Michael Matthews Quotes

“Building a killer physique is not a matter of jumping on the bandwagon of some new fad workout program for a few months — it’s a matter of adopting a disciplined, orderly approach to how you handle your body.”

“Carbohydrates play an essential role in not only muscle growth but also in overall body function.”

“Cardio can enhance fat loss in two ways — burning calories and speeding up your metabolic rate — but that’s it.”

“Casein is a good protein to have before you go to bed, which can help with muscle recovery.”

“Eat less energy than you burn to lose fat.”

“Eating a lot of foods with added sugars can reduce the amount of micronutrients your body gets and thus cause deficiencies.”

“Eating carbs and fats together or separately doesn’t change anything.”

“Get the majority of your daily carbohydrates from nutritious, unprocessed foods, which will incidentally be lower on the glycemic index, but don’t be afraid to include a few higher-GI foods that you like.”

“Good behaviors and moods are contagious as well. If we hang around people who are generally goal-driven and happy with high levels of self-control, we too can 'catch' these traits.”

“Insulin tells the body to stop burning its fat stores and instead absorb some of the fatty acids and glucose in the blood and turn them into more body fat.

But that’s not what causes you to get fatter over time — overeating does.”

“It’s comforting to think that we singularly chart our own course in our lives, uninfluenced by how other people think and act, but it’s simply not true.

Extensive psychological and marketing research has shown that what others do — and even what we think they do — has a marked effect on our choices and behaviors, especially when the people we’re observing are close to us. In the world of marketing, this effect is known as 'social proof', and it’s a well-established principle used in myriad ways to influence us to buy.

When we’re not sure how to think or act, we tend to look at how other people think and act and follow along, even if subconsciously. Whenever we justify behaviors as acceptable because of all the other people doing it too or because of how 'normal' it is, we’re appealing to social proof.

We can pick up anything from temporary solutions to long-term habits this way, and both people we know and even people we see in movies can influence us.3For example, having obese friends and family members dramatically increases your risk of becoming obese as well.”

“Let's all get fat and jump off bridges! How many times have you heard how few people exercise and eat enough fruits and vegetables, choosing to binge on TV and sugar- and fat-laden foods instead?

These types of statistics are supposed to 'scare us straight', but to those addicted to reruns and junk food, the data is music to their ears. It reminds them of the comforting reality that they’re not alone — that everyone else is just like them.

And if everyone is doing it, how wrong can it really be? You may not be one of those people, but don’t think you’re immune to the underlying psychological mechanisms.”

“Monosaccharides are often called simple carbohydrates because they have a simple structure.

Oligosaccharides are molecules that contain several monosaccharides linked together in chain-like structures.

Polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharides, usually containing 10 or more monosaccharide units.”

“Nothing seems to improve self-control in all aspects of our lives like exercise. Its effects are immediate, and it doesn’t even take a lot to reap its willpower benefits.

Even five minutes of low-intensity exercise outdoors is enough to improve your mental state. If you want a willpower quick fix, exercise is it.”

“Overweight, sedentary bodies don’t deal with simple sugars nearly as well as lean, physically active ones do. ”

“Play it safe with food products that promote 'net', 'active', or 'impact' carbs and just count all the carbs listed on the nutrition facts panel.”

“Protein from meat is particularly helpful when you’re weightlifting, as research has demonstrated that eating meat increases testosterone levels and is more effective for building muscle than vegetarian sources.”

“Reprogramming yourself to favor the harder choices is going to be uncomfortable.”

“Research has associated trans fat intake with a variety of health problems: heart disease, insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, female infertility, diabetes, and more.”

“Research shows that certain activities like watching TV and drinking alcohol can increase, not decrease, stress.”

“Research shows that when blood sugar levels are low, we’re more likely to give up on difficult tasks, vent our anger, stereotype others, and even refuse to donate to charity.”

“Simply thinking about people with high levels of self-control—self-control role models, if you will—has been shown to increase willpower.”

“Studies show that being kind to oneself in times of stress and failure is associated with better willpower and self-control.”

“The best way to avoid trans fats is to shun the types of foods that commonly contain them, regardless of what the nutrition facts panel says.”

“The road to nowhere is paved with excuses.”

“The silver lining, however, is that good behaviors and moods are contagious as well. If we hang around people who are generally goal-driven and happy with high levels of self-control, we too can “catch” these traits.”

“To avoid dehydration, the Institute of Medicine reported in 2004 that women should consume about 91 ounces of water – or three-quarters of a gallon – per day, and men should consume about 125 ounces per day. A gallon is 128 ounces.”

“We must first stop moralizing our behaviors. Instead of using fuzzy feelings of 'right' and 'wrong' and 'good' and 'bad' to guide our actions, we need to remember why we’ve committed to doing the hard things like exercising, following a meal plan, educating ourselves, sticking to a budget, and working overtime.

We need to view these actions as independent steps necessary for achieving the outcomes we desire, not as 'good' behaviors that we can 'cash in' for sins.

For our purposes here, remember that our goal isn’t just good workouts or on-target eating. It’s enjoying shopping for clothes again — especially for the breezy, summer, sleeveless stuff. It’s throwing away the scale because you don’t need it anymore. It’s the surprise on people’s faces when they haven’t seen you in a while. It’s the newfound intimacy in your love life.

In short, bingeing on chocolate and missing workouts aren’t little 'oopsies' that you can erase with the right thoughts. They’re direct threats to your overarching objectives. Remember that when you come face to face with sticky willpower challenges.”

“When insulin levels are elevated, the rate at which muscle proteins are broken down decreases. This, in turn, creates a more anabolic environment in which muscles can grow larger more quickly.”

“When millions of people are strongly motivated to solve a problem and willing to spend large amounts of money to do it, there will always be an abundance of things to buy and brilliant marketers to sell them.”