness about your site.
Page rankings. The better the site ranks in searches, the less work you may have to do to get it noticed. However, it is important to determine how many pages rank highly and for what reason. This will enable you to figure out how to optimize the site going forward.
Age of the domain. Older, established sites can have more favorable rankings as they’ve had time to build up a reputation and become more trusted by Google and other search engines.
Running costs. Don’t purchase a site without investigating the cost of keeping it online. Calculate the combined cost of the domain, hosting and security packages. Weigh these things against the potential profitability of the business.
Now that you have an idea of the site’s performance, the next step is to look for recently sold websites with similar statistics and within the same industry. This will give you a rough sense of what may be a fair price to offer.
Flipping, Clipping and Drop Shipping
Once you’ve found the business you want and have negotiated the terms of sale, it’s time to get started on making the website your own.
If there is existing content, you already have something to work with. However, you may need to reorganize and refresh the site’s content in order to boost SEO and generate a consistent, coherent voice throughout the website.
Reach out to suppliers and make sure you know exactly what role you have to play in ensuring that the business runs smoothly.
If you have purchased a drop-shipping enterprise, your main responsibilities will be communication and increasing sales through marketing. Alternatively, if you sell a service or digital product, you will need to ensure that this remains up-to-date and relevant.
Engage with the site’s existing community to let them know what to expect going forwards. Pay attention to their feedback and work to build on what you already have. The first step could be to optimize the site’s layout, ensuring it displays and functions correctly on mobile devices and across all major browsers.
One way to speed up this process is to invest in an e-commerce CMS. Not only does this give you access to a range of tools with which to improve your domain authority, you can also uniformly rework the site’s aesthetic without interfering with sales.
Onwards and Upwards
Ultimately, it is not difficult to find and buy an online business. However, even the most promising venture requires time and effort if it is to continue to be profitable. You need to be prepared to continuously create content and keep your website up to date.
Make sure you have thoroughly considered the time and attention you will need to give your new enterprise. Ensure that you have a full understanding of its maintenance and running costs before you seal the deal. After all, whether you adopt a struggling business and transform it into a successful one or you purchase a more established website and make it even better, this transaction is only the beginning.
Nevertheless, if you keep these tips in mind, you can approach the world of website brokerage with confidence. From there, you will be able to seek out a business within your preferred industry and work towards developing the booming online enterprise you have always wanted.
If there’s one trait all Japanese women share, it’s their fresh, glowing skin. It doesn’t matter if she is 20 or 60 years old, every Japanese woman seems to have a flawless, radiant complexion.
This begs the question, what is their beauty secrets to having porcelain-like skin? How do they manage to look younger and more graceful as they age?
While there’s no magic formula for youthful skin, these lovely ladies do have certain beauty secrets that help them maintain their fair complexions.
Here are some of Japan’s most treasured beauty ingredients, which are used in most of their makeup and skin products:
Tsubaki flower
Tsubaki, also known as camellia, is a flowering plant found in southern and eastern Asia. The tsubaki flower offers a range of benefits for the skin.
The oil extracted from camellia seeds is rich in omega-6 fatty acids and numerous polyphenol antioxidants. Its creamy, non-greasy nature makes it a great moisturizer for rough skin. The oil also has many properties that keep your skin fresh, supple and moist.
Tsubaki flower oil contains vast amounts of omega-9 oleic fatty acid, which increases the skin’s ability to retain moisture. It is absorbed into the skin as easily as water and it boosts cell growth. It lends flexibility and support to the skin, too.
The oil permeates right down to the inner layers of the skin, nourishing it from the inside and hydrating any dry patches. It is a natural transdermal carrier that transports essential proteins (elastin and collagen) and nutrients, replenishing skin cells and repairing damage caused by heat, dryness and aging.
Camellia oil is free from irritants and is suitable for use on sensitive skin. It opens up the pores and allows the body to remove harmful toxins naturally through sweat glands.
Yuzu
Yuzu is an aromatic citrus fruit of Chinese and Tibetan origin. It was first introduced in Japan during the Tang dynasty. Both the pulp and the seeds are beneficial for your skin.
The fruit is known for its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It has vast stores of vitamin C and flavonoids. Because of that, this fruit can help combat the harmful radicals that can cause premature aging.
Yuzu fruit is a popular skin revitalizing and nourishing agent. It tones the skin naturally and adds to its firmness and vitality.
Regular use of yuzu moistens and refreshes the skin layers. The oil extracted from yuzu softens and nourishes the skin, giving it a supple and radiant appearance. During winter solstice, it is an ancient practice to take relaxing and rejuvenating yuzu baths at home or in onsens.
Sakura
Sakura, also known as cherry blossom, is one of the two national flowers of Japan (the other is chrysanthemum). It is one of Japan’s best-kept beauty secrets and is used extensively in skin creams and perfumes.
The sakura flower is rich in antioxidants and helps cleanse the body of impurities and pollutants that damage the skin. Its store of essential fatty acids fortifies the skin’s natural barriers, making it smooth and supple.
Sakura extract promotes a firm, mature complexion, regenerating the skin from the inside out. Its anti-glycation properties promote collagen formation in fibroblast cells.
