Secrets2Success

Author: Stephen Smith

Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Smith

It was previously thought and to a large extent still is, that simple carbohydrates are absorbed and utilised quickly in the body and complex carbohydrates are absorbed and utilised slowly. This belief originated from the fact that simple carbohydrates are individual molecules or two molecules bonded together whilst complex carbohydrates are made up of many molecules bonded together.

However, in 1981, Dr David Jenkins (a professor at the University of Toronto) found that this was not actually true. At the time, Dr Jenkins was examining the best foods for diabetics and from his research he discovered that certain complex carbohydrates, like potatoes, were causing rapid rises in blood glucose, whilst some simple carbohydrates, like certain fruits, were being utlised slowly.

Since many carbohydrate-containing foods weren’t acting as expected, the Glycemic Index (GI) was devised. The GI indicates how rapidly a food increases the blood glucose level. If a food causes a rapid rise in blood glucose, then it is referred to as a high glycemic index food and is given a value between 70 and 100 depending on how rapidly the blood glucose level increases.

Glucose (GI of 100) is the standard and all other carbohydrate-containing foods are compared to it. If a carbohydrate-containing food causes a moderate or slow increase in blood glucose, then it is given a number that corresponds to the rate (moderate GI: 50-69 and low GI: less than 50).

A slow passage of glucose into the bloodstream means that it is easier to maintain a stable blood glucose level, and in turn, keep insulin to a minimum. This situation is ideal for fat loss because a high level of insulin promotes fat storage, increases the conversion of carbohydrate into fat and inhibits the use of fat for fuel. As a result, it would appear that low GI carbohydrates should be emphasised in the diet. However, as we will examine in a moment, this is not the most important factor that needs to be considered.

A number of factors affect the GI (its absorption rate) of a carbohydrate-containing food. They are the following:

- Its chemical composition (Is it composed of glucose, fructose or galactose molecules?)

- The amount of fibre (particularly soluble fibre), protein or fat contained in the food

- How the food is cooked/ prepared

Composition

Carbohydrate-containing foods that are composed mainly of glucose molecules (including complex carbohydrates) and that have little fibre, protein or fat in them have a high glycemic index. For example, glucose, malt, bread, potatoes and white rice all have high glycemic indexes and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose and therefore insulin levels when they are consumed on their own. Since they promote the production of insulin, the carbohydrate in them has a greater likelihood of being converted into body fat.

Fibre and protein

Fibre, particularly soluble fibre, is a component of food that has the effect of slowing down the absorption rate of carbohydrate and therefore lowering its GI. For example, an apple has a much lower GI than apple juice simply because there is fibre in the apple and the apple juice has had its fibre component removed. Fibre has a tendency to ‘dilute’ the carbohydrate, which slows absorption. Protein may have a similar ‘diluting’ effect on carbohydrate.

Fat

Fat also lowers a food’s glycemic index by slowing down its passage through the gastro-intestinal tract. This slows the absorption rate of carbohydrate. Good examples of this are chocolate and ice-cream. Both of these foods contain a considerable amount of fat along with carbohydrate and both have relatively low glycemic indexes. However, this certainly doesn’t mean you should increase your intake of these foods because both are very ‘calorie dense’ due to the large amounts of fat and sugar contained in them. They are good examples, however, of how fat slows down the absorption rate of carbohydrate.

Cooking/ Preparation

How a carbohydrate-containing food is cooked or prepared also affects its absorption rate. Overcooking increases a carbohydrate-containing food’s glycemic index because some of the bonds between the glucose molecules will be broken down, making absorption easier (less digestion is required). Similarly, preparation may also affect a carbohydrate-containing food’s absorption rate. For example, mashed potatoes are absorbed faster into the bloodstream than whole potatoes. On the other hand, adding vinegar (acetic acid) to a food lowers its GI.

Now before you start thinking that your days of eating bread and potatoes are over, consider the fact that carbohydrate-rich foods with fibre, protein and/ or fat already in them are low on the glycemic index. Therefore, the glycemic index of high glycemic index carbohydrates may be lowered if fibre, protein or fat is added to a meal with them.

Therefore, if you add vegetables or salad (high fibre foods), meat (protein), oil (fat) or oil-containing foods (nuts, seeds or avocadoes) to the foods containing carbohydrate, the rate of absorption of the carbohydrate will be slowed down, limiting insulin secretion and in turn, limiting fat storage. So there is no problem in having high GI ’starchy’ carbs as long as you slow down their absorption rate by adding lots of fibrous (containing fibre) vegetables or salad, protein or fat (preferably only the essential fatty acids) to the meal.

Remember though, it isn’t just the rate of glucose entering the bloodstream that dictates how much will be converted into body fat but also the amount of carbohydrate consumed. Even if you have a slow influx of carbohydrate into the bloodstream by consuming low-glycemic index carbohydrate or high glycemic index carbohydrate with fibre, fat or protein, a large amount of carbohydrate in a meal will still need to be stored in the body and if the glycogen stores are full the only other storage site is in the adipocytes (fat cells).

