4 Superheroic Steps to Stop Snacking!

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Editor’s Note: I am off preaching the good word of geek fitness at Awesome-Con this week, so I have asked the geektastic Mike Sweetman, from Be A Healthy Geek, to step in and shares his thoughts on how to stop snacking late at night… Take it away Mike!

It’s after supper, and I just can’t stop myself from heading to the cupboards for even more food.

This was me every night – I’d head to bed feeling defeated, and wake up tired because of all the food I’d ate late at night. It took me a lot of reflection and research, but I managed to defeat my personal super villain.

And I know you can too…

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Be The Superhero Version Of You

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I want to talk about a very important fitness concept.

Who you are today, does not need to be who you are tomorrow.

So to kick this off, let’s look at three characters who didn’t start out all that heroic:

  • Wreck-It Ralph is a video game character whose entire existence is based on wrecking things. It’s literally his job to be the bad guy.
  • Black Widow, before she was avenging, spent her life training to be the perfect spy and assassin.
  • Melvin Potter (aka Gladiator) was a career criminal trying to go straight, but his bad choices leave him open to extortion by the Kingpin.

That’s not what’s interesting about these characters though.

What makes them so compelling is that they refused to settle for the cards they were dealt, or the mistakes they may have made.

It wasn’t easy, and they definitely ran into their fair share of hurdles along the way, but they fought to take control of their own destinies because they wanted more for themselves.

And just like these characters, your life has not been pre-determined. Your fate is not woven into the threads at the foot of Yggdrasil.

You can make changes if you want to!
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The Secret to a Winning Fitness Motivation Plan

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Getting started with an exercise program or a healthy diet is relatively easy…

Staying motivated though?

That’s a different story!

Once the excitement of doing something new and positive wears off, it takes hard work to stay on track.

The majority of the questions I get asked are not about exercises or recipes; they are about how to stay motivated. It’s mostly things like:

  • “I can’t stick with a program for more than 2-3 weeks before I go back to old habits.”
  • “I’m fine at home, but when I go out the temptation to eat poorly is too strong!”
  • “I know I need to exercise, but I can’t get myself motivated after work…”
  • “Donuts own my soul.”

This is unfortunately all too common, and it’s easy to get down on yourself and feel ashamed. The whole point of under-taking a heroes’ transformation is to control of your own destiny, but here you are feeling like you have no control over your urges or life.

It can be extremely frustrating.

You want to make positive changes, but your brain keeps rebelling!

So today we are going to talk about how willpower and priorities feed your motivation, and how to make changes that will help you follow through with your goals.

If you follow these steps, I guarantee you will be able to come up with a solid plan to keep yourself motivated and on track.

That’s right, today we figure out how to win at motivation.

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The Keys to Running: Road Etiquette

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aka Don’t Be That Guy Part 2: The Wrath of Khan

Editors Note: Spring is here, and that means more and more fledgling runners will be taking to the streets… so I asked our resident runner, Brian Kehs, to give us another entry in the “Don’t Be That Guy” series. Enjoy!

A lot of customs have evolved in the sport of running.

Some seem really obvious, and a lot of them are just common sense. However a lot of new runners may not be aware of the etiquette that has become part of the sport.

We covered some race day etiquette previously, so let’s take at 6 golden rules when it comes to running on the road.

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Navigate the Grocery Store Like a Superhero

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Does grocery shopping intimidate you?

Do you often wonder how to separate the healthy from the not-so-much?

Do you ever leave the grocery store with more than you wanted and less of what you needed?

Well guess what?

You’re not alone!

Visiting the grocery store is a necessity, but without a little preparation it can be a difficult trip!

A majority of them feel like they have been set-up by super-villains; catering to every craving and emotional twinge you might have.

It’s going to take a bit of planning to enter these lairs of temptation, filled with their sweet treats, salty snacks, boxes upon boxes of unhealthy processed products, and survive with your wallet and diet intact.

Have no doubt, powerful marketing and eye-catching advertising is a dangerous foe!

So today I am going to show you how to approach grocery shopping with meticulous planning of the world’s greatest detective, Batman (Sorry Sherlock…) and cross the cashier line with a cart full of healthy food!

These 5 tips are guaranteed to help you avoid the common grocery store traps and make your next trip to the grocery store faster, cheaper and healthier!

