I love journeys.  The way they challenge us, make us feel alive and stretch our boundaries.  I still remember the tremendous freedom I felt when as a boy of 14, I set out on my first bicycle tour of England.  My parents had given me a new bike with proper racing handlebars.  It was a mighty proud young fellow who set out from his South London home one day, and pedalled to Devon and Cornwall, staying at youth hostels

Recently I’ve been on another kind of journey, creating a course on “happy aging.“  As the world’s “oldest, newest blogger” — to quote my friend Steve Atchison — at 79, I’ve felt a deep urge to share my experience that aging is not something to be afraid of, but can be a door to true meaning and happiness at any age.

I loved the picture that I saw in the Denver Post the other day of a 103-year-old man happily biking along a coastal path in California, beaming at passers-by. Mind you, this gentleman had trainer wheels on his bike, but so what?

The important point, which brought such a big grin both to my face and to my wife JoAnn’s face, was that his fun-loving, unconquerable spirit is as alive and well now as at any other time in his life.  “Tell those lazy 80-year-olds to get off their sofa and get busy,” the elderly gentleman told a local reporter with a laugh.

Your body ages, but not your spirit

This is the essential message of my new course, “How to look (and feel) 10 years younger: The true promise and potential of aging.” Although our bodies age, our own unconquerable spirit — the timeless truth of the core of our being — doesn’t age at all.

I’m so grateful to Steve for this opportunity to write a little bit about aging, and also to let you know that my course, comprising eight modules and a workbook, is available starting today at my blog.  Special reduced rates will be in effect from May 23 – May 27.

The true promise and potential of aging

What is the “The True Promise of Aging”?  It’s a paradox in a way.  Obviously, our physical forms will lose ground.  And yes, there will be challenges.  But there is also a tremendous privilege.  It is the privilege — if space and time is given to us — to connect more deeply with who we truly are, and find new meaning in the truth of our own being, our own eternal soul.

In this, I find, is the very source of all true happiness and peace. I can truthfully say I’m happier now than at any time in my earlier life.

Incidentally we are all aging.  I notice in various articles and magazines how even 30-year-olds, for example, can start to worry about possibly losing their looks, or their athletic ability, when they reach 40.  And by the time you get to be 50, or 60, or 80… well, you are obviously well on the road to decline.  Or are you?

The truth is that there is a huge evolutionary process under way on this planet and the old expectations and guidelines concerning aging don’t apply anymore.  There is new territory to explore. Here are a few examples of the benefits and blessings that the experience of aging can rightly bring.

1.  A deeper experience of inner peace

Yes, there are challenges with aging, of course, just as there are at any time of life. But there is also a unique opportunity to honor the ancient scripture, “Be still, and know that I am God.” To find that indeed there is no boundary to the peace and happiness of being. We can always go deeper!

2.  A deeper experience of oneness

As we connect more deeply with the truth at the core of our being we inevitably sense ever more deeply our essential oneness with all humankind and with Nature.

3.  An increasing experience of compassion

Compassion is an essential characteristic of our true nature. Just as good wine improves with age, so the quality of compassion can improve with age. Forgiveness can become very easy indeed.

4.  Appreciate our ancestors

It may seem strange to include this as a blessing of aging, but it is. I never was able to be close with my father when he was alive. But I find in my latter years that I have come to see my father in a very new light – in a sense, I have been able to recreate this particular relationship in my life. I am so thankful for his integrity and indomitable spirit, his true legacy to me.

5. Let go of all pretense

Sometimes, the masterpiece who we truly are can get hidden behind our human conditioning and the impacts of the culture in which we live. With the gift of aging is a special opportunity to let go of any remaining pretense and present ourselves to our world and to God as the unique, inimitable being we truly are. 

Message from Steven Aitchison

Christopher is not one for selling himself so I wanted to let you know how good his new course,  ‘The True Promise of Aging’, is.

I first met Christopher when he was aged 77, and mistakenly thought he was aged around 60 years due to his passion, vigor and joy for life; we have been friends ever since.  His wisdom is not of this world and each word he writes is like a tugging at the spiritual heart. “The True Promise of Aging” is a course for the mind, body and spirit. It will change your thinking about aging, and reconnect you with the power that is inside. This is a course for everyone to enjoy whether you are 21 or 91.

Some testimonials

” Christopher Foster is one of the few people I know that has discovered passion, meaning and happiness in growing older. His ecourse is filled with profound wisdom. Even Deepak Chopra’s wisdom on aging doesn’t compare with his. I’m dead serious. In his 4 week course join him as he shares his hope, habits, insights and wisdom. “How to look (and feel) 10 years younger” will help you move forward with much more optimism as you learn to redefine what aging means.” — Tess Marshall, TheBoldLife.com

“Christopher Foster is a beacon of hope for many people. He is an Elder in the true sense of the word: someone who can show how to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. I’ve seen – close-up – that Christopher is always willing to learn new skills and develop his capabilities. I think he exemplifies a new paradigm of aging: that we can create a fulfilling, active, and happy life, no matter where we are on life’s journey. His course is ground-breaking, and you will emerge from it with new insights, and a new zest for life.”—Mary Jaksch.

“Everything Chris puts out is of phenomenal quality and I know this course will be no different. If you can get a chance to work with him, grab it, and be prepared for transformation.”— Jonathan Mead.