Sakura extract cleans and whitens the skin and combats signs of anti-aging. It inhibits the production of melanin, a dark-brown or black pigment, thereby restoring uneven skin pigmentation. The extract also promotes skin cell growth and combats cell death caused by advanced glycation-end products (AGE).
It has powerful anti-inflammatory properties that help to soothe and heal irritated skin. Furthermore, sakura flower reduces the oxidative damage that causes signs of anti-aging.
Ume
Ume is a flowering plant used in Japan for its medicinal and cosmetic properties. The common name for ume is plum blossom. The fruit is a rich source of natural antioxidants called phytochemicals. These substances help to combat the effects of oxygen radicals in the body, keeping the internal systems functioning smoothly. It prevents signs of premature aging, including wrinkles and fine lines.
The ume fruit has abundant stores of vitamin C, which detoxifies the body of impure chemicals. This property helps promote a radiant and healthy skin complexion. Ume contains anti-aging nutrients that help to reduce wrinkles and dark spots. You can find it in various Japanese face masks and creams that can help soothe, hydrate and rejuvenate the skin.
Rice bran
Rice bran is a byproduct of rice milling. It contains vast reserves of antioxidants, vitamins B and E and essential fatty acids that combat harmful radicals in the body. It is rich in tocotrienols, which are absorbed into the inner layers of the skin. They form the first line of defense against free radicals. Tocotrienols also restore damage caused by oxidative rays, repairing the skin and slowing the skin aging process.
Rice bran cleans the skin from the inside out, causing it to appear fresh and healthy. The phytonutrient and oryzanol in rice bran acts as an effective sunscreen, protecting the skin against lipid peroxidation caused by UV light. Gamma oryzanol contains ferulic acid, which has anti-aging properties.
Algae refers to a diverse range of photosynthetic organisms known for their nutritive and medicinal value. They are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, such as chlorophyll and omega-3 fatty acids. This makes them ideal for treating irritated skin. They have potent antioxidant properties that help to eradicate free radicals and pollutants from the body.
Algae also combat the effects of oxidative damage to plasma and red blood cells. They support skin cell repair and growth, healing your skin from the inside out and cancelling signs of aging caused by dead skin cells.
Green tea
Green tea is an herbal drink made from steaming or roasting fresh Camellia sinensis leaves. It’s a popular component of traditional Japanese medicine. Today, you can find it in skin creams and beauty masks.
Green tea is very beneficial for skincare. It contains a store of antioxidants that help in flushing out toxins from the skin. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties, making it ideal for soothing itchy skin and healing blemishes and scars.
Green tea is rich in tannin, an astringent that works really well in treating dark circles and puffy eyes. Its reserves of antioxidants and astringents help to soothe inflamed blood vessels under the eyes, thereby reducing swelling or ‘bags’.
The free radicals floating in the body cause the skin to sag, wrinkle and age prematurely. Green tea contains powerful antioxidants, such as vitamin C and catechins, which combat the dermal damage caused by these radicals.
The catechins present in green tea act as a defense against acne-causing bacteria. They also regulate hormonal imbalance in the body, one of the main causes of acne.
Furthermore, green tea acts as a natural skin toner that cleanses impurities, reduces large pores and hydrates the skin. Using it regularly can give the skin a fresh and healthy appearance.
Personal boundaries are limits we set for other people regarding their behavior towards us. Establishing personal boundaries means stopping other people from pressuring us to do what we don’t want to do or put up with things we don’t want.
There are people in our lives that can violate our personal boundaries and make us feel uncomfortable, used and emotionally drained. Many of us put up with poor treatment by others because we are afraid to make them feel angry or lose their friendship. We might also feel guilty for standing up to other people and telling them no.
If you often feel like that and have difficulties building and keeping personal boundaries, there are a few things you need to practice.
Get Comfortable with Negative Emotions
Standing up for yourself and saying no to people very often gets a negative reaction from them. That is something to be expected and you need to realize that them getting mad is not your problem and that you cannot allow your boundaries to be violated just for the sake of avoiding negative emotions.
Even though people may get angry at first, they will soon realize they were asking too much from you. And if they don’t realize that and still hold resentment, that is not your fault. You should feel free to let them go.
Don’t Reward Poor Treatment by Giving People What They Want
When people learn that they get what they want from you even when they treat you poorly, they will be encouraged to continue doing that. By standing up for yourself and not giving them what they want, you’ll be teaching them that their behavior is not only unacceptable but also doesn’t get them anything positive. We have the power to guide how other people treat us by our reactions to their behavior.
Feel Free to Say No
You may be afraid to hurt someone’s feelings or appear selfish by saying no. However, you need to realize that saying yes when you mean to say no causes you to hold unnecessary resentment towards other people. That isn’t healthy for you and your relationships.
Saying no to someone doesn’t mean you are a bad or a selfish person. It means you are being honest about your feelings and desires.
You can stop other people from violating your boundaries by making yourself unavailable physically or emotionally. Don’t answer their calls and messages or tell them you are busy. Don’t react when they try to get something out of you and don’t participate in conversations that make you feel bad about yourself. Often, the best thing you can do is remove yourself from a situation that makes you uncomfortable.