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Fitness Lessons from Geek and Sundry

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Fitness Lessons from Geek and Sundry - The Jerd

It should come as no surprise to long-time readers that I consider Geek & Sundry one of my major creative inspirations.

In fact, one half of the catalyst for this very website was sitting in on panels given by Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh at the very first Geek & Sundry event at San Diego Comic-Con in 2012!

Geek & Sundry, whose primary focus is a very successful YouTube channel, has produced quite a few shows since it’s inception in April of 2012; but one of the most interesting and inspiring ventures they undertook was the introduction of a second channel dedicated to video blogs aka vlogs.

I will spare you the entire story of how the channel began, and how it grew and changed over time; but suffice it to say it showcased quite a few unique and fascinating people, and their geeky passions, for the Internet to fall in love with!

And now the grand experiment is over.

The vlogs channel, and program, is unfortunately coming to a close this month… so as a fan, who found himself greatly inspired by much of their work, I want to pay them some homage by doing what I do best.

Pulling fitness lessons out of their work and personas!

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5 Tips to Stay Motivated When You Feel like Giving Up

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5 Tips to Stay Motivated When You Feel Like Giving Up - The Jerd

Editor’s Note: A lot of you have been asking for tips on staying motivated, so I’ve asked Tim Ponticel to come by and offer up some ideas. Tim runs fitnessforprofessionals.com, a health and fitness website that helps young professionals shed excess body fat, get leaner and stronger, and boost their energy and confidence. Take it away Tim!

We’re two months into the New Year. It’s about time when many of you with New Years resolutions to get in shape start to lose motivation and give up on exercising and eating nutritious foods.

Then there’s the group of people who have been exercising and eating healthy for some time, but they’re motivation gas tank is running on empty. They’re quickly burning out and don’t know which way to turn.

Whichever group you’re in – this post is for you.

Most people lose motivation because they fail to see results.

It’s frustrating. And more often than not, it’s not their fault.

They were simply given a poorly designed roadmap.

But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about staying motivated when you feel like giving up. It’s about tapping into (or back into) that “inner game” so that you bust through the mental barriers that are keeping you from getting (or staying) fit and healthy.

Let’s get started. Here are 5 tips to stay motivated when you feel like giving up.
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LARPing 101 – Getting Fit the Nerdy Way

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LARPing 101 - Getting Fit the Nerdy Way 2 - The Jerd

If you’ve been paying attention, you know that I am a huge proponent of finding alternative fitness methods.

The first step to starting on a healthier path is eating a little better and getting out of your house and moving around!

But after that, the next thing that often comes to mind, when people think about “getting in shape” is starving themselves, eating nothing but salads, and running endless miles on a treadmill. And that sounds miserable and boring, doesn’t it?

Lucky for you, I am here to tell you otherwise!

You can definitely start your fitness journey by finding a geeky hobby you enjoy and burning off some calories without even realizing it.

One such hobby you can pick up is LARPing, or Live Action Role-Playing.

Now, truth be told, I don’t have much experience with this nerdy past-time other than watching the movie Role Models, so I have assembled a team of fake sword-wielding, bad-asses to educate us all on the subject and keep me from saying something stupid (not the easiest job in the world).

Today we are joined by three fantastic folks, all involved in different LARP organizations – Michael Surbrook, Kristin Brumley and Leslie Stewart.

So let’s see what they have to say about the hobby, how it can help you get in shape, where you can get started…

Oh, and how to unlock the secrets of +3 Cardio and -3 Flab!

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The Essential Clean Eating Shopping List

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Essential Clean Eating Shopping List - Grocery Cart - The JerdOne of the biggest complaints I hear from people who say they want to eat healthier is that “It’s too hard!”

I get it; if being fit and healthy were easy there would be no need for websites like this!

That’s why I keep coming up with new resources to make things easier, so you can save all your energy for crushing your workouts in the gym.

Regular readers should have already seen:

Well today I have another indispensable resource for you that should help make stocking your pantry with healthy and nutritious foods an easy task!

Remember, the food you put in your body is the fuel that keeps you going.

If you eat like crap you will feel, and look, like crap. End of discussion.

