Getting Skinny on Six Meals a Day

Getting Skinny on Six Meals a Day
more on eating less more often

We're so used to hearing people talk about eating less food that it's become weight-loss doctrine. But as you remember from the physiology of metabolism, you have to eat more often to change your body composition. The new philosophy I want you to keep in mind is "energy balance."

Researchers at Georgia State University developed a technique to measure hourly energy balance -- that is, how many calories you're burning versus how many calories you're taking in. The researchers found that if you keep your hourly surplus or deficit within 300 to 500 calories at all times, you will best be able to change your body composition by losing fat and adding lean muscle mass. Those subjects with the largest energy imbalances (those who were over 500 calories in either ingestion or expenditure) were the fattest, while those with the most balanced energy levels were the leanest.

So if you eat only your three squares a day, you're creating terrific imbalances in your energy levels. Between meals, you're burning many more calories than you're taking in. At mealtimes, you're taking in many more than you're burning. Research shows that this kind of eating plan is great -- if your dream is to be the next John Candy. But if you want to look slimmer, feel fitter, and -- not coincidentally -- live longer, then you need to eat more often. In the same study, subjects who added three snacks a day to three regular meals balanced out their energy better, lost fat, and increased lean body mass (as well as increased their power and endurance).

In a similar study, researchers in Japan found that boxers who ate the same amount of calories a day from either two or six meals both lost an average of 11 pounds in 2 weeks. But the guys who ate six meals a day lost 3 pounds more fat and 3 pounds less muscle than the ones who ate only two meals.

There's science to support the fact that more meals work, but the plain-speak reason it works is because it does something that many diets don't do: It keeps you full and satiated, which will reduce the likelihood of a diet-destroying binge.

How it works: For scheduling purposes, alternate your larger meals with smaller snacks. Eat two of your snacks roughly 2 hours before lunch and dinner, and one snack roughly 2 hours after dinner.

Sample time schedule:
8 a.m.: breakfast
11 a.m.: snack
1 p.m.: lunch
4 p.m.: snack
6 p.m.: dinner
8 p.m.: snack

Have a sensational week!


Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.

Closing One Door to Open Another

Not all those who wander are lost. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Countless times we have all heard a friend or colleague say if only I had a new job or new partner, new house… infinitum. And thus the never ending conundrum of always wanting what believe we can not have. A wise sage once told me that in order to invite new possibilities into my life that there must be a space created for it to manifest. I have taken this tidbit of information along with me on my life's journey and have always found it to be a useful tool.

Life is a rich cornucopia of varied experiences. It is our birthright to enjoy and enhance our lives with new experiences and opportunities. It is easy to get stuck in one place. What keeps us stuck if the fear of change. The fear that what awaits us on the path ahead is not as good as what we have now; even if what we have now is not so great. The fear of the unknown keeps us stuck. The only way I have seen to release or at least manage the fear of what lies ahead is to trust. Trust yourself, trust your intuition, trust your guides, listen to advice, grit your teeth, take the plunge and most importantly trust the universe.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. The three words that spell regret. I shoulda taken that job, I coulda been a great dad, I woulda been something special but… The time is right now to change direction, let go of the old and embrace the new journey you are about to embark on. In life it is much better to regret the things you have done then to regret the things you haven't. Start now with change. Trust it and embrace it. See the world in a new light and your path will be illuminated. As with all paths, you can always change direction if you don't like where you are going. As J.R.R. Tolkien said “ not all those who wander are lost”.

In a nut shell you must let go of what you cling to now in order to create space for something better to manifest in your life. Do this and watch change for the better manifest.

I'll see you along the path.

Have an excellent day.

Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.

The Miracle of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heal that has crushed it. ~ Mark Twain

This week has been a very transformational week for me; a week that I didn’t see coming. There has been a particular person in my life that has caused me a lot of pain and I am sure I have caused them just as much. We have been at odds for almost two years now and no matter how much I have ignored the situation and tried to press on, it has come back on a regular basis causing me and the other person stress, anxiety and sadness. My sister sent me a book called Radical Forgiveness. She made me promise to read at least the first chapter. When it came this week I did exactly that. The first few pages were nothing special for me but, by the time I got nearly to the end of the chapter I had a major epiphany.

In the book the author says “The healing occurs the moment you become willing to let in the idea that your soul has lovingly created this situation for you. If you can really surrender to the idea that the Universe will handle this for you if you turn it over, you won’t need to do anything at all. The situation and your healing will both get handled automatically.” This was the case for me. I liken this scenario to puppet masters; the soul pulling the strings of the puppet; the person for the person and souls greater well being.

My perception of the situation between us was clouded by my ego and once I was able to see that we are both pushing each others buttons to heal our issues in her case abandonment and in mine not being good enough it cleared the path for healing. Healing so profound in fact that it is nothing short of a miracle.

Have an excellent day.

Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.

Take A Day To Make A Better You

self improvement is the catalyst for greater happiness and success

Do you ever feel like you need a kick in the seat-of-the-pants? A push in the right direction? Perhaps you need a boost in morale or need some attitude adjustment. Try giving yourself a self-development day.

