Lifestyle – Page 3 – Beary Strong

The Detox Myth

Please, stop it

“Detox”… every time I hear this word my scientific soul dies a little bit. Because I can not believe that we still follow such hocus-pocus. Well, there are people out there telling you that vaccins cause autism or the earth is flat or whatever esoteric crap is the newest sh*t. Ok, sorry for the rant but it drives me crazy when people use other people’s lack of knowledge, as in the case of all this “cleanse” and “detoxes” popping up every year either during Lent season or as summer is approaching. They promise you to clear the body from harmful “toxins”, that prevent you from losing fat or making you feel sleepy or whatsoever. Usually, a restrictive diet in liquid form (juices anyone?) and/or an expensive supplement is prescribed, promising loss of weight and other miracles. Is there any truth behind this stuff?

Alcohol in a Health Conscious Lifestyle

Alcohol throws an additional challenge to people aiming for fat loss or even “just” transitioning to a healthier lifestyle, because – as usual- there are lots of myths surrounding it. From “it completely impairs fat loss” to “you should drink red wine every day to live longer” you will find everything. Let’s have a closer look to it.

The Holiday Survival Guide

How to make the best of the greatest season of the year.

Autumn is my favorite season: the days are getting cooler, the sun is gently spending warmth and good mood. The food is changing too, some of my most beloved foods are now in season. Quince, duck, pumpkin, game, chestnuts and grapes make autumn an especially tasty time. It is also the season where the big holidays all around the world are starting, making it hard to progress the weight loss journey. But it’s not impossible, let’s have a closer look.

Why I Don’t Like Meal Plans

Implement lifetime strategies for diet success.

Good old meal plans … I’ve almost forgot about them, but whenever I browse a fitness magazine, they catch my attention. Out of curiosity I start reading them and I am always amused about them: if it is a meal plan in a men’s magazine, you feel taken back to the old bro science ages of chicken breast, white rice and steamed brokkoli. If it is a meal plan for women, I see plenty of smoothie bowls, porridge, pasta and woefully low amounts of protein. I mean I get it, meal plans seem to be an easy solution for weight loss, but I think you can do better!

Six Good Reasons Why You Should Do Bodybuilding

…and why you are actually a bodybuilder without knowing it.

My first approach to a gym was as a couple of years after moving to Vienna in 2005: I wanted to do something for my physique and since the only sport I was doing was horse-riding, I decided to subscribe to a commercial gym. In those days I would never have admitted I was doing bodybuilding. To be honest I’ve been laughing at the -in my eyes- over confident bros posing in front of the mirror, sipping protein shakes and grunting and screaming during their sets. Well, life happens, and now I am a broette doing exactly the same stuff. But if you think about the definition of “bodybuilding” I was already doing it ten years ago: I did exercise to lose fat and gain muscles. And if you are training to lose weight, get in shape, tone up (whatever you want to call it) and not for performance in a specific sport you are a bodybuilder too. Don’t like it? I’ll try to convince you of the opposite 😉 .

To Flex Or Not To Flex: Keeping Your Spine Healthy

Will rounding your back kill you?

Posture and form for everyday movements and during exercise got a lot of attention over the last years. Depending on whom you listen, you get a wide array of statements. From “it doesn’t matter” to “don’t do this, you will die” you will find someone from each camp defending his beliefs almost religiously. I want to give you a quick and easy understandable summary of what science has to say about the controversial topic of flexing your lumbar spine.

Foodies Welcome

Why being a foodie will help you getting fit.

Being a foodie can be a blessing when you are dieting. However, many people cannot imagine this being an advantage. You instantly think about all the delicious, extremely energy dense, highly palatable foods that will be most likely be a no-go for a long time to come. Sure, your diet will have to change if you want to change your body, but this process doesn’t have to suck. How is that even possible? I’m glad you asked! Read on, embrace your foodie-ism and delve in.

What You Should Know About Nutrition

Common myths, misconceptions and frequently asked questions.

Fitness, health and nutrition media is notoriously full of misinformation, misinterpretation and outright lies. Too many interests collide, forming an asteroid field of poor guidelines, health myths and misunderstood science. With this article I want you to be able to filter out this noise and get a better picture of what really matters.

The Forgotten Skill of Waiting

Patience is a virtue. Especially in nutrition and training.

Have you ever experienced this? You get your new nutrition plan, jump right in, nail it every single day. You are motivated, the scale goes down and you are enthusiastic about the new plan. But after a week or two, everything comes to a halt. You are still putting in the work, but nothing changes, or even worse, you start gaining weight again! Suddenly you get unsecure or angry and start questioning the plan and what you are doing. But what is going on? You just can’t wait for good things to happen!

Do You Even Need To Track Your Macros?

Two very different approaches to fat loss.

Restricting caloric intake is the main driver of fat loss, no matter what the newest diet fad wants you to believe. This goal can be achieved with two very different but not mutually exclusive approaches. Here is how they work.