Making sure that a majority of the food you eat is nutrient rich means you will not only feel good, but you’ll start to see the results once these better food choices become a regular habit. Your diet is where it all begins; yes, exercise is super important but no matter how much you are in the gym you can’t outrun your fork.

So today I want to make your trips to the grocery store so easy, a caveman could do it (please don’t sue me Geico.)

Here’s my printable shopping list suggestions for your healthy, and clean-eating, needs!

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4 Beginner Fitness Mistakes You Might Be Making

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4 Beginner Fitness Mistakes

In general, I make a lot of mistakes.

Too be honest, when it comes to my health and fitness I have screwed up in more ways than I care to admit over the years!

But since the day I finally decided to be serious about my health, and made it my mission to transform myself into a real life superhero, it has been my mission to help my fellow geeks and nerds (and muggles too!) find the easiest ways to get fit and healthy, without having to deal with all the obstacles I ran into.

So don’t worry.

I’ve made all of the fitness mistakes so you don’t have to!

Today I wanted to identify some of the biggest problems that beginners make when trying to lose weight and get healthy, and provide you with specific advice on how to avoid them.

As you can imagine, this is a pretty huge topic; so we are going to focus on some of the most common fitness mistakes this time around.

If you want to dig even deeper you can always sign up for the Jerd Herd email list, where I send you a completely free eBook I wrote with 7 more fitness mistakes and obstacles (and solutions!)

Are you ready to dive in?

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Top 5 Things to Avoid Doing During the Holidays

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Nothing causes more angst than the holiday season, and holds even more true if you are trying to get in shape and/or lose weight.

So here are five more tips to help you conquer the holiday season like a boss; all the while keeping your waistline, and sanity, intact!

Expect the Unexpected

Some of the biggest perils you face during the holiday season aren’t due to one or two big meals; instead, it’s because everywhere you turn holiday treats appear without warning.

Like a pack of sugar-coated ninja.

You will be minding your own business, staying on track eating right and exercising on a regular basis, and going about your day when BAM! Out of nowhere you are being assaulted by sugar cookies, brownies, and chocolate.

They appear on the receptionist’s desk, in the break room, in the doctor’s waiting room, on store counters in the mall… even at the gym — no place is safe!

So what’s a well-intentioned person to do when those black-clad health assassins leap out of the shadows with a sugary snack attack?

You need to be prepared with a flipping sweet sword by traveling with your own munchies.

Look, we know that these sneak attacks are going to happen. So instead of being blind-sided, travel with your own snacks if you are the type of person who feels out of place not participating in group snacking activities.

A bag of raw almonds, some carrot sticks, home-made trail mix or a piece of fruit will satisfy your desire to eat with your co-workers or friends while at the same time helping you avoid the less healthy choices that might present themselves.

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The Truth About Detox Cleanses

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The Blueprint Cleanse

Dr. Oz’s 48 Hour Cleanse

The Clean Program

The Wild Rose Detox

The list of detox programs/diets/cleanses goes on and on!

It is a massively lucrative market dominated by special juices, drink mixes, pills, absorbing pads, shampoos and a wide assortment of celebrity endorsed products.

These toxin busting programs, whether you find them online, at a health food store, or at your yoga studio, all have one very important thing in common…

They are all full of crap!

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Iron Rations: Healthy Popsicles

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Healthy Popsicles - Emeals - The Jerd 1

I get emails weekly from companies and websites that want to buy ad space, get endorsed via an article, or write guest posts to promote their own content/agenda…

I turn 99.9% of them down.

Why? Because I want only the best for my readers!

While the extra $$$ would be nice, and it would definitely help me out when it comes to bringing all of you fine, upstanding people (and you hooligans too) all the regular content you have grown to love and expect, I feel my reputation is more important.

So when I do find something I feel is worth-while I make sure to let everyone know about it… and this is one of those times!

And that something is Emeals.com, a meal planning service designed to take the guess-work out of your menu.

They create budget friendly menus for you, tailored to your eating style (I highly recommend their Clean Eating, Paleo & Portion Control options), family size, and favorite grocery store. Each week your meal plan is emailed to you, complete with simple and creative recipes for entrees and a side dish.

Along with your meal plan, you receive a detailed grocery list, organized by section and coordinated with the weekly sales at your selected stores (oh, and they also have Vegetarian & Gluten-Free options as well.)

