RawAndFit.com

Raw Foods for Rapid Fat Loss

Casey — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:44:30 +0000

If you’re looking to lose weight with a raw food diet, you HAVE TO check out this awesome free teleseminar I recorded.

It’s some of my best information about a raw food diet, and it’s sure to jump-start your success! A few days ago, I had a live teleseminar on Raw Foods for Rapid Fat Loss. Before the call, I had a TON of great emails sent to me. After a few emails back and forth, the lines were booked with participants and we did the call.

Here’s the entire call, where I answer questions, including:

The reasons why we’re fat (it’s not what you think!)

What are the most filling raw foods?

The rule about what foods to combine

What are the best foods to start a raw diet with?

… and a ton more! It’s almost an hour of solid content. Check it out.

Press the PLAY button below to hear the entire thing:

Obama and Raw Foods?

Casey — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:05:51 +0000

Yesterday, my parents came down to celebrate with my sister her graduation from graduate school. It was great to spend time with everyone but we were all very excited to see the keynote by President Obama at the stadium on campus.

Thousands of people were in line to get in, and after a few hours of shuffling through the queue, we made it to our seats. When Obama came out, I was struck by a few things. But the most memorable thing that he projected to me was — Health.

I remember seeing an issue of Men’s Health at the bookstore with Obama on the cover. I flipped through and saw a picture of him shirtless. My mouth dropped open. When was the last time we had a President who was actually healthy?

I read about his lifestyle and how even his wife would get up at 4:30am to exercise! That’s the kind of determination that makes a man healthy into his late 40’s.

Here’s what Barack does every week, even under the toughest of pressures from around the world: 4 days of weight lifting, and 2 days of cardio.

… That’s it! Nothing fancy. Just pushing iron and giving his heart some work. It’s not some crazy algorithm, or a task that’s impossible. Heck, it’s so easy that even a man who is the Commander and Chief of the United States has time to do! I can’t think of anyone with more pressure or more commitments, and he still looks great!

Michelle Obama claims that the family keeps to a 90-10 rule. 90% of their food is healthy, and there’s 10% that they don’t worry about. Hey — they’re not perfect, but 90% is way closer than 99% of America!

So, next time you’re thinking that you’re too busy for a workout, think about all the people who find time. They’re no different than you. So … get out there and feel the burn!

Get fit, and maybe you’ll be the 45th President.

– Casey
P.S. — Let me know your success story. When were you overbooked, but still found time for a workout?

Do you take any medication while on a raw food diet?

Casey — Mon, 03 May 2010 03:46:45 +0000

Before I knew much about raw food, I used to think that taking an occasional Tylenol was cool. Or popping 500 mg of aspirin was a good idea if I couldn’t get to sleep. Then, after some time on a high-raw diet, I realized the startling truth:

You don’t need to take drugs to feel great!

Your body naturally wants perfect health and every chance it gets, it moves in that direction. When you eat garbage food, your body works hard to either grab every last bit of nutrients out of it, or get the toxins out of the body. But when you add healthy, life-giving foods into you, your body responds by assimilating as many nutrients as it can.

But there’s a caveat here. After watching ‘Raw for 30 Days’, a great movie about diabetics on a 100% raw food diet, I realized that people can ween themselves off of their medications pretty easily. So much so that it’s a *shock* to the medical world. The movie really pushes the idea that Western Medicine treats only symptoms and not the root problem. That’s why including a lot of raw food in your diet helps. It solves the high-fat problem too many Americans face.

I recently had a problem with an itch. It’s been with me for over 8 months, and it’s annoying. I tried every natural remedy I could find to alleviate the problem… for 8 months! The itch was so bad that I was breaking skin weekly. Finally, I decided to see what a pharmacist would say. I biked down to the local shop and asked. Turned out, I had a hemorrhoid and my best bet was an over-the-counter 1% hydrocortisone cream.

This was the FIRST time in a looooooong time (over a year) that I’ve used any form of medication. And let me tell you — it solved my problem! Almost immediately, I felt better. The itch subsided and I am honestly relieved!

