Now, Jeff’s in the best shape of his life. He averages 800 push-ups a day and runs each morning. He eats nothing but plants—most of ’em raw. Perhaps most importantly: He’s eliminated his former bad habits once and for all. He’s a “machine,” all right, as evidenced by photographs, capturing him at age 49. “If you’re willing to wipe the slate clean and begin a brand new life, then you can, too!” Jeff said. “Build the body of your dreams.” Follow Jeff on his website and Twitter and explore his book Confessions of a Super-Fit Vegan.
1. Work out at sunrise. Nothing stops your fitness in its tracks like putting a workout off until later in the day. If you’re anything like me, you know “later” rarely happens as one excuse or another generally stops you from getting done what you know you should’ve gotten out of the way first thing in morning. Want the body of your dreams? Prioritize! Get your workout done with the rise of the sun. You’ll garner an immediate boost of energy. Condition your body to love early morning exercise. And send your subconscious mind a highly important message: that you are different from the oft-unfit, snooze-button-hitting, mass of modern man. Morning workouts? Make them a habit, my friend. Trust me: You’ll love ’em!
2. Do a minimum of a half-hour’s worth of calisthenics. For superb fitness, you do not need a gym membership. You don’t need weights. And you sure as heck don’t need the latest overpriced fitness “gadget.” Stick to the most proven exercise regimen known to man: the simple calisthenics session. It burns fat “like mad.” It builds lean, “ripped” muscle from head to toe. Plus, it forges a mental toughness that I bet you’ll find is unmatched by nine of 10 folks you’ll meet—anywhere you go!
Just alternate sets of squats, push-ups and crunches. Go for 30 minutes, minimum. Forty-five minutes is better. Do not rest between sets. To loosen up the muscles between sets of exercises, do jumping jacks. And then move right in to your next set. You’ll get fit fast and build a “body to die for”—and get supertough in the process. Bet on it.
3. Skip breakfast. There are lots of benefits to fasting. When you give your body a break from food, you allow it to go to work cleansing itself rather than what it normally does. Which is spend a massive amount of energy digesting “grub.” Believe it or not, food digestion eats up more energy than any other bodily function! Take a break from food, and you’ll free up lots of latent energy, for sure. You’ll also allow your body to go to work, cleaning out toxins that likely would have remained in your fatty tissues without the benefit of a good fast.
Here’s what to do: Consume nothing but water before lunch. Then get all your eating done (lunch and dinner) between the hours of noon and 6 p.m.—or 1 and 7 p.m. That way, you’ll digest food when your digestive juices are at peak capacity (during the day) and you’ll give your body a good, solid 18 hours’ worth of foodless, deep-cleansing joy. Skip breakfast. I’ve been doing it for years. So have many of my friends. Believe me: It works great. You can do it, too!
4. Eat a big fruit salad for lunch. Is there a more perfect food than fruit? Not that I know of. As Harvey Diamond points out in his excellent tome, Fit for Life: Fruit is the only food that best approximates man’s ideal calorie-nutrient ratio. Which is about 80 percent carbohydrates, 10 percent protein and 10 percent fat. Yes, most fruits fall right into this general category, and though they may vary in nutrients from one to another, they’ve all got a few big positives in common: They’re loaded with fiber. Fiber cleanses the digestive tract. Fruits are also full of nutrients, which feed every cell in your body. Plus, fruits taste great!
Add it all up, and you’ve got one true superfood on your hands that fits in the palm of your hand and that, if you ask me, makes the concoctions of man pale by comparison. Eat a big fruit meal for lunch. Example: Mix bananas, apples, pears and grapes. Eat a few cucumbers when done, as they clean off the teeth. Guess what? You’ll be satisfied till dinner especially as more and more fruit meals begin to scrub old, addictive toxins from your digestive tract. Bottom line here? Eat fruit for lunch. When it’s all said and done, fruit’s a surefire winner!
5. Eat a big green salad for dinner. You’ve loaded up on fruit today. Now then, if fruit’s so great, why not just keep eating it? Well, you certainly can, and I always recommend eating a handful of bananas (or a green smoothie) before dinner. Yet today’s fruit—as good as it is—may fall short in a vital mineral or two. Why? Man has overfarmed and degraded his soil to such an extent that even organic foods are not likely what they used to be. Thus, I say: It’s best to supplement fruit with mineral-rich greens. Your solution: Eat a big salad at dinner. Once again, you’ll cleanse your digestive system with fiber and load your body with nutrients. Yet with this meal, you’ll fill your body with vital minerals, too, which make up a big part of edible greens like spinach, kale or bok choy.
Oh, yes, you’ll also crowd out bad, toxic foods as the big fiber-rich salad fills you up and keeps cravings for other stuff “at bay.” Yes, the dinner salad works wonders. Here’s a great example: spinach, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and almonds, walnuts or avocado. Use a small amount of olive oil, sea salt and pepper for dressing. It’s satisfying. It’s superhealthy. It’s delicious! YipeeeEEEEEeee! (Add a serving of organic beans if still hungry. Beans are botanically a fruit. They are generally 80/10/10 in terms of carbohydrates, protein and fat composition and are highly filling and satisfying. If you ask me, they make any excuse for not being vegan and 80/10/10 “null and void.”
So there you have it, friends, my Top 5 Tips for Building the Body of Your Dreams. Work out at sunrise. Do 30 minutes’ worth of calisthenics—minimum! Skip breakfast. Eat a big fruit salad for lunch. Eat a big green salad for dinner. Follow these tips consistently and bet on it that you will sleep deeply each night and wake up invigorated, becoming addicted to a good morning exercise routine.
You’ll also scrub old, addictive toxins from your digestive system and begin to actually crave healthy foods. You’ll also build “ripped,” attractive muscle from head to toe and burn fat “like mad.” You’ll get super tough, mentally speaking. And much, much more! One caveat: Friends, family and associates may ask you: “How are you dropping all that weight?” or “Did you join a gym? How come you’re so fit all of a sudden?” Yes, this is the price of fitness, my friend. Folks who once considered you “average” (or “below average”) may begin asking you for health and fitness advice. It can be time-consuming, sure, especially if you decide to train a few lost souls personally. Oh, well. Like I always say: It’s a small price to pay for the body of your dreams.
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