Making choices in life should be easy. However it seems that everywhere we are bombarded with a huge Overwhelm Monster that is constantly out to get us. There is too much of everything: stuff, tasks, responsibilities and definitely not enough space or time for it.

The worst thing is that somehow we always want more. Did you ever dream about having 48 hours in a day so that you could cram more activities in it? Did you wish you had a bigger house, or even closet or attic to store all your stuff?

But sometimes when we become overwhelmed with everything that we already have on our plate we realize that we crave basic, even primal simplicity. However it is so difficult to simplify life when you do not even know where to start.

I always imagine a deer that jumps out in front of a car and gets completely startled by the headlights. The poor thing has no idea what is going on and what it should do next. This is the exact feeling that I have when I face the Mountain of Too Much.

But thankfully there are 10 simple steps that you can make to bring balanced simplicity into your life. I’ve tried them and I guarantee that they work.

1. Set Priorities. If you do not know where to start then first you have to figure out what is really important in your life. At different stages of our lives we can have different priorities. Analyze what is important to you now. Do you spend enough time on this priority? Do you spend more time on things that have no connection at all with your main priorities?
2. Organize your day. Once you have figured out what is important to you, start going through your daily activities. Is there anything that you can eliminate? Is there something that you can delegate? (You know, it’s okay to ask somebody for help or to pay somebody for this help. We are not super humans after all.)
3. Declutter your house. Start with the room where you spend the most time. Put away things that you do not use, throw away things that you do not need, give away something as well. Start with just one shelf or drawer at a time and spend at least 15 minutes a day organizing one tiny part of your house. These baby steps will slowly but surely bring your house into order.
4. Find “me” time. So often we focus on everything else in the world but completely forget about our personal time. This time is vitally important to our emotional and physical balance. Make sure that every day you have at least 15 minutes for yourself. Spend this time meditating, praying, reading a book, writing in your journal or doing any other activity that brings your inner world into balance.
5. Declutter your digital world. Information can be even more cluttering than actual stuff. Make sure that you get rid of any email subscriptions that you do not need. Stop spending your time on Social Media websites (just pick up a phone and talk to your friends personally.)Organize information in your computer (start by getting rid of all the unnecessary shortcuts on your desktop) and get rid of any unnecessary gadgets.
6. Eat a simple and balanced diet. Food that you put in your body should give you balance and energy.
   • Choose natural foods (basically anything without preservatives, artificial flavors and weird-sounding chemicals),
   • Get rid of junk food in your diet (anything from soda to chips and fries),
   • Cook from scratch as many of your meals as possible,
   • Use a wide variety of ingredients focusing on lean protein, produce (organic if possible), whole grains and healthy fats.
7. Exercise. Exercise is an essential part of any balanced lifestyle. You can keep your workouts as simple (like walking or biking) or as complex as you want. Make sure that every day you have at least 30 minutes of physical activity (it can be broken down into three 10-minute workouts during the day.) Sedentary lifestyle can be called the #1 killer in the world today because it aggravates and dramatically increases your chances of developing every possible life-threatening condition.
8. Declutter your inner world. The heaviest baggage that we carry around is our memories and emotions. Positive ones definitely motivate us and inspire. However more often than not we focus on negative experiences. Talk about stuff that bothers you, write it down, let it go, forgive. There is no point in living in the past because there is no way of changing it or relive it. A present and bright future is the only things that should really matter to you.
9. Don’t take the simplicity road yourself. If you have a family it is important to talk to your loved ones about simplifying your lifestyle. Make sure that everyone understands and supports your motives. Sometimes it may take time for your loved ones to embrace simplicity, so don’t push them. Start with the things they are comfortable with (making changes to the diet or making sure that each of you has enough “me” time) and then gradually move to more complicated areas. Make an attempt to understand them because we all have different ways of looking at things.
10. Learn to live with less. When you make a transition from living for stuff to living for experiences you make room in your life for more. Spend more time with your family, more time pursuing your hobby or passion as well as more time growing spiritually. More time enjoying and taking in every day of your life. Now, this is true life balance in my opinion – having enough time and energy for things that truly matter.

Do you simplify your life? Are there any strategies that you use to bring balanced simplicity into your lifestyle?

Make this day and every day after a simple and balanced one.

Update: Please click on this link for more information about The new Mind Alchemy course. All the links to the downloads have now been removed. I would like to thank all 800+ readers who expressed an interest in this course and for everyone who completed the course the first time round, it is becasue of you I could make the course better.

Before we start

You can still join the course by Clicking here

A few readers are now blogging about their experiences on the course, and it would be great to lend your support:

Stacy Claflin – Grow With Stacy

Marty BoneIdol – Living Life in Chapters

Derek Breuning – Tech Life

Stephen – New Life Starts Here

Read the interview I have done with Angela Artemis from Powered by Intuition

Read the interview I have done with Sandi Faviell from DevaCoaching

Watch an interview I made with Suzie Cheel on Mind Alchemy

Mind Alchemy Day 11

Welcome to Day 11 of Mind Alchemy.

Today we are following up on yesterday’s relaxation theme, as I think it is that important.  However rather than just give you a written guide on how to relax, I’d like to take you on a journey, whilst at the same time you are re-affirming your outcomes and sending them out into the world.  This is by way of a guided visualization.

Guided visualization

A guided visualization, for anyone who has never tried it, is someone guiding you through a scene in your mind to facilitate change in your thoughts.