Know What You Want
To be assertive and to establish clear boundaries, you need to know what you want from people and what your values are. You need to be in touch with your own wants and feelings to be able to communicate them and recognize when they are being hurt or violated. Be introspective and ask yourself if there are things that make you feel bad or uncomfortable but you do them anyway because you feel pressured by other people.
Don’t Try to Change People
People who violate other people’s boundaries usually lack self–awareness and that’s why it’s difficult to make them change their behavior. They see nothing wrong with it.
If someone can’t understand that their behavior is unacceptable even when you explain why, there’s nothing you can do about it. Trying to make them change is a waste of time and energy.
Practice Self-Care
Practicing self-care involves taking care of your health and body, taking alone time to relax and pursuing activities that make you feel happy.
When you practice self-care, you become more tuned with your own feelings. You learn to value and cultivate your own well-being. The more you practice self-care, the less likely you are to put up with people and behaviors that are not healthy for you.
Flaxseed has been around for many centuries and is fast gaining popularity worldwide due to its powerful nutritional and healing benefits. It can be consumed as a seed, in pill form, or as an oil.
Flaxseed has been proven to not only reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, but it’s also considered to be a cultured superfood that has numerous advantages to your health and well-being. It can help you with quick weight loss and in lowering cholesterol.
Here are nine (9) more amazing benefits of flaxseed you might want to know more about.
Clear Your Skin with Flaxseed
Flaxseed oil, which is made from ground and pressed flaxseed, is also called linseed oil. It’s one of the top natural moisturizers for the skin. It has amazing healing qualities that can also help clear up acne, and heal acne scarring as well as pigmentation marks. It can provide you with a more even skin tone and reduced appearance of dark circles under your eyes.
If you suffer from constipation or you have issues with your digestive system that prevent you from having normal and smooth bowel movements, consider taking flaxseed oil. It can help your system function more smoothly.
A good way to take flaxseed oil to gain its digestive healing benefits is to consume one cup of slightly warm water with 1 to 3 tablespoons of flaxseed oil every morning. You will soon feel a great deal of relief throughout the day. You can increase the number of cups and oil depending on how you feel.
It’s Gluten-Free
If you have a sensitivity to gluten or you suffer from celiac disease, you can benefit tremendously by incorporating flaxseed into your diet. It is a natural and healthy way to replace gluten type foods. This is because flaxseed has anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce the inflammation in your body usually caused by gluten and grains.
Flaxseed is a Cancer Fighter
Studies show that flaxseed can protect the body from cancer of the breast, colon, ovarian and prostate. This is due to the high amounts of omega-3 fatty acid and lignans. These two components help with balancing hormones, reducing and inhibiting tumor growth as well as reducing your body’s inflammation.
Flaxseed Helps You Lose Weight for Good
One of the benefits of flaxseed is weight loss. It contains healthy fats and fiber which can be beneficial for losing weight. These components help you feel fuller after eating. They can prevent you from taking in more calories than you need to and this results in faster weight loss.
To take flaxseed for weight loss, it is important to stay consistent in adding it to your diet. Start by adding 2 to 3 teaspoons into your smoothies, soups, salads and other foods and drinks. Be creative in finding ways to incorporate flaxseed into your weight loss plan.
What Is In Flaxseed That Makes It Such A Superfood?
Flaxseed contains a large dose of nutritional benefits for your body. This includes:
Due to flaxseed oil being high in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), it has been proven helpful in treating and preventing heart diseases. Studies show that people who consume foods rich in ALA were less likely to experience a fatal heart attack. Another study shows that people who ate foods rich in ALA had less heart disease and their risk of death went down.
Flaxseed Can Eliminate Candida and Yeast from your Body
Candida and yeast can cause havoc in your body as they create many debilitating symptoms. The list includes changes in hormone levels, weakening of the immune system, digestive problems, weakness of joints, and urinary tract infections. Flaxseed is high in polyphenols which support the growth of probiotics.
Reduces Cholesterol
Flaxseed is an excellent cholesterol eliminator. This is due to its fiber content. Fiber traps the cholesterol from being absorbed into your bloodstream and eliminates it from your body.
Pro-Tips
Whether it is for weight loss or skin care or even for the prevention of cancer and heart disease, flaxseed can be one of the best positive dietary changes that you can do for your body.
The one thing that might be confusing is knowing the best way to consume flaxseed. To reap all its benefits, you need to take it in its sprouted form. This is when you soak the flaxseed and wait for the seeds to sprout. This gets rid of the phytic acid which helps with better mineral absorption.
The reason flaxseed should not be eaten whole is that your body will not get the most out of its nutritional value. The seeds will just pass through your digestive system. Although you will get benefits, it won’t be as extreme as taking the seeds in other forms.
Another great way to take in flaxseed is by grinding the seeds into powdered form. This is also called flaxseed meal. It is good to remember that when you to take grounded flaxseed, you have to consume it as soon as possible. When it is exposed to air, it loses its potency.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to create the best plan for you to incorporate flaxseed into your daily health routine. Remember to stay consistent and focused on your health and well-being.
Nelson Mandela once said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”.