Benefits of a self-development day
1. You almost program yourself for optimism
2. You feel better, refreshed and ready to seize the rest of the week
3. Side-advantage: You knock out some minor tasks you’ve been procrastinating
4. You’ll be more organized for the days and weeks to come.

The way I’ve done this in the past is I’ve picked one or two self-development/motivational audio programs that I would listen to nonstop for a whole day. I put on some headphones and do some long-delayed cleaning and filing. At the end of a day like this, I am feeling much more positive, more organized and a lot more energized about how I am going to deal the rest of the week.

So why does this work so well? The simple reason is constant exposure. If you have ever attended an all-day program sponsored by Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy or similar speaker, you probably felt pretty good about yourself and your future after the day was complete. Constant exposure to new motivational ideas prevent the little negative thoughts (gremlins) from taking hold so easily. For lack of a better word, it’s healthy brainwashing.

Best of all, this method is simple to do. Just pick a day, and choose a few self-development audio programs. Prepare some repetitive or routine work and get to listening. Don’t stop until the end of the day!

Here are some tips:

1. Pick audio programs where you feel you’ll learn something or reinforce behaviors you want to preserve.
2. Make sure the day you choose is one where you can either be alone or where you can listen without people interrupting.
3. Choose titles that can get you moving in new and better directions.
4. Mentally approach your self-development day listening time with a sense that you will learn something.
5. Set aside a full day, where you can do stuff like clear your desk, your office closet, dust, file…choose simple tasks such as organizing so you can focus on the audio messages.
6. Also, keep the computer and radio OFF. This is self-development day, not surf day.
7. It’s also not audio-book day, so don’t choose novels.
8. If you find yourself bored with the message, keep the tapes or CDs rolling. If your mind drifts, let it drift. Just keep it rolling. It’s likely the next chapter will snag you. If not, you are still getting something.

Some ideas for what to do while you listen can include filing and tossing out old papers. Remove all the books from your bookcase, dust them and put them back. Clean and arrange your desk drawers. If you typically take a break, this time take a break and go for a walk.

A self-development day is an Investment in you.

This is self indulgent YOU time, this is for your health and mental well-being. You will surely get many ideas during this day and will probably feel a great sense of motivation and drive when the day is over.

Thank you for your patronage.

Have a sensational week!


Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.

It's Time For You To Have A Little Talk With Yourself

One of the most powerful tools I have in my "pick me up" arsenal is Positive Self Talk. It is something any of us can do at any time and it is a really great way to start off the day. Here are a few tips on how to supercharge your attitude and self esteem through Positive Self Talk.

Know your outcome. Have a clear vision of the end result and avoid dwelling on the question, how will I get there? Our subconscious minds are very creative and once the thought is programmed, you will be pleasantly surprised at how the creative mind goes to work to guide you to make the vision a reality. For example, let's take a shy person who is uncomfortable speaking to a group of people. The desired end-result is to be confident, dynamic and captivating when speaking before large groups of people.

Get Personal. Begin your affirmations with "I"....okay, we would all probably like to change the behavior of some of the people around us, but we can only affirm for ourselves. However, as you begin to make changes in your own behavior, others will notice and begin to ask what is your secret? ..So, as you share your new techniques, you are, indirectly, also making a positive impact on those around you.

Be Positive. Use a positive spin when saying and writing affirmations as opposed to the negative approach. An example of the difference is stating, I am confident when speaking before groups of people, VS. the negative approach of saying. I am not as nervous or scared as I used to feel when speaking to groups of people.

Be In The Present Tense. You want to keep the statement in the NOW moment for your subconscious mind to fully comprehend the change is for today, NOT someday. Avoid using words like CAN, WILL, SHOULD, COULD, and instead use the empowering word I AM....I am a confident, dynamic and powerful speaker when addressing large groups of people.

Now that you have infected the Quantum Field with Positive Self Talk it is time to pass this along to others.

Have an excellent day.

Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.

A Quiet Mind Creates a Garden of Inner Peace

"You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait. You need not even wait, just learn to become quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no other choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet." - Franz Kafka

Meditation is an effortless awake stillness of the mind. It is a continuous awareness of now, which has the aroma of total bliss. It is this aliveness that is behind your striving struggling thinking machine that never stops. It is the most playful witness of your being. It is your essence, your inner most core of consciousness, located at the very center of every experience you have.

Learning how to meditate is the essential foundation to peace of mind, happiness and a fulfilled outer life. When we become the master of our mind, we also master our life. By quieting the mind we can control it, and eventually tame it completely. Meditation enables us to hold our focus on what we want and attract that experience into our lives.

The greatest secrets in learning how to meditate are very simple and easy. In fact, there's nothing you do to actually "meditate" you simply sit being unfocused and experience your own presence. However the mind tends to wander and may need more of a structure if it cannot stay in being unfocused. Here is the basic guidelines to learn how to meditate.