This guided visualization is one that I have used in the past with readers of CYT, and it’s one which is particularly powerful in eliciting strong emotions.

Don’t get too caught up with the language in this visualization.  Sending out an intention to the universe is another way of saying, sending a thought of your outcome to your subconscious mind.  When you do this you are instilling a feeling of certainty about something you want in your life.  It’s a way to keep you focussed on what you want so you can take more action towards making it happen.

Todays Exercise

Download the guided visualization or listen to  it here on the computer by pressing the play button.

Download Guided visualization here right click , and click save as.

Play Guided visualization here

Download audio file (MindAlchemyGMed1.mp3)

This is something you can use everyday, or find other relaxation music, or guided visualizations to listen to.  Make it a part of your daily ritual as part of your relaxation daily routine, which we discussed yesterday.

The music in this is taken from the amazing album ‘Apollo’ from the genius Brian Eno.  The two tracks used are called ‘Deep Blue day’ and ‘An Ending Ascent.’

As ever it would be great to discuss how you felt after listening to this.  So share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow we will be looking at letting go to get what you want in life.  Until tomorrow my fellow Mind Alchemists……..

Action follows a thought…

This course is about taking action, and to become pro active in changing your life.  Take time to do this exercise and really think about it throughout the day.  You don’t need to wait until tomorrow to take steps to improve your ‘Wheel of Life’, but with the support and encouragement from all the members we can help each other and support each other, but ultimately ‘you have to bring something to the table!’

Your thoughts

As always it’s good to talk about your experiences and share it with the rest of the members of the course, so let us know how this exercise went for you and if you gained any insights or had any revelations about yourself or your life.

You can share your thoughts at Mind Alchemy Facebook Group

You can Tweet using the hashtag #MindAlchemy

Or of course you can leave a comment below.

The truth is I truly believe that coldness really is a state of mind and that I am able to control my body temperature.

How I started control my body temperature

I remember when I was around 20 years old, I was out on the town with a group of friends.  We were in the pub and everybody was having a good time.  When the pub was closing we decided we were still in the party mood, only thing was we had to walk about 1/2 mile to get a taxi.  We all had shorts and t-shirts on as we had only intended to stay at the pub for a few hours and to book a taxi back home.  So we were all freezing cold and shivering, except for one girl called Joanne.  She was quite a skinny girl, but didn’t seem to display the effects of the cold like the rest of us.  The temperature was -9°C, I remember as there was a clock and a temperature digital display in the town centre building.  When I asked her ‘are you not freezing cold’, she casually replied ‘Nah, it’s only as cold as you want it to be’.  I laughed, but she wasn’t joking.  She advised that what she does is remembers a time when she was on holiday in a hot country and thinks back to the feelings of being warm and seeing the sun shine down on her body.  I thought about this for some time after and practised this technique whenever I was out in the cold.

I have now managed to control my body temperature for years and without thinking about the hot climate.

Why the body gets cold

Keeping our bodies within certain limits, usually 36.1 and 37.5 °C , depending on which country you come from, is very important.  Our bodies continually monitor the outside temperature and compare it with internal temperature.  If the outside temperature is too warm the body responds by helping the body lose heat, usually through sweating and other means.  If the outside temperature is too cold, the body again responds by taking evasive actions such as :

1. Sweat stops being produced.
2. Tiny muscles under the skin contract and lift the hair follicles upright as a form of insulation, you will know this as goosebumps.
3. The blood vessels start to constrict and only allow more blood flow to regulate the core temperature of our body
4. We start to shiver as a way to increase heat production.
5. Fat is converted into heat energy, particularly brown fat. (Walking for half an hour per day in the cold or taking a cold shower is a good way to lose weight, as you burn more brown fat)

I don’t want to go too much into the biology of the homeosatic process, sufficed to say that all this is done at an unconscious level, by the autonomic nervous system, in other words we don’t need to consciously control body temperature.

However, what I have found is that we can control body temperature to a large degree.  Whenever it’s cold outside I can consciously stop the goosebumps by acting as if it’s a warm day, not just thinking about a warm day but by acting as if it’s warm.  I do this by totally relaxing my body when I am walking or sitting down in the cold.  When we are cold our body tenses with all the muscle action that is going on, which sends more signals to the brain that you are cold, when you consciously relax you skip a part of thermoregulation and send signals to the brain that it’s not that cold outside, therefore increasing the level of blood flow around the body.

Obviously this is not advisable for prolonged periods, so don’t go out walking naked in the snow for a few hours at a time

Why the hell am I telling you all of this?

Simply to show you what the mind is capable of.  I know I can control my body temperature to a degree, I can slow down, and speed up my heart rate quite easily, increase and decrease my blood pressure, and many other areas that are controlled by the autonomic nervous system.  I can do this, and you can to simply by using your thoughts.

Little experiment to show you

Put your index finger and middle finger together and place them on your adams apple area, now slide your fingers about 2 inches diagonally to find your Carotid artery and you will feel it pulsing.

If you have a watch or stop clock count the number of beats for 15 seconds.  When you have done that, multiply the figure by 4 and you will have your heart rate .  As I carried this out just now I recorded a heart of 76 beats per minute (bpm).