It’s freaking awesome!

Hold on… I can hear you saying “That’s nice Jerd, and I promise to check it out, but what does any of this have to do with delicious popsicles?”

Well since I am already talking about one thing I almost never do, I figure I ought to go ahead and add another rarity into the mix…

Desserts you can cram into your face-holes guilt free.

See, the fine folks at Emeals sent me these great recipes! All I needed to do was figure out the caloric and nutritional breakdowns and then pass them on to all you denizens of the Inter-Google-Tubes… so since I am all about having to do less work than normal, here you go – 3 great popsicle ideas that take almost no time to whip up!

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The Walking Dead Workout

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The Walking Dead Workout - The Jerd

I love this time of year.

Not only is Halloween right around the corner, but AMC’s The Walking Dead returned to the air last weekend too!

It didn’t just return either; the season 5 premiere crushed it! With 17.3 million viewers tuning in, it was the most watched cable TV show of all time.

“Whoa.” – Keanu Reeves, Every movie he’s ever been in

While that’s pretty damned awesome, it also means a lot of people are going to be spending the next 16 Sunday nights sitting on their couches though!

Now, I am all for balancing all the geeky things I love with leading a fit life, and I love a little TV escapism like everyone else, but if you find yourself constantly battling to find the time to workout you might want to think about combining the two with an in-front-of-the-TV workout!

So why not turn your fandom into an opportunity to get you into shape? Get ready to survive the impending zombie-apocalypse with The Walking Dead Workout!

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Fitness Lessons from the Temple of Doom

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Fitness Lessons from Indiana Jones

AKA What Dr. Indiana Jones taught me about life.

Before I begin, I want to apologize to all you loyal readers out there.

In case you haven’t noticed, a full 2 weeks has gone by since I dropped a dose of super heroic knowledge on the Internet.

While I might be a gigantic nerd, my arch nemesis is definitely programming/coding (and spider webs, and sharks, and bed-head, and… well you get the idea,) and some back-end issues arose that required my attention.

I wish I could have banged them out quickly and gracefully, but instead I dealt with them by sobbing and screaming “why?!?” at my monitor a lot. And since this website isn’t how I support myself (seriously, buy more books people!) I had to take my own advice and prioritize things a little.

Hence the delay.

Hopefully today’s pile-o-words is so awesome that you will forgive me though!

I took a poll on Twitter and Facebook asking what movie franchise people wanted to see me turn into my next article. The overwhelming response?

Indiana Jones.

While I love me some Star Wars, and the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit have a special place in my nerd origin story, I am hard-pressed to not say Indiana Jones is probably my favorite cinematic protagonist of all time!

What’s not to love about him?

He’s a scholar and an adventurer, he travels the globe and discovers hidden treasures, his dad is James Bond and he gets to punch Nazis in the face!

Does it get any better than that?!?

And while Indiana Jones might be fictional, it isn’t going to stop me from drawing some inspiration from him (half my heroes are fictional characters anyway)! So let’s break down why this fedora wearing hero is so freaking awesome and all the great fitness, and life, lessons we can learn from him and his trilogy of adventures.

Yes, I said trilogy.

First person to utter the words “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” gets Batman kicked in the spleen… go ahead, say them; I dare you.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Okay, now that is out of the way, what have I learned from Dr. Jones?!?

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Prioritize Your Health!

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Make Your Health a Priority

Show of hands; how many of you have said the following when faced with something you knew you should do?

“I don’t have time.”

Don’t lie.

We’ve all said it before. Even yours truly!

It’s almost become the default “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Have something you know you should do? As long as you qualify it with “I don’t have time” it’s okay to skip out on it.

No one will hold you accountable!

They will just nod empathetically in agreement.

  • Don’t have the time to work out? Just rationalize that it’s easier to be okay getting winded after 5 minutes of playing with your kids.
  • Don’t have the time to stretch properly? Just keep wondering why your muscles are always sore and unresponsive.
  • Don’t have the time to shop for groceries or make a healthy meal? Just tell yourself you will start eating right next week and then order another pizza.
  • Don’t have time to pursue your dreams? Just avoid any risks and keep plugging away unhappily at your job.

Remember… “I don’t have time” makes it all better.

The dirty secret about that excuse though? It’s a total lie!

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