I bring this up because so many raw foodies shun the medical world. They think that all doctors are in it for money, and harm people with their prescriptions. I can understand this way of thinking, but there are good times and places for medicine. For instance, no amount of raw food can save you from a torn bicep. You need surgery. And pain killers. Sure, a raw foodie may recover a lot faster than someone on the Standard American Diet, but you still need the care.

I hope everyone can be reminded that although most medicines in the world are poorly prescribed, only on the market to create profit and hurt people, there are still some very good uses for Western Medicine. I know for a fact that I am much happier after taking some OTC meds!

Stay raw, and use your brain!

– Casey

P.S. — What’s your biggest concern about your medications and a raw food diet? Write it below in the comments!

Day 4 | 12 week Kettlebell RKC Minimum Challenge

Casey — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:26:34 +0000

Today was my 4th day on Pavel’s RKC Minimum Kettlebell Challenge. It’s a 4-week minimum program, and if I finish, I move up to the real RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) that lasts another 8 weeks.

Let me tell you … IT’S HARD!

After I finished my first workout on Monday, I felt fine. No big deal.

… the next day, my entire body was sore! It felt like conditioning week before football in high school. I ached when I stood up, when I walked, when I sat down. When I sneezed, it hurt. The second day on the RKC minimum, you do get-ups. Essentially, you lay on the ground and hold the ‘bell up in the air. Then, using your balance and entire body’s strength, you slowly stand-up, with your arm still straight up in the air. Once you’re fully standing, you slowly go back down. Then repeat on the other side. This goes on for 5 minutes.

I was only able to do 2 get-ups on each side before I was stuck with halfzies. I just didn’t have the strength!

Today, however, I felt much better. I got 15 more swings in, and even went over the 12-min mark to 12:30. It’s not much, but I really pushed myself.

Check out my heart rate from the program. Notice that I did a 10-min warmup, 1-min break (where I moved the bell, got my notebook ready, etc) [this number should shrink to 20-30 seconds next time], then 12 minutes of swings. 20 swings, then 1 min jogging in place. You’ll notice that my heart rate increased over time, and finally reached the max of the day. I hit 92% of my maximum heart rate, calculated by 220-age (220-24=196). 180 [my max HR today] divided by 196 is .918 or 91.8%.

This is a good number to hit. I’ve been higher, into the 97 percentile, but it really winds you!

Tomorrow, more get-ups. I’ll try to get 4 on each side.

Russian Kettlebell power to YOU!

Vipassana Meditation Review

Casey — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:28:07 +0000

In late September 2009, I was in north-eastern Spain with my girlfriend at the start of a 4-month bicycle tour from Madrid to Rome. I remember the two of us in Salvador Dali’s hometown, sitting at a cafe in the evening. I was reading Keith Ferrazzi’s awesome book on networking, Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time. The book helped me identify times in my life where I could reach out and mentor, as well as find places to be mentored. I learned about evolving what I plan to do with my life, and how to achieve my goals most effectively.

Anyways, in the middle of the book, Keith talked about leaving one company and feeling particularly lost. He didn’t know what to do, so he enrolled in a Vipassana meditation retreat somewhere in the US. I felt that I connected with him a bit, being ‘lost’ in life and not knowing where to go next. Part of the reason Kristen and I were taking the bike trip was to find … something. To get an idea of our next step, without social pressure or the glam of a job working for someone that we didn’t connect with.

I looked online that same night and found a Vipassana class in Italy in early December. To our absolute luck, the class was at the exact spot that our schedule was empty. We were looking for someplace to go or something to do in early December for 7-14 days. It was a perfect fit, and it was something that the two of us thought would be a great experience.

We booked our spots, free of charge, on the dhamma website.

Fast-forward 3 months and we’re at the meditation retreat in the beautiful dew-soaked foothills of northern Italy. We arrived at noon and quickly realized we were the second and third person to get there. We hung outside for the majority of the time, and within a few hours, people started showing up. Families kissing their moms as they joined us in the queue for registration. There were both men and women, young and old, who were there. Most were Italian, but Greg – a French/Englishman, and a few others spoke English. We found the group to be very welcoming and felt relaxed.