This quote couldn’t be more precise.
As humans, we are attracted to other humans with whom we have something in common. If there’s something that two persons both like, hate or want, a rapport will suddenly grow and their connection instantly grows stronger.
One of the most common things that bonds people together is the language they speak. Obviously, if someone talks to you using your native language, you’ll be treating him differently compared to someone who speaks a foreign one.
Yet, even though learning a new language is extremely beneficial for several reasons, very few of us are really taking action. We’re somehow afraid of the hustle and work that comes with the process.
We can change our attitude by simply acknowledging the strong reasons of learning a foreign language. In today’s post, we’re going to convince you to pick a foreign language and start learning it immediately. Without further ado, let’s begin.
More Professional And Personal Opportunities
“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” ‒ Frank Smith
You’ve obviously seen a lot of employers looking for individuals who can speak more than one language. If you know more than just your native language, you’ll find more job opportunities along with better payments.
Moreover, the personal opportunities will be more numerous, too. You can communicate with more people, build new relationships and learn from different mindsets.
So, you see a hot person in the bar and you want to get in touch. You can use a foreign language to get a better chance of capturing the stranger’s attention.
Improved Cognitive Performance
When we learn new things, we’re using different cognitive functions, like our memory and problem-solving aptitudes. It’s no secret that learning a new language will make you a “smarter” person.
It doesn’t really matter what language you’re learning, how old you are or how smart you are. Your attention span will be improved. You’ll have a better memory in time and you’ll develop a strong resistance to age-related diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Ability to Establish Strong Connections with Other Nationalities
As mentioned earlier, grasping a basic understanding of a foreign language should open the gates of communication between you and other nationalities. It will not only help you in asking for specific information during your traveling journeys, but it can also help you build a friendship out of a small talk.
Connecting with people from other countries and cultures is truly important because it’ll help you become more open minded and tolerant. It’ll help you acquire tons of knowledge that would otherwise be impossible to gain.
Better Traveling Experience
Every one of you probably likes to travel. After all, all of us are curious what life looks like in different places. While grasping a foreign language, you can certainly enjoy a more intense experience while traveling abroad. That’s because you won’t just sit quietly and travel alone.
Instead, you can find travel buddies, talk to locals, hook up with beautiful men/women, build a lasting relationship and much more.
It has also been proven that bilingual brains are much better at self-controlling. Even though self-control also represents a cognitive function, it’s still worth noting how helpful such skill is in our daily lives.
Moreover, another study shows that learning a second language can help you make better decisions in life. The study emphasizes the fact that when a person speaks a foreign language, his tendency towards loss aversion significantly decreases.
See Your Own Culture from an Outsider’s Perspective
“You can never understand one language until you understand at least two” – Geoffrey Willans
Learning a second language will give you a lot of new insights. You’ll be able to understand how other foreigners perceive your country and culture. You’ll also see a lot of differences in your own perception, too.
Better Learner & Better Problem Solver
When you learn a new language, you keep solving problems. When you listen to a foreigner – or even better, if you talk to him – your brain continuously works. It works hard in order to make things clear. This type of ‘brain exercise’ is extremely beneficial in the long term because you’ll advance into a better learner.
Moreover, you’ll solve your problems faster and more efficiently. The reason is that by learning that foreign language, your brain has already “grown muscles” that allow you to “lift” your problems without a lot of hustle.
To learn a new language isn’t rocket science, yet it’s not that simple either. It all depends on your linguistic talents, the work you put in and the mindset you develop. Do this now, and you’ll praise yourself later.
Noise pollution is becoming a pressing global issue more and more each day especially in the urban setting. Studies have shown that due to urban noise, city dwellers experience an average hearing loss equivalent to a person who is around 10 to 20 years older than them. Seniors are in more danger because sudden and violent changes in volume can result to heart attacks and strokes.
With a projected annual urban population growth of 1.85 percent until 2020, we get to forecast an increase in a portion of the world’s population that gets exposed to noise pollution and its ill effects.
The same study also showed a 64 percent positive correlation between hearing loss and city noise pollution levels. That means hearing loss could likely be a direct or indirect result of modern city living.
Here are some useful hacks to protect your ears from the ever-growing noise of the city.
Minimize your personal environment noise
If you live in a noisy building or neighborhood, talk to the landlord and your fellow residents about the enforcement of a noise management plan to cover entertainment venues, commercial sites or construction activities around your area.
You may also apply acoustical adaptations, like a soundproof wall, double glazed windows and a quieter ventilation.
Try to keep your tone low when talking to elderly people. Hearing difficulties come with age. Don’t shout or raise your voice when talking to them. Instead, try whispering or coming closer to them while talking.
Music is life, but you need to limit the volume
We all need music in our lives. Without it, life would be a deafening silence. However, to enjoy music, we must listen to it at 60 percent of the maximum volume without going over 60 minutes per day.
Just as seniors love their music, it’s a good idea to tone it a bit down when they’re around. People with advancing age tend to block out other important sounds, such as cars honking or dogs barking, when loud music is playing.
It is also best for our health if we avoid using our personal music player as a tool to drown out background noise. Yes, that sounds like a bummer. But, when music that goes through your headphones becomes louder than any external sound, then it is too loud and can affect your sense of hearing negatively.