Relax your entire body. Sit comfortably in a chair (or on the floor) and release any tension in your body from head to toe. Imagine your body is filled with relaxing healing energy that releases ANY tension being held inside. Keep your spine vertical yet relaxed, as if your spine were a gently balanced stack of golden coins. Let you hands rest comfortably wherever they are.

Sit still and be very quiet inside. Do not move, yet do not try not to move. Simply be quiet, solitary and still. It may help to pretend you are a statue that just happens to breathe on its own. Don't do anything. If you have to do something, focus on being unfocused and experience your own presence. Learning how to meditate happens when all your attention is resting inside. Pull yourself within this "vertical center" of your body (that runs from the top of your head to the base of your spine) and allow your mind to relax in here. Eventually it will slow down and stop the mental chatter. When thoughts arises, just watch and release them as they come. Notice thoughts without getting caught in them. Whatever distractions that arise, just let them, and return to being unfocused pure presence. Simply practice being completely empty, quiet and free. The state of pure unbounded consciousness is your natural state.

Experience your own Presence. Just experiencing your own presence is a way to transcend the mind. Be patient with taming your mind. Any results from meditation practice may take from 3 days to 3 months to notice any shifts at all. If you have been "meditating" for years and feel you're not getting any benefit from it, your mind is still focusing and wandering. Try just being present to stillness. Down the road, your meditation practice will have great rewards. You'll be more centered in times of chaos, more able to manifest what you want physically, and more healthy emotionally, mentally and physically. The devotion to yourself and constant self-love will be well worth it for years to come.

Have an excellent day.

Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.

Chart a New Course For Your Life

ten easy steps to change the direction of your life

In a past life I was an executive at a Fortune 100 company. While the pay was excellent and the stock options and benefits were outstanding, there was still something missing. I was completely thankful for the opportunity and to this day I am still amazed that they gave a thirty-something kid a chance at the brass ring. Nevertheless, everyday I would go into work I knew I was not living through complete truth. I was not fulfilling my destiny and the shackles of an 8-5 were preventing me from reaching my highest calling.

I knew I needed to make a change. It was very terrifying because I was being brought out of my comfort zone and I was letting go of an enormous amount of security. The time had come for me to change directions and chart a new path for my future. I charted a new path and now 10 years later I have found myself embracing the freedom, joy and satisfaction that only being an entrepreneur can bring you. If I did it, I am certain you can as well.

Here are a few tips that might help you reach your highest calling.

1.) Plan your attack and attack your plan. I have always subscribed to the “think it then ink it” theory. A goal not written down is simply a good intention. Sit down with a pen and paper and start creating your plan. Be specific and visualize each step in your mind.

2.) Embrace your failures. Your previous failures have simply been lessons for you to guide you to success in the future. It took Thomas Edison over 500 failures before he was able to successfully invent a working light bulb. Abraham Lincoln was on the brink of financial disaster just before he was elected president of the United States. There will be failures in your life. It is inevitable for people who try. Persons who don’t try rarely fail.

3.) Create a support group. You don’t need to go it alone. Ask for moral support from friends and family. Be careful because some of them may not be a supportive as you need and they can be counter productive. You can also find networking groups on http://www.craigslist.org and http://www.meetup.com.

4.) Fake it til' you make it. If the truth must be told, nobody really knows what they are doing in the beginning and frankly there are times in my life when I am not sure I really know what I am doing. Act “as if”… as if you are already successful, as if you are all ready doing what you want to do, as if you are on top of the world and eventually you will find yourself there.

5.) Pass it Forward. Quality success is a give and take proposition. You must give back what you are given. Find yourself a good mentor; somebody who has done it before with style and grace. Read their books and articles, ask them for there mentorship but, when you get to where you want to be don’t forget to mentor somebody else.

6.) Be patient. All good things take time especially success. Be patient, drill in and commit to the long hall. Success is a journey not a destination, so enjoy the trip and smell the flowers along the way.

7.) Celebrate Benchmarks. When you follow your plan and you start knocking out pieces of it give yourself credit for getting these pieces done; calibrate and then celebrate. You are on your way and these little successes are your mile markers.

8.) Soar with other eagles. Eagles soar alone and buzzards flock together. When you are successful you will be in the top 5% of people in the world. It is lonely on top but, you are an eagle and eagles are held in the highest esteem of all birds.

9.) Live in the moment. Don’t allow yourself to get dragged down by the past and don’t let yourself get paralyzed by fear about the future. Be in the present, work you’re plan and live completely in the moment.

10.) Don't look back. There will be days that you will question everything you have done. You will question if what you are doing is the right think. Once you have made the leap there is no turning back. Looking back during challenging days will only stifle you. You are exactly where you need to be in this very moment and with patience and courage you will see these days through. See tip nine and three for help.

Now that you are armed with the same arsenal that I had when I started, shake your tail tiger and reach for your brass ring. You will work hard but it is even more important to work smart.

Who knows, perhaps entrepreneurship is in your future as well. I hope to see your face on the cover of Fortune Magazine.

Have an excellent day.

Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.