After we sat down and ate our first vegetarian cooked meal, we were told the rules of the course. No speaking for 10 days. Meditate at specific times throughout the day. Eat at specific times. Wash our own dishes. No looking at the opposite sex, or making gestures or sign language to them either. Things seemed strict, but we signed up for the class …

Every day was very structured. Waking up at 6:00am to get ready, then meditate for 90 minutes. A bell would ring and we went for breakfast. After we ate, we’d have some downtime to sit outside, or lay in bed. We were not permitted to read. After the break, we had a group meditation for an hour, then meditation in our rooms or in the hall. Then lunch. Then meetings with the instructor, if you desired where you were permitted to ask any questions regarding technique. Then another meditation in the hall, back to the room for more. Dinner, then a final meditation. Lights out at 9.

I slept in a room with 5 other men, all clean and respectful. Some did snore, but nothing that kept me up! I bet I was the louder guy, anyways. :-)

On the 9th day, we were able to break our noble silence. It was a very surreal feeling to talk again, especially at length. After 10 days of stilling my mind, I was forced to THINK of what I was going to say. Very fun feeling.

Kristen and I both believe that the experience was totally worth every second. Over 100 hours of meditation in the 10 days, and it was difficult. Some days, I felt like my knees were going to break apart in the middle of a group meditation. Other times, I couldn’t keep my mind off of a tune in my head. I’d have days where I practiced the technique close to perfectly, and others where I was so far from the goal.

Almost 5 months later, and I regularly use the Vipassana techniques I was taught. I use it in meetings when my mind is running all over the place. I use it when I’m driving and I notice that my body is getting tense. I use it when I’m cycling and a car brushes by me at 60 mph. It’s a technique that doesn’t leave you, and only helps to bring light to your life.

There are courses all over the world, including the construction of an enormous meditation retreat in the United Kingdom. I just checked their website and they’re offering a 10-day course for business executives and government officials. That’s the kind of consciousness our world needs!

To find a Vipassana class near you, go to: http://www.dhamma.org/ and click on your location at the left.

“From every pore flows gratitude, I have no way to repay my debt.
Living a Dhamma life, distributing the happiness of Dhamma to those who are suffering–this is the only way!”
- S.N. Goenka, chanting at the start of a 10-day Vipassana course
May you have success in your path on Dhamma!

Casey Stanton
P.S. — If you’ve gone through a 10-day, 2-day, or a longer course, please let me know by commenting below. I’d love to hear your story!

Raw Food Post-Workout Recovery Drink

Casey — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:10:06 +0000

Here’s the recipe for my Raw Food Recovery Drink. I like do make one of these up after an intense workout, yoga session, or bike ride. It’s 100% natural and raw. Substitute this for a vegan alternative to the over-processed Muscle Milk and other protein drinks.

Day 1 | 12 Week Kettlebell Challenge

Casey — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:43:42 +0000

Today is a beautiful day! It’s 1:30 in the afternoon, and I’ve already got my first kettlebell workout under my belt.

The workout was 23 minutes long, and it really kicked my butt. After I finished, my legs and arms were shaking. I must be doing something right!

I weighed myself this morning: 181 lbs, 22.1% bodyfat. These numbers are a bit high — I think it’s water weight right now. I believe I’m closer to 177, 20% bodyfat. Regardless, I’ll be graphing my weight for the next 12 weeks.

Tomorrow, I look forward to the other workout in the program, the kettlebell get-ups. Once my form is solid, I’ll be putting up a video.

Here’s today’s morning workout. I’m taking an Ashtanga yoga class at 4:30. Gotta hydrate between!

“Enter the Kettlebell” 12-week program

Casey — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:34:54 +0000

My 16kg 'bell of fury

Tomorrow, I start my 12 week “Enter the Kettlebell” program that Pavel talks about in his book “Enter the Kettlebell”.

You can read more about Pavel’s “Enter the Kettlebell” ebook and DVD on his website. I recommending purchasing both the ebook and the DVD — it’s good to see form in the DVD, but I like reading the book. There is more information in the ebook than in the DVD. Read about his Dragon Door Kettelbell products

You can order the best kettlebell in the industry at http://www.dragondoor.com/kettlebells

Raw Food, Traveling in Europe and Cycling

Casey — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:15:35 +0000

In August of 2009, I quit my job as a bartender at a wonderful bar in Northern Michigan. I had great weekend shifts, made amazing money, met influential CEO’s & CFO’s, became friends with the founders of Hands On Disaster Response, and chatted with a few billionaires.