You shouldn’t have to wait until you observe hearing problems before you even start to care for your ears. The good side to most hearing problems is that most are preventable. With the right behavior, practice, environment and early detection, you get to prevent most hearing impairments.
Also, you shouldn’t just be taking care of your health, but other people’s as well. We have to be mindful of our surroundings and the noise we create that has the potential to harm other people.
Seniors should also have regular check-ups concerning their hearing as problems in the ears often develop into severe conditions. One good example is vertigo wherein balance gets affected.
Paying close attention to your ears is important, especially when there is still a stigma surrounding hearing problems and the deaf community. The truth is, everyone hears things differently and we can all benefit from some love and respect for each other.
When necessary, use earplugs
Earplugs are valuable in a world where people drown each other with noise. The use of earplugs can reduce sound levels by around 15 to 35 decibels. So, when you’re in a place with loud noise or music, use earplugs for protection.
If you’re at a concert scene, you can still enjoy live music with earplugs on as it only decreases the sound to a level that isn’t harmful. If you’re in a firing competition, you might want to use earplugs, too, since the blast of guns can be ear-splitting.
Find time to rest your ears
If you think you’ve overused your ears already, you must take the time to rest. Let your ears recover after exposing them to harmful decibel levels for a period.
According to a study, you would need at least 16 hours of rest, as a recovery period for your ears, after spending about two hours in an environment with a 100dB level of sound. An example of such place is a club. So, if you’ve been clubbing all night, try to rest and stay in a quiet place the following day.
Takeaway
There are certain steps for you to follow so you can protect your ears from irreparable noise damage. You can avoid listening to loud music for a set time. You can also visit an audiologist near you for a checkup so you wouldn’t have to wait for signs of impairment.
And while you cannot personally turn the volume from a construction site at a minimum and neither can you mute the sound of traffic, you can, however, show your support for local initiatives that regulate noise pollution.
The type that couldn’t fit into any clothes comfortably and started to sweat after walking 10 steps.
Now, this always sucked and it’s something I suffered from since I was a kid. I didn’t know what to do, so I continued to live this way for the first 24 years of my life.
I think I was actually starting to get comfortable with this odd figure. But then, I entered the professional workforce and things started to change very quickly.
I immediately realized how important it was to be in shape and not because of health or anything like that. It was because overweight people were treated differently.
I’d heard studies of this in college, about how overweight people were less likely to be hired because they were viewed as lazy. It’s something I always laughed about and never took seriously…
Until I started to witness these observations first hand.
I can’t say that didn’t suck but I’m honestly glad it happened.
Not because I like being viewed as lazy, but because it forced me to start my journey of losing weight and helping hundreds of others along the way.
The Start of My Journey
I knew I had a lot of work to do all around, but I first started with my diet.
I grew up not really knowing what “healthy” food was, but I knew enough to realize that it wasn’t Taco Bell and Mountain Dew.
So, I started searching around for healthy diets and finally settled on one that followed the traditional “low calorie” approach.
I liked this diet because I knew low-calorie diets were the best way to lose weight and this diet was also pretty flexible.
It told me certain foods to stay away from and as long as I stayed under my calorie limit, I’d be good to go.
After that, I took a test that they’d created, telling me how much to eat based on weight and goal. Then, I went to the grocery store right after.
I immediately stocked up on fruits and veggies, along with a bunch of Weight Watcher’s Meals that would serve as my breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I figured this was the best selection for me as the meals tasted pretty good and they’d help me keep my portions in check.
So, I started on this diet the next day. I set a deadline of 30 days before I was going to weigh myself. I don’t know the exact reason why I picked 30 days, but I knew that weighing yourself everyday would do more harm than good.
During the first 2 weeks, things weren’t really that bad. They were kinda nice actually.
I immediately realized an uptick in energy and started to lose some pounds around the midsection.
I was excited and wanted to weigh myself everyday, but I stuck to the plan and continued to stay away from the scale. However, days 15 to 21 hit and I noticed a huge shift in my mood and willpower.
I had really lost all my energy and I was absolutely hangry.
At first, I thought this was just a normal “correction” as I’d been making changes to my body, but the symptoms kept getting worse and worse.
I tried my best to plow through them and hit day 30, but I was noticing a significant decrease in my work. So, on day 25, I finally caved in and went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch.
Now, I’ve always been a fan of BDUBs, but I’ve never eaten as much as I did on that day.
I completely destroyed a large serving of boneless wings and then had some chips and queso to top it off.
Needless to say, I was absolutely miserable the rest of the day. However, as sad as it sounds, it was still better than being “hangry”.
Then I “Yo-yo’ed”.
Even though I’d had a very large cheat meal during that day, I still wanted to go home and see if I’d made any progress over the last 3 weeks.
Right when I got home, I jumped on the scale and to my surprise, I’d actually lost 11 pounds!
Now, that felt amazing. I’d never been able to really lose weight before and you’d think that would be enough to keep me going. But, like many other “yo-yo’ers”, I told myself I’d jump back on the diet soon. I just wanted to recollect my thoughts before going at it again.