Plus, a large meal will have a greater impact on insulin response than a small meal and since the main benefit of eating low GI foods is in limiting insulin response, it makes sense to reduce portion sizes of meals.

If you choose to emphasise low-glycemic index carbohydrate in your diet, then fine. However, don’t neglect eating some complex carbohydrates as well. Complex carbohydrates provide your body with many essential nutrients. Pasta for example provides your body with 6 out of the 8 essential amino acids (in small amounts though) and some contain both B vitamins and iron.

The bottom line is this, if you are eating complete meals, which means meals with carbohydrate, protein and fat then the GI becomes irrelevant since the protein and fat as well as fibre will slow down the absorption rate of the carbohydrates, lowering the GI. As covered earlier, of far greater importance is the portion size of the entire meal and the carbohydrate-density of the food. Since insulin responses are important, portion size will have an impact on this and carbohydrate-density will affect overall calorie intake. Therefore, focusing more on these areas will offer greater benefits than simply the Glycemic Index alone.

About the Author:

To discover the ‘7 Most Effective Weight Loss Tips’ to help you lose weight fast , click here. To find out more about the author of this article, Stephen Smith, and to get free access to all of his articles and useful weight-loss information, click here.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Glycemic Index- How Important Is It ?

Setting Goals allows you to achieve more.

Author: preetisharma

What do you think about when the word goal comes up in conversation? Do you cringe and snort thinking to yourself “right, goals . . . whatever. What’s the point of making them if I won’t keep them?” Or, do your eyes light up as you tick off a long list of goals for the New Year that will be impossible to complete?

No matter if you have an optimistic or pessimistic outlook about your small business goals for this New Year, both outlooks have something in common and it is this: Unless you know how to set goals properly, you will fail to complete them. So let’s start by defining exactly what a goal is: A goal is something that is meaningful, powerful, and transformative. A goal is something that will change your life, your business, your career, or your family in some meaningful way.

A goal is fierce!

• A goal is clearly defined

• A goal is very specific

• A goal has an action plan and time line for completion

To be an accomplished goal setter, you must become a fearsome time manager by:

• Setting priorities

• Completing tasks on time

• Eliminating distractions

In other words, those who manage their time, manage their world.

Three Parts To Setting Goals That Stick

1. Activate Intentions. They key to getting your business goals to stick it to activate your intentions. That means to put down on a piece of paper what your goals are, and then to take one action on each goal immediately.

Seven Steps For Successful Activation

• Identify your goal, very clearly and specifically. Identify no more than 3-5 business goals to focus on. Be concrete. Put your business goal into words and be as precise about it as you can be.

• Think critically about whether or not this is actually a business goal that you want to accomplish this year. Make sure you know why this goal is meaningful.

• Thinking creatively about how to accomplish your goals. Think outside the box. Stretch the boundaries of possibilities. Engage others to brainstorm and ‘creategize’ with you. Think really far out. Consider outlandish and bazaar solutions.

• Next, identify your plan of action and create strategic action steps that will lead to goal completion.

• Then, and this is all so energetically important: schedule and take your first action step either now, or within the next five days. This one step will set the activation energy in motion. Since what we focus on happens, it is important to schedule and take a first step to create momentum immediately.

• Evaluate your activity and measure success every step along the way.

• Reward success.

2. Eliminate Distractions. Distractions are the worst enemy of time management, and are the number one reason why goals fail. When we allow distractions to take our time and attention away from our goals, the result is frustration, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed, to thoughts of not being able to do something, to failure. Be fierce about your goals and guard them with your time.

3. Fearsome Focus. Dave Lakhani, speaker, trainer, and author of the Power Of An Hour has come up with a fearsome focus strategy that works. In his book, he suggests focusing for an hour at a time on a specific action step of one of your business goals, no more, no less. He recommends that you block out time each day for this fearsome focus hour, and that you divide that focus time into 45 minutes fearsome focus, and 15 minutes doing something else. Below is a summary of his strategy.

• Write down action steps for what you intent to accomplish in your 45-minute fearsome focus time.

• Surround yourself with all the tools you need to get the job done before you begin.

• Don’t allow distractions.

• Launch into your project with gusto.

• Evaluate success along the way by reviewing steps, then immediately re-engage in fearsome focus.

• If distracted, instantly dismiss distraction and re-engage.

• Complete all action steps.

• Acknowledge completion and relax.

• Remain in fearsome focus for 45 minutes, and then do something different for 15 minutes. After an hour, move on to something else.

That’s it folks. These are the steps to take if you want to set goals that stick. All you need to do is activate, eliminate, and focus. Keep in mind, though, that it is ridiculous to spend time focusing on something you don’t intend to do. That’s a failed goal in the making. Instead, if you find that a goal no longer serves you, replace or revise it with one that does.