Now, keeping your fingers where they are,  I want you to imagine you are relaxed and resting on a sun lounge in the most beautiful of places.  The warm sun is gently flowing over your body, the cool breeze passes over you, the sound of the sea swirls around your mind, and you are very relaxed.  Really get into the scene for a minute or two.  Now record your pulse again for 15 seconds and multiplying it by 4 to get you bpm again  and see what you get.

To speed it up I want you to imagine one of the most sexy people on the planet.  You are alone in the lift with them and suddenly they turn around and want to kiss you, you let them, you end up having passionate sex, really use your imagination and get into the scene and do this for a minute or two.  Now open your eyes briefly to record your bpm.

If you got into this you will have been able to lower your bpm, and then raise it simply with the power of your thoughts, also it’s a fun exercise to do

It is a ‘hot’ question that I’ve had over 17 years to find the answer to. That’s roughly how long I’ve been practicing the ‘art’ of regular physical activity.

But I don’t tell you this to boast. I say it so you feel the long journey it’s taken me to bring you the 5 iron-clad steps below. And my confidence that these 5 steps will help you implement exercise into your daily routine (if you acted on them).

A few points to keep in mind when you read the following list though:

– This is a concise list – for people who want to know how and are not afraid of doing the legwork.

– There is a lot more to know about fitness of course – I’m trying to simplify the points for easy access.

– If you have been exercising for a long time, it’s likely the points below will still apply, but you’d need to dig a lot deeper to find your answers – you simply have more experience…

– I recommend that you try to move every day of your life – especially if you have a computer-based job. Now it doesn’t mean intense 1-hour workouts each day. It means have 3-5 proper workouts, and the rest you can fill in with walks after dinner. Taking the kids to the park and playing with them. Even flying a kite counts.

Finally, for those of you who will have an argument that moving every day is a bit much to ask, consider this:

Do you only eat 2-3 times a week? Would you only brush your teeth that many times a week? What about breathing as often?

And before you suggest that exercising is neither of the above, please understand that movement is VITAL for the human body. It affects every bit of it.

I can repeat all those “benefits of exercising” pointers given by every popular magazine, but I know you know those already – so I won’t waste your time.

So let’s get going…

1. Make IT interesting and fun.

Yes – make sure that whatever you commit yourself to doing 4-5 times a week is actually something you enjoy.

Often I meet people who’ll say things like – “But I hate doing weights.” or “I can’t stand running on a treadmill.” (uh-yeah – if you stand on a treadmill whilst it’s on…).

You don’t have to do anything you dislike. The point is that there are just so many ways of keeping fit and healthy daily – that there has to be something or a few things that you’d be OK with doing.

Here are some viable options for you to explore (bearing in mind none of these will make you an athlete, but will keep you in good shape providing your diet isn’t appalling).

- Exercise and dance DVDs.
- Home exercise equipment like the TRX by Fitness Anywhere.
- Yoga – classes or at home.
- Pilates.
- Stop-start sports like tennis, rugby, football, squash, badminton etc.
- HIIT workouts – these are my favorites – full body workout in less than 30 minutes and can be done in any 3 by 2 m location.
- Jogging/Sprinting/Running – preferably in an HIT formation.
- Hiking.
- Combat/military style training.
- oh and my least favorite… the GYM.

… there just has to be something you like in that list.

If you’re like me, and you get bored easily – then combine your favorites in a 5-a-week workout schedule and go for it.

2. Make time for IT.

Look at your schedule – see when and how long you can spare if you absolutely committed to doing this 5 times a week.

Look for uninterrupted slots of 30 to 50 minutes. The truth is that you can get away with doing 12 to 21 minutes for the workout, but you have to factor in some time for getting ready and showering afterwards and so on.

So your minimum really is 30 minutes – including everything.

Write down what time you can do for each of the 5 days you commit to. Then write down what activity you’ll do.

Put them in your diary with reminders – that way at least you’ll feel guilty when you look at your schedule and decide to cancel.

3. Make IT a priority.

This one is critical. In fact this one alone is good enough for some people. Most of us know we should exercise, and we’re even willing to ‘suffer’ a little.

But until we decide that we just WILL do it and it’s very important to do it, nothing seems to get going.

Just make it important enough in your mind to not skip your sessions.

4. Find a reason to do IT.

And this step reinforces the one above. Ask yourself – why is it important to you to exercise?

BTW, this is a very powerful way to get leverage on yourself to do just about anything.

The thing is – everything in your life that’s been difficult to achieve – has been achieved because of your reason WHY. If you have a strong enough reason to do something – you will.

So if you don’t have one by now – make one. Just make sure it’s YOUR real WHY.

5. Just stop making excuses – Just Do IT!

This one’s actually a bit of a “truth with empathy” addition from me )

You’re an intelligent human being. You know why you should workout. You know it’s vital for your health and mind. So just get off your butt and start moving. Stop making excuses. Stop postponing it. Just start doing!

I want to start this article by letting you know that I am not a health guru, I’m not a fitness freak, I don’t even go to the gym, and I’m not a medical expert in any way.  I am an ordinary guy who wanted to lose a few pounds and accidentally discovered a way to do this, and I am so excited to share what I discovered as I know it can work for you too.

What I am going to tell you is not rocket science and it’s not a new discovery, many people have already benefited from the information I am about to share with you.  However, I discovered this for myself completely by accident without reading any books, without consulting a health guru and having no previous knowledge of this method for losing weight.