So, I continued to eat “normal” for the next 4 weeks and after that, I was ready to jump back on my diet kick.
I decided to weigh myself on a Sunday before I was going to start. To my surprise, I’ had gained all my weight back…plus 10 lbs!
I couldn’t believe it. I was actually eating a little better than I had in the past so I figured I’d stay a few pounds under my normal weight. Instead, I reached an all-time high.
This was extremely depressing and I thought this was just a “me” problem.
I figured that my slow metabolism was out to get me and that I’d never been able to lose weight. Then, I started to dig into this problem and realized many others were having similar difficulties.
The most publicized examples were actually “The Biggest Loser” contestants. During my research, I came across a lot of articles where they were losing weight during the show. Then, months after the show was over, they were gaining it back and then some!
Now, this obviously intrigued me as I was having similar issues. That’s when I discovered the concept of “ghrelin’ and “fat burning mode”.
We’ll talk about these two concepts throughout the rest of this article, but as a quick overview:
Ghrelin is known as the “hunger hormone” because it helps control your appetite. This obviously has a lot of importance with dieting and can be a good thing. However, when you use the typical “low calorie” diets that are being preached today, then it does the exact opposite.
Why?
Because this style of dieting doesn’t lower your ghrelin levels, meaning you have the same appetite as you did when you started losing weight.
Now, that’s bad enough. But, on top of this, your metabolism actually decreases when you start to lose weight.
There are some fancy words for why this happens, but in short, it decreases because you’re smaller and don’t need as much energy….
And that means you have the same appetite but with a slower metabolism, a dynamic duo that essentially guarantees weight gain, whether that be in 1 month or 1 year.
This was an important discovery for me when I came across the concept of fat burning mode. These two are what really helped me kick-start my journey.
What Is Fat Burning Mode?
So, like with everything medical, there’s a lot of geeky terms that go into it. But, in the simplest form:
Our body has two different sources of energy- ketones and glucose.
Ketones are produced when fat is burned and glucose is produced when carbs are burned.
Since we have 2 different sources of energy we can burn, that also means we have 2 different “modes” that we operate in- glycogen burning mode (glucose) and fat burning mode (ketones).
Now, to be 100% accurate, we are technically always in both modes at the same time, but there’s always a primary mode and a secondary mode.
The secondary mode always uses minimal fuel, almost to the point of non-existence. From what I understand, we keep this secondary source alive just so our body knows that the backup source is still available.
Okay, that’s easy enough. But, how do we determine which one is primary and which one is secondary?
That’s actually the easy part of the formula. Glycogen burning mode always trumps fat burning mode.
It’s not because it’s a better source of fuel or anything like that, but because our body has to regulate glucose very closely.
Why?
Because glucose is sugar and our blood can only handle so much sugar at one time. Once our blood sugar hits the limit (which doesn’t take much), then insulin has to kick in and start removing sugar from the bloodstream.
Now, this is a good thing but that only leaves so much energy left in our system. That’s why we’re supposed to keep eating small meals while in glycogen burning mode.
Makes sense? Alright, here’s the true kicker.
Guess what happens with the excess sugar after insulin removes it from the bloodstream?
That’s right. It gets converted into stored energy- a.k.a body fat.
Now, that’s bad enough and shows how easy it is to gain body fat. Here’s where things get worse.
The typical western diet is full of carbs and that means we’ve pretty much been stuck in glycogen-burning mode our entire lives.
This is also why people work countless hours to deplete the glycogen in their body and start burning fat or, even worse, starving themselves while doing so.
And to show you the full cycle, that means it’s extremely easy to gain body fat but then you have to work your tail off just to access this stored energy.
Starting to see the problem here?
Alright, so I know that sounds depressing, but here’s the good news.
I’m a minimalist and I wanted to find ways to enter fat burning mode without living in the gym, starving myself or losing muscle along the way.
After years of research, along with the help of some unconventional doctors, I finally found that way.
And in the remainder of this article, I’m going to show you how you can benefit from this research as well:
How to Enter Fat Burning Mode Without Living In the Gym Or Starving Yourself
Step 1: Drink Exogenous Ketones
I actually came across this concept in my earlier days of researching the two different energy burning modes. Through that research, I kept seeing the phrase “exogenous ketones”.
At first, I thought the word sounded extremely fancy and it was some complex subject. However, as I soon learned, I realized that it’s really just a way of saying ketone supplements.
Anyway, when I was doing this research, I came across a story of an individual who started drinking these ketones and began to notice a great reduction in belly fat within a month after she started.
Now, she liked the results. However, she was drinking the ketones for energy and wasn’t quite sure why this was happening. So, she went to the doctor to make sure everything was okay.
It took her a few weeks to find a doctor that actually understood this subject. Once she finally did, he explained to her that by drinking these ketones, she was telling her body to burn fat.
Now, this makes sense as ketones are the source of energy that’s created by fat burn. To be honest, I was a little skeptical to think it was this easy.
So, I decided to test it out and sure enough, within 4 weeks, I had lost 7 pounds- without doing anything different!