Why would I want to leave such a great job?

The drive to leave the life of a bartender and move on to something else took a full year to surface. One year after working as a bartender, I gave my 2-week notice — much to everyone’s surprise!

Spending 40 hours a week with a group of people starts to feel more like an extended family than co-workers. But, I knew in my heart I needed to leave.

When I left the bar on my last shift, it was bitter sweet. A few farewells, and that was it — I was driving home to plan the next phase in my life. My girlfriend, Kristen, and I talked on end about wanting to travel Europe and we decided that now was the time. Kristen had just finished her undergrad studies and was looking for work. I suggested we take our bikes over to Europe and bike around for awhile. As the conversation evolved, we ended up planning to leave Michigan in mid-September and fly into Madrid. Our return flight was from Rome to Los Angeles, 4 months later.

We were given the opportunity to do whatever we wanted for 4 full months. With the help of HelpX.net, a low-priced website that matches you up with homes/farms that need workers, Kristen and I roughly mapped out a few of the places we wanted to stop. Valencia, Barcelona, Avignon, Rome, Florence. We brought our bicycles along and took a chance. We had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into, but I’m so happy to say that it was the best experience of my life.

Traveling abroad does more for you than just show you different sights. By traveling by bicycle, we were able to meet with locals, talk to complete strangers every single day, disappear into hideaways to camp for the night … we were really alive!

The two of us blogged the majority of the trip over at http://www.rawandfit.com/biketour Due to my computer breaking in France, we don’t have much after that. We do, however, have a TON of great memories!

In regards to eating raw while traveling … it’s difficult. It’s hard to haul around all the raw foods you need. It’s even more difficult to find organic produce. But – it’s possible. We maintained a high-raw vegetarian diet. It wasn’t perfect, but it was what we could do. Please read about our travels, and comment on the posts here:

http://www.rawandfit.com/biketour

Here’s a video of where we stayed one night, while stuck in France:

Watch Sleeping in a Train Station

Is Acai effective? Safe?

Casey — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:47:12 +0000

In 2007, I spent 5 weeks in the flood plains of western Brazil during the wet season. Life was tough there – long hot days, water up to their necks, and a never-ending amount of work. While I was there, I ate the local food like it was going out of style. Fresh fruit smoothies, roasted chicken hearts, alcoholic caipirinhas, the whole deal.

I even got to taste the *super weight loss cure overnight*, the acai berry. This was before that berry went nuts in the US, and everyone thought it was some sort of miracle cure.

Let me tell you what I saw – people eating this berry every day were still overweight. They were still tired. They were still not performing with massive energy. It seemed as though they had all the things available to them, native to them, but didn’t do anything with it.

That got me thinking about what my grandma used to say – “You are what you eat.”

I think her insight was beyond my understanding at that time. So much so, it took me another year to really “get it”. So, I began to look into that… I am what I eat? After the realization in Miami, I decided to look at my diet and how it affected my energy levels. I kept a journal of my entire 2 weeks of monitoring and had AMAZING insights from it.

I want you to be able to do this for yourself, because this is YOUR LIFE.

Here’s A Tip You Can Use Tomorrow:

Monitor your heart rate before and after you eat. Write down your emotional and energy level before and after you eat.

I would write in my pocket notebook a very simple account of the meal (including snacks and drinks), including date, time, ingredients in the meal, what I had to drink, beginning heart rate, emotional state and energy level.

I’d set my alarm clock on my watch to beep 30 minutes after I finished my last bite and record my levels after that.

Essentially, I was tracking how my body was responding to what I was putting into it.

Give that a try tomorrow. You’ll notice things about your body that will open your eyes. You’ll start to bring your body into focus and really connect with yourself. That’s where you’ll find energy and personal power…

*Honestly, this is the most important thing I did. It changed my life! Do it tomorrow. You’ll be on your way to more energy, losing a ton of weight, and getting connected with your inner self.*

Stay POWERFUL!

Casey Stanton
RawAndFit.com

P.S. — What are your results? How are you going to include consciousness into your everyday life? Your body is telling you what it needs. Are you listening? Write in the comments below!