The simplicity of this method is what makes it so very easy for you to lose your first eight pounds.  Please do not be put off by its simplicity and please, please, please don’t dismiss it before you actually try it.  When you try it, you will see results within 1 week and after 2 weeks I know you will have lost at least eight pounds, depending on your weight to begin with of course.

Okay, let’s start by telling you the story of how I discovered this simple weight loss plan.

The story behind the guide

Only a few months ago I was struggling to keep my weight to under 212 pounds (15 st 2 Ibs), which is not that heavy but nearly 14 pounds (1 stone) heavier than I was 3 years earlier. I had been sitting around the 210 mark for about 1 year and decided I wanted to do something about it and get to the weight I was 3 years earlier.  The only exercise I was getting was walking every day for 2 miles, and I didn’t fancy going to the gym every day.  I am extremely busy with my online business, my day job as an addiction worker and spending time with my family, which is very important to me.

I tried all kinds of diets in the past; the atkins diet, burnfat4dummies diet and just the basic diet of eating less.  Yes the diets works, but they don’t help you keep the weight off unless you make that diet a part of your every day life. We all know that the less we put into our mouths the more weight we will lose, but our minds throw up all kinds of excuses for eating less, the main one being ‘I’m bloody hungry, so I need something else to eat’.

My huge downfall is biscuits.  I can eat a pack of biscuits in one sitting, dipping up to 10 digestive biscuits into my cup of tea would take a few minutes.  A few minutes to shovel 700 calories into my mouth, that’s 1/3rd of my recommended intake!

The accidental discovery

About 9 weeks ago I discovered something that helped me lose 8 pounds within 1 week.  I was flabbergasted, and so was my wife.  I looked at exactly what I had been doing different.  I wasn’t exercising any more than normal, I wasn’t any more stressed than normal, I didn’t have a bug of any kind.  And then it hit me what I had been doing differently – Drinking water.  Now before you go and send me an email saying ‘Oh’ I know this already’, just read this guide to find out exactly how I managed to lose 8 pounds in 1 week and go on to lose 12 pounds and keep the weight off, without any real effort on my part.

I started drinking water as a way to cleanse my body, as I started feeling sluggish in the mornings.  I get up very early, around 4.30 – 5am, and always feel alert and ready to write as I am always excited to start the day online before getting ready for my day job.  For a few weeks I was still getting up at 4.30, but I was feeling a little sluggish, which wasn’t like me.  I felt bloated, and felt like I needed a good detox.  I was going to try fasting for a few days per week, just to rid myself of all the crap inside my body, but then decided I would start drinking water to clear my insides, aid my digestion and just generally feel healthier.  I was used to drinking water throughout the day, but not in any planned way, and sometimes skipped the water a lot of the days.

So I made a concerted effort to drink water every day. I started drinking water as soon as I got up, about 500ml, and again 1 hour later I drank another 500ml, during the day at lunch time (500 ml) 30 minutes before every meal I drank 250ml and  another 250ml a few hours before going to bed.  Great! It worked.  After a few days I felt less sluggish and less bloated throughout the day – job done, just keep drinking water and I would be back to my normal energetic self.  That’s what I thought, until I weighed myself 1 week later and discovered I was down to 204 pounds (14st 8Ibs).  Obviously I thought the scales were playing up and stepped off the digital scales to wait for ‘error’ to show up on the little screen, but no, everything was okay.  I stepped back on, and again the reading was 204 pounds – I shouted for my wife, who weighed herself and sure enough the scales were working okay, no anomalies, no battery losing power, no slopes in the bathroom to skew the results.  Could drinking 2 litres of water help me lose weight?

I then started to experiment.  I stopped drinking water for 1 week, only occasionally drinking it when I felt thirsty, just as before.  1 week later I was back up to 209 pounds (14st 13Ibs).  Words can’t describe how I felt, you’d think I’d discovered the lost city of Atlantis (quite fitting really).  I then went on to experiment more and ask lots of questions and done a hell of a lot of research on the many benefits of water.

As I write this, I am down to 200 (14st 4Ibs)  pounds, a full 12 pounds lighter than I was a few weeks earlier.  I have even hit 198 pounds (14st 2Ibs), which is what I weighed 3 years ago, totally amazing.  You can probably tell I was, and am, excited about this.  You have to understand I haven’t changed my diet in any way, I was still eating the biscuits, and coming up to Christmas there’s always goodies in the office to munch on.

During my research it turns out that A lot of other people have discovered the many benefits of drinking water, including to help keep your weight down.  But, I want to give you an exact plan, a very easy plan that will help you lose weight and help you keep it off.  Not only will you lose weight but you will have more energy, feel healthier and feel more alert.  All this by not really changing your lifestyle and drinking a few glasses of water every day, even if you are not exercising, not dieting, and still eating your Big Macs.

The Daily Plan

This is an extremely simple plan and one which I have followed now for around 6 weeks with huge benefits and little downside.

The amount of water you drink will depend on your current weight.  Obviously a woman of 150 pounds does not need to drink as much as a man who is 300 pounds in weight.

Why the water plan helps you to lose weight

You might be asking yourself why such a simple, plentiful, substance such as water can help you to lose weight.

In the plan you’ll notice that I’ve said as soon as you get up to drink ½ litre of water.  This is to kick start the metabolic process.  You brain does not distinguish between food and water, and treats water as food.  This means that the metabolic process is kick started as soon as you drink water in the morning and will start to use the energy to process the water.