Now, that felt great and I’ll show you how to further amplify these results in the next steps. First, you need to make sure you enter fat-burning mode by drinking ketones, so here’s what I advise:
Buy exogenous ketones. I personally recommend KetoCaNa by Ketosports. Those are good enough by themselves but if you really want to crank it up, buy MCT Oil Powder by Quest Nutrition along with it. This works well as KetoCaNa is exogenous ketones and MCT Oil creates ketones once it hits your liver. So, you’re pretty much getting a military grade dosage when you do this. Helpful hint: might be best to start with just KetoCaNa before moving to the full 1-2 punch.
Make a ketone shake every morning with a blender bottle full of water along with your preferred ketone source and drink it. I personally use 2 scoops of MCT Oil along with one scoop of KetoCaNa. But, again, it’s going to differ by person.
Try not to eat breakfast as this ketone shake will be more than enough to get you going.
Via beautynutrition
And that’s it. That’s all you need to enter fat-burning mode.
This trick can work for anybody. However, if you’re diabetic, please consult with your doctor before trying anything out. Insulin sensitivity or restriction can do some funny things with glucose and I want to make sure your body is able to handle both modes before you try it out.
Step 2: Keep Carb Intake Under 20g Per Day
Now that we’ve entered fat burning, it’s important to keep this going.
Technically, you would lose some fat if you just drank a ketone shake every morning and waited to eat until lunch time. But, since we’re already getting into fat burning mode, why not keep it going. And on top of that, the process really isn’t that complex.
As I mentioned earlier, carbs create glucose and that’ll put you into glycogen burning mode. So, the only way to get around that and stay in fat burning mode is by keeping your carb intake low.
Now, everybody is a little different and there’s really not a one-size-fits-all answer, but the one route that does work for everybody is keeping your carbs under 20g per day.
So, why does this differ for everybody then?
Well, because the only time your body turns back into glycogen burning mode is when glucose hits your liver. Some of the glucose that you consume is used up by your muscles, so that’s really where most of the flexibility comes in.
In other words, if you just finished a serious workout and used all the glycogen in your muscles, then you could probably afford a little more than 20g and still stay in fat burning mode.
If you don’t eat carbs, that’s fine, too. Your body can create glucose out of protein. I’m just letting you know why you can have some carbs and still stay in fat burn.
The last thing I wanted to point out is that when I mention 20g of carbs, I mean in general- not any of that “net carb” stuff.
If you’re not familiar with “net carbs”, a lot of people will use the formula of total carbs – fiber= net carbs to determine their daily carb intake.
The logic behind this is that fiber doesn’t turn into glucose and shouldn’t be included as a carb. To some extent, I do agree, but I’ve also seen a lot of people get kicked out of fat burning mode by eating too many carbs in general.
I’ve done a lot of research on this and I can’t really find an exact answer. But, from what I’ve gathered, excess amounts of fiber can turn into glucose.
Again, don’t quote me on that, but I’ve seen what it does so I know it’s important to stay careful with it.
Alright, so since we’re restricting carbs, then what types should you eat?
I always recommend green and leafy vegetables, like broccoli.
It’s important to consume these types of carbs as they’re full of nutrients (like fiber) and they don’t turn into glucose that fast, giving you even more leeway on your total intake.
And that’s really everything you need to know about staying in fat-burning mode, well from a carb standpoint. We’ll cover the rest in the next section.
As a quick recap:
Keep your daily carb intake under 20g (to start).
Try and spread carbs throughout your day/meals. Try not to eat all of your daily carbs at once, but if you’re starting at 20g, you’re probably fine either way.
Get your carbs from healthy sources like leafy vegetables or avocados.
That’s how you stay in fat burning mode. I know it doesn’t sound fun, but once you start to feel the effects and see the results, staying away from carbs gets pretty easy.
On top of that, you don’t have to starve yourself either, you just have to…
Eat A Lot of Dietary Fat (High Fat, Moderate Protein, Low Carb Diet)
Now that we’ve entered fat burning mode and learned how to stay out of glycogen burning mode, it’s time to take care of everything else.
And by everything else, I guess I should just say ghrelin.
Remember that hunger hormone that I talked about earlier? The one that forces everybody to yo-yo diet?
Yeah, that’s never going to go away and if we don’t control it, we’re at an uphill battle.
That’s where this next step comes into play. It’s highly important to not starve yourself and, instead, eat a high fat/moderate protein/low carb diet.
Why exactly does this diet work so well? Let’s break it down into sections, starting with fat.
High Fat
The first thing I like to mention with fat is that it absolutely has nothing to do with making you fat.
Well, I guess if you ate an absurd amount of it, like to the point of vomiting, then maybe. But, as we discussed earlier, body fat is nothing more than stored energy.
And since it’s stored energy, then there’s no reason why we should believe fat is what causes fat (unless you eat excess amounts).
On the other hand, remember when we talked about how glucose is quickly converted into body fat? And not because it was a lot of calories, but because our body can only handle so much sugar in the blood at one time?
Yeah, that’s also the reason why it’s so easy to gain weight while in glycogen-burning mode. You could easily eat 3 big meals and gain some extra body fat with every meal.
Fat, on the other hand, lasts a lot longer and really doesn’t create any metabolic issues. This is why you’ll hear a lot of people eat a high-fat diet while they’re intermittent fasting, because the sustained energy can last them all day.