There are many forms of metabolism going on in your body right now, but the one we are concerned about is the metabolism of fat. This is actually something that the liver does when it converts stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs.

However the liver is also a close friend with the Kidneys, which need plenty of water to function properly.  If the kidneys are not getting enough water the liver goes into overdrive and does it’s own work as well as pick up the slack from the kidneys, which lowers the functioning of the liver.  The liver then can’t metabolize fat as quickly as it should therefore fat is stored.

There’s a lot more to it than that, I just wanted to give you one of the areas where water affects the body and how it can change our bodies.

Resisting the temptation not to try it

A lot of you might be thinking ‘I know that already, I’ve tried it.’  The key to using this is to keep using it, no point in doing it for a couple of days and then stopping; make it a habit.

The first few days of drinking more water will have you running to the loo more times than you’ll like, however if you stick with it you will see some amazing benefits.  Your body has been storing water for years, and the more fresh water you drink the more flushed your system will be and it will get rid of the water it was originally holding onto.  That means less water retention, less swelling of the ankles, hips and thighs and even from around the stomach area.  You will not only be flushing the body out but you will excreting all the stored water as your mind and body realize it no longer has to store water as it is getting all that it needs.  You’ll also increase your ability to hold the water and return to a normal loo routine.

Other benefits

Drinking plenty of water is also great for your skin.  It flushes out all the impurities which will leave you with a glow and a great complexion.  You’ll also notice your skin looking younger and healthier.

You also notice a difference in muscle tone. You can lift all the weights you need, but if your muscles are not hydrated you won’t see a big difference in your appearance. When you muscles that have all the water they need. they contract more easily, making your workout more effective, and you’ll look better for it.

There’s a million reasons to drink more water, but I wanted to make this about losing weight with water so I will leave it at that.

As always I would love to know what you think about this.

Now, health is, in my eyes, a relative term.

Especially when left to people’s own interpretation. Some people are sensitive to every minute tingle out of place. Whilst others (like my dad) will keep going until something actually falls off before they even start to think about a doctor.

I’ve learned not to judge.

My experience and instinct have thought me not to ‘preach’ about health to anyone either… unless they ask. Kind of like “you can lead a horse to water, but…”

But recently I found a much more scientific explanation than my gut feeling to all this. It came literally on the last page of a psychology book I was reading. And it was a little bit of a relief and excitement at the same time (it always helps to know psychologists have figured it out ).

It said that according to the Health Belief Model (in psychology):

Commitment to change is most often brought about when a person believes that he or she can make a difference. A lot of people have a ‘fatalistic’ attitude towards their health – “you go when you go” philosophy. When we feel we can control something we are more likely to do something about it.

In other words – we’ll change things to get healthier only when we feel that we CAN change things, or that there’s a NEED to do it. But it’s all up to our own perception.

Also, there are four PERCEIVED factors that help us assess the situation – or the possibility of us making a difference. They are:

1. Perceived susceptibility – (an individual’s assessment of their risk of getting a condition).
2. Perceived severity – (an individual’s assessment of the seriousness of a condition, and its potential consequences).
3. Perceived barriers – (an individual’s assessment of the influences that facilitate or discourage adoption of the promoted behavior).
4. Perceived benefits – (an individual’s assessment of the positive consequences of adopting the behavior).

So why am I telling you all this?

Because I want to pose a question to you;

Are you one of the people who won’t even try to live a healthy lifestyle – because you believe it won’t make one ounce of a difference?

Are you one of the people who won’t even give themselves a chance to feel great – because they don’t believe in themselves?

How bad do things have to get for you, before you consider your health a priority?

If you are one of those people – consider this: Most people don’t know how great they COULD feel.

In fact most people spend their lives at a mediocre energy level, mucking about thinking – this is as good as it gets. And if and when this type of person actually does something about their health – they are astonished as to how much more there is out there.

So – I won’t go on and give you the obligatory list of points on how to get more energy out of your body. Instead, I’ll leave you with the above questions, hoping that I’ve given your subconscious enough ‘food’ for thought (pun intended) to one day present you with the right answer.

As a pre-launch to the guide I had the pleasure of interviewing 9 famous bloggers and authors who are all early risers:

John Paul Aguiar

Leo Babauta

Dawn Breslin

James Chartrand

Chris Garrett

Maria Gudelis

Nathen Hangen

Charlie Pabst

Liz Strauss

The interviews have now been published as an ebook and you can download it here: The Early Riser Interviews’

Everybody interviewed had great answers to the questions and it gives a unique insight into the lives of some fantastic people you may already know.

All of the bloggers and authors, without exception, cited being an early riser as a key component to their success in life, and they go on to give us a typical day for them.  Most of them also managed to get by on less sleep than the average 8 hours, which is what the new guide is all about.

Tomorrow I have readers questions which I will be answering in a video presentation and of course Wednesday I will be releasing How to Become an Advanced Early Riser

I would love it if you could leave a Facebook comment on the Early Riser Interviews page and let me know what you think, and obviously leave a comment here too and tell me your thoughts on this

A special Thank You to Deborah McGonigal, one of the subscribers to this blog, who sent in a question about being an early riser and suggesting that I give examples of other peoples routines.  This gave me the idea for ‘The early Riser Interviews’

Thank you for all your support so far and I hope you enjoy the book.

There are countless ways of teaching people the physical act of getting focused.

But very seldom does anyone actually talk about the connection between your nutrition and your ability to focus.

In fact, I’ve been a part of a few heated arguments where people actually dismiss the that nutrition can have any effect on your focus at all.

My question to those people has always been – “Why is it that we still tend to separate our bodies from our minds, when the two have clearly been created in the same package?”

The simple scientific truth is that everything that passes your lips has an effect on how you feel, what you think of, and how well you cope intellectually throughout the day.

In fact the moment you truly realize the vastness of what I just said you will gain a unique and powerful perspective (and control if you choose to act) on your own mental states.

And who knows – the end result may just be a much healthier you…

The connection can be quite obvious, but in the same time it could be quite easy to forget or miss.

The bottom line is – if you want to make sure that you’re able to easily find your focus – you must make sure you give your mind the best of foundations.

Here are the main 5 nutritional factors to consider that have huge influence on your focus.

Sure – those are not the only 5 in play, but they are the most important 5. Think of this checklist as your support system for maximizing focus through the foods you eat.

1. Water

Yes I know most health and diet advice starts at this one, that’s because it really is important to keep hydrated.

Our bodies are made of large amount of water, and pretty much all our organs and the functions they perform depend on it being there. So it should not be surprising that lack of water can mean severe loss of focus and mental function.

Our brain cells rely on being able to send electric currents between each other in order to function. And whilst there are a few other conditions that have to be present for the connectivity to be at optimum, water is one of the most important and one you have control over.

Start by drinking 1.5 ltrs a day and adjust that depending on the foods you eat and how much water you consume through the day through any other liquids. A good measure to use for the ‘just right’ amount is to see that you don’t go for #1 more than once an hour )

2. The Right Quantity of Food

It’s no secret to anyone that you need food in order to create the energy your body needs to do its job.

But not many people know how much food is enough or indeed necessary for proper function of their body and their brain as an individual.

As a result it’s highly likely that you’re eating too little or too much at any or all of your daily meals.

Overdo it – and you end up bloated, sluggish, sleepy and with a foggy mind.

Under eat – and you end up hungry in nanoseconds. Your brain struggling to stay in one spot – because frankly, it has more important things to take care of. Like panicking about where to scrap the extra energy from – the energy needed to breathe, blink, heat itself and so on…

The answer?

Eat the right amount of food for your metabolism, lifestyle age and sex. (no kidding, Anita )

The figure you’re looking for is called TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), and it takes into account the calories you need to sustain life and the calories you need to do the daily activities you do depending on how active your lifestyle is.

Now – there are a few formulas out there that you can use – but to keep this as simple as possible and still accurate, here’s what you need to do:

Take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 13, 14 or 15 – depending on your activity level. Use 13 if you don’t get to move or exercise much. 14 if you do moderate exercise 3 – 4 times a week. Use 15 if you exercise vigorously more than 4 times a week.

For example – I weigh 117 lbs and I exercise 6 times a week, so my baseline calorie intake per day is:

TDEE = 117 (weight in lbs) x 15 (activity level factor)= 1,755 calories (per day)

Take that total number and spread over 5-6 smaller meals (3 main meals and 2-3 snacks) throughout the day – and you should be on the mark.

NOTE: This figure is if you are maintaining your weight. For weight loss the general rule is to cut your maintenance figure by 20% (but staying above 1,200 calories) – just FYI.

The question: So are you eating enough?

You can use a site like CalorieKing.com to discover the calorie value of your food intake in a day. Now I know this may seem a little too intricate if you’re not trying to lose weight – all you want it good focus abilities right?

Well like I said – it takes a little bit of effort on your part, but the payoffs are totally worth it.

Just as an example – on average (after going through the same exercise above) my clients discover that they are overeating by 30 to 50% daily! That is up to half of their total calories more than they should be eating…

3. The Right Quality of Food

Quality is always important – especially when food is concerned. One calorie is NOT equal to another!

The topic of what’s good and what’s bad for you is a bit too complex to dissect here, but if you stick to the basic rules you can’t go much wrong.

• Eat as many fresh foods as you can.
• Avoid pre-made, processed foods of pretty much any kind.
• Eat lean meats and fish that’s not been poisoned.
• Fresh fruits and veg of any kind.
• Ease up on simple carbs and get a good set of supplements for support.

The bottom line here is that if you put low grade fuel in your ‘engine’ – just like your car – you’ll get jerky, unstable performance out of it.

Take some time to learn the basics about good food, and then make an effort to feed your brain long lasting slow release energy. The result = great focus.

4. The Right Frequency

Now, a lot of the people I speak to about nutrition have a hard time believing they should aim to eat every 3 to 4 hours – or 5 to 6 times a day.

They usually fall into three camps: The first is afraid they’ll get fat. The second has the excuse that they can’t find the time. The third claims to not be able to stomach that much food (they only eat once a day).

All are legit.

But my answer to all three is the same: If you take time to calculate the amount of food you need specifically for your body and lifestyle activity levels, and you split that number into 3 main meals and 2 to 3 small snacks – give it a week, and your body will start to ask for it’s fuel like a clockwork…

Make good nutrition (i.e. looking after your focusing machinery) a priority and all those objections will fall away – I guarantee you this.