In other words, don’t worry about the constant small meals that you’re supposed to eat while in glycogen-burning mode.
Then, in addition to this, fat also helps control ghrelin.
This is helpful for curbing your hunger, but it’s also helpful as it lowers your ghrelin levels as you lose weight. This means you won’t run into the high appetite and slow metabolism problem that most yo-yo dieters incur.
So, how much fat should you eat then?
I’ll give you ratios in a second, but from a practical standpoint, just eat fatty foods until you’re full. Don’t worry about counting calories, weighing out food or any of that junk- there’s no need to do that with high-fat meals.
Why?
Because the body is really good about self-regulation when in fat burning mode and it’ll let you know if you need food or not.
At the same time, I realized ratios are easier to follow in the beginning. We’ll get there soon, but, first, I wanted to cover exactly what “fat” is.
I do this because when most people hear fat, they instantly think of snickers and candy-things that make us fat.
When I say fat, I mean healthy fats, like:
Grass-fed beef (any beef is okay, but grass-fed is always better) Fatty fish (sardines, salmon, etc.) Pork (pork chops, pulled pork, even bacon) Butter (just make sure it’s real butter) Full-fat sour cream Full-fat cheese Avocados Eggs Pepperonis Cream cheese Coconut oil Olive Oil Avocado Oil Walnuts Etc…
In all honesty, the only fats you really need to stay away from is trans fat and “seed oils”.
I think most people are aware that they need to stay away from trans fat, but here’s the problem…
Food companies are able to hide the fact that their food contains trans fat by titling it “hydrogenated oils” which is the exact same thing.
A Big Fat Recap:
If you’re counting calories, try and make sure 75% of your calories are from fat.
Make sure you’re eating healthy fats.
Avoid trans fats or “hydrogenated oils”.
Avoid seed oils like vegetable oil, sunflower oil and canola oil as these oils are highly inflammatory and not good for you.
Protein
We’ve talked a lot about carbs and fat, but we haven’t mentioned protein yet.
And that doesn’t mean protein isn’t important. That just means it’s a little more flexible than the other two.
Before jumping into the specifics of protein, it’s important to remember that protein’s main function is for muscle repair and growth, not energy.
This is also why bodybuilders love it so much and the exact reason why it’s been so severely misunderstood over the recent years.
Now, people think they can just eat protein all day and make muscle, when that’s simply not the case. Muscle has to be created from somewhere (i.e. breaking down muscle from lifting and repairing it with protein), so please keep that in mind.
The second thing I want to point out is that when you consume too much protein (i.e. more than your muscles need), then the excess protein will turn into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis.
Now, this is also a highly debated issue. Some health bloggers make it sound like one bit of chicken creates glucose in the blood while other bloggers offset this by saying 100% protein will keep you in fat burning mode.
And I’m here to tell you they’re both wrong. I’ve tested both analogies and both strategies have kicked me out of fat burning mode.
Here’s how you can cut through the noise and avoid this.
Protein is important and something you should consume. Unless you’re lifting every day, then you probably don’t need to eat 300g of it.
Like everything else, the amount will vary by person. As a 6 ft, 175-pound male, I try and stay under 100g per day.
With all that said, from a practical standpoint, if you can eat at least 1 gram of fat for every gram of protein, then you’re probably okay.
I know this can be hard at times, especially when you’re eating a lot of meat-heavy meals. So, to offset that, I’ll usually melt a bunch of butter and dip each bite of meat into it- problem solved!
Protein Recap:
Try and consume 20-25% of your calories from protein.
Too much protein can be a bad thing, but it takes a lot to get there.
Just try and eat at least 1 gram of fat for every gram of protein, and you should be okay.
Protein is important, but not the saving grace that many think it is.
Carbs
We’ve already talked about this subject and I don’t have too much more to add. But, there are some other things I wanted to relay for the purposes of clarity.
As we discussed earlier, we can only convert back to glycogen-burning mode after glucose hits the liver. That can only happen when the muscles don’t use all the glucose that you’ve put into your body.
In other words, if you eat some extra carbs right after lifting heavy weights, then you’ll probably be okay as the muscles will soak it up.
On the other hand, as we discussed with protein, your body can also make glucose with protein so you really don’t need to eat carbs. That’s why there’s no such thing as an essential carb.
But, if you are going to still eat carbs, just try and eat them from healthy sources, like berries and veggies.
These foods will help provide other nutrients and be helpful overall. Just make sure you’re careful with how much you eat. Some foods, like apples, can add up in a hurry!
Carb Recap:
Try and stay under 20g of carbs each day.
Try and get your carbs from healthy sources.
You really don’t need carbs, just up protein if you don’t.
These amounts will vary by person and how active you are.
Feel the burn…
And that is your complete guide to burning fat.
If you follow these simple steps and stick with it for a few months, I absolutely guarantee you’ll love your results and keep going.
As with any hard changes in your diet, it might feel weird at first. But, with the help of everything I’ve put in this guide about the best way to lose weight, I have no doubt that it’ll help you progress with your weight loss goals.
Sig Nordal 