It’s not easy at fist as it requires conscious effort and some preparation. But the payoff is:

• no bloating, and discomfort
• no gas (because there’s an adequate amount of food to digest – so your body can comfortably work through it, without some of it putrefying in your gut).
• sustained even energy levels throughout the day
• no foggy and sluggish mind
• no distracting hunger
• no scattered thoughts and restless mind
• crisp clear thought process
• and a lot more that I’ll let you discover on your own.

Eating smaller and more frequent meals will also reduce the physical size of your stomach. It will increase the efficiency with which your body digests food to make energy out of it.

And, I know you might not be interested in this, but it will tighten all sorts of areas on your body ;o)

All of the above = greater ability to focus on demand, because you remove lower survival-level obstructions, leaving your mind to do its job.

5. The Right Environment

Finally – we get to the environment in which you eat. This is hugely important and very under-popularized factor in establishing a healthy gut, and therefore healthy focus.

What I mean by “the right environment” is a stress-free environment.

Stress, you may have heard, is one of the most offensive enemies for the human species. It attacks body, mind and soul, and it takes no prisoners. Stress kills in very sneaky ways.

One of it’s most susceptible victims is your gut.

When your stress levels are high, your body diverts attention to other functions that it sees as more important. Like danger aversion, i.e saving your butt from that roaring tiger in the wilderness…

So digestion gets shut off to save energy. Some of the resulting effects being reduction in absorption of nutrients. Food purification due to digestion delay. Hormone release into bloodstream to deal with the ‘fight or flight’ demands imposed by the stress alert.

This is another topic that will take ages to digest (pun intended). So let’s just say that stress reaches pretty much every molecule of your body, and then it creates all sorts of ailments from little chronic headaches to scary cancers, and heart conditions.

The answer?

• Make eating in peace a priority. Seriously – take control and guard that sacred time.
• Take the time to chew properly (25-35 chews should do it).
• Pay attention to your food – taste, texture, quantity, smell, colours.
• Enjoy what you eat – eat what you enjoy.

All this helps you relax and focus on the task at hand – digestion. As a result you get much needed energy to your cells so that you can – function properly and focus on demand.

The Final Word

I hope I managed to simplify what is one of the most important and complex processes we have in our bodies.

I wanted to give you enough detail to help you understand it and take it more seriously – because it can change the way you work and focus in business. But I also wanted to keep it simple enough so as not to become a burden.

The way you should think of it in one sentence: Digestion must be important if it is the single most calorie-consuming process our body has after sex.

So – go on – take your gut seriously and it will seriously improve your ability to do focused work.

His belief – and it’s one that’s more and more widely shared – is that a lot of physical imbalances that lead to disease can be traced back to mental stress. The clever part is that he has a way of reversing the mental and physical stress which, he’s repeatedly shown, helps with the disease – with symptoms like cardiac problems, headache, hypertension (high blood pressure), irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia and pain.

You don’t have to be sick to benefit from this practice, of course. Anyone who’s dealing with stressful circumstances on a daily or near-daily basis – which would be most of us – will find it an easy way to quickly power down.

Here’s my version of Dr Benson’s “Relaxation Response” practice, in 10 simple steps that can improve your health and wellbeing in just 10 minutes a day. (Experienced meditators will probably find them familiar.)

1. Pick a focus. The easiest focus to use is a word or a short phrase. It doesn’t particularly matter what it is as long as it’s short and has positive associations for you. You could use “peace” or “calm” if you wanted.

2. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, and sit in a position that will be comfortable to sit in for a little while.

3. Set a timer for 10-20 minutes. Most cellphones have one these days.

4. Close your eyes.

5. Relax your muscles. Start with the muscles of your face, since you’ve already relaxed the muscles around your eyes. Allow any tension just to leak out as you progressively relax your face, scalp, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest and upper back, stomach and lower back, hips, thighs, knees, calves and shins, ankles and feet. Take your time on this step, and if you find particular tension in any area, just touch it gently with your mind, give it permission to relax and move on.

6. Start a series of slow, deep breaths. As you breathe out each time, say your focus word to yourself.

7. As thoughts and feelings rise, let them come and let them go. Return to your word.

8. Your mind will wander off. When you notice that your mind has wandered, gently bring yourself back to focussing on your word on each outbreath.

9. Let your thoughts return for a minute or so after the timer goes off, then open your eyes.

10. Move a little to get yourself back in your body. I lift my feet up and put them down again, and rub my face with my hands. Find something that works for you.

What happens when you go through this exercise?

Your body, if it’s been geared up for fighting or fleeing by the stressful circumstances of modern life, switches itself back into what should be its normal mode – the mode where maintenance and digestion and all those other useful internal processes happen, and where your blood isn’t full of stress chemicals threatening to block your arteries. This is the “relaxation response”.

There are three benefits of relaxing as a deliberate daily practice. Firstly, you’re not leaving relaxation to chance and hoping that it happens (it might not). Secondly, you’re cultivating an internal pattern, and a capability, of being able to let go of distracting thoughts and feelings which would take you back into stress. And thirdly, just as your stress has built up over a long period, it needs to be released over a long period, by consistent practice.

Yet it’s only 10 minutes a day – an investment that will be repaid many times over in increased energy, vitality, resilience and health.

What other benefits do you think you might get from a practice like this? Tell us in the comments.