About the Author:

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to credit card, do please browse for more information at our websites.
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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How To Set Goals That Stick

Recession Busting Breakfast

A few months ago I heard about an initiative to Boycott the Recession. The initiative was started by Blair Singer, the founder of SalesPartners Worldwide. The initiative has spread to South Africa.

One of the most powerful things about South Africa is our Spirit of Ubuntu. Nowhere else in the world do you find a sense of community like that when a group of like-minded people get together to help each other out of a difficult situation.

The astounding truth is that we have the power of adding our strengths and working together to change your Personal Recession into a time of Personal Growth.

In the same Spirit of Ubuntu, three dynamic business women, Bettina Horvath of SalesPartners Cape Region, Gwen Kloppers of Inspiring Women Network and Veena Sebastian of the Atlantic Imbizo Conference Venue, decided it was time to work together to help small business owners unleash their potential and bust through the recession.

Cape Townians have the opportunity to learn how to bust through the recession in just three hours.

There are business breakfasts. And then there are Recession Busting Business Breakfasts. This is not merely an opportunity to collect a few business cards and hope for the best. This is an opportunity to learn valuable skills that will take your business to new heights and give you the opportunity and the skills to turn your business around, literally within 3 hours.

In this powerful and engaging breakfast you will learn within 3 hours exactly what it takes to find clients, make a memorable impact and close more sales.

As part of the breakfast each delegate will also be given a Recession Buster Kit valued at over R3500.

For more information about the Recession Busting Breakfast and to book a seat, visit the website here: www.salespartnercape.co.za

The reason why most businesses fail is because they can’t sustain the growth or ‘busy-ness’ of their business.

The real key to success is in understanding the critical ’strategic’ roles that business owners must play, and separate, in their businesses. These critical, but often overlooked roles are those of the director, manager and shareholder.

As a shareholder, we must look at your business as an investment and expect your board (directors) to give you a return on your investment (that is higher than a simple deposit in the bank)… especially in small business where you invest not only your money, but your time, relationships and a lot of energy. As shareholders, you must hold your board to account to report on and deliver your expected and promised results.

As a director, you must realise that you are legally responsible to run the business.  You must support your management, be accountable for results and you must guide the strategic direction of your business vision.

As a manager, you must realise that you are responsible and accountable to your directors, your shareholders, staff and customers for the results you achieve in the day to day operations of the business. This value placed on results will vary for each of these stakeholders and it is the manager’s job to ensure that all parties get these results or the health of the business will suffer.

Often in small business, people juggled all of these roles…wearing all hats at the same time and therefore unable to clearly deliver the results of any single role.

So who are you?

Are you clear about the role you’re meant to be playing in your business?

Gaining this clarity and instituting the mechanisms of governance and accountability will have a profound impact on your bottom line!

* * *

What separates successful business owners from those who merely own a job in their own business?

While many business owners aspire for explosive growth, only a few recognize the critical distinctions of success or have the entrepreneurial guidance to ever make it happen.

Some business owners end up owning a job in their business, while others manage to build and grow successful enterprises that create wealth while enjoying every moment of it.

What makes the difference?

Carl Bates Chairman of the Sirdar Group

The astonishing growth that Carl Bates, Chairman of the Sirdar Group, global entrepreneur with world-wide success has managed to achieve has been through supporting other small and medium businesses to achieve their own extreme business success. He has done this by astutely applying principles of governance and entrepreneurship to address their business growth challenges.

Carl believes that regardless of the industry you operate in, the fundamentals of running a business are all the same and it is critical for these to be astutely implemented to achieve extreme business success.

In a powerful and engaging workshop, Carl will share powerful insights into “What it Means to be an Effective Business Owner”. He will reveal the importance of holding yourself and your team to account and the key distinctions between being a Shareholder in your enterprise, a Director and a Manager, something many small to medium business owners incorrectly assume is a tool only for “big corporates”.

The feedback Carl gets everywhere he travels, says it all. His practical insight and clarity with which he directs business people’s attention to achieve beyond what they think was possible is mind blowing.

Join Carl on this business expedition and uncover and come to understand:

• The investment you have in your business and how you should treat it.
• Your role as a shareholder in your business.
• The reality of what actually being held accountable in your business means.
• The role of a board of directors and the absolute value it will add to your business.
• How to grow your business through giving back.

WHERE, WHEN AND HOW?

Your investment to join us for this insightful and empowering workshop:

R247 per person and you get to BRING YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER FOR FREE
Tea/coffee will be provided.

To secure your place at this limited opportunity event or to find out more, please email eventsa@sirdargroup.com or call:
Karen Barensche (Cape Town) on 082 461 1418 or
Lisa Gering (Johannesburg) 082 441 9419.

Who is Sirdar?

Sirdar works with business owners to plot a business route of extreme business success.

Sirdar works with committed business people who are passionate about what they do and have a vision for the future. Sirdar recognises and then fosters this passion and links it to our business, governance and management expertise, to create enterprises that define markets and lead industries.

By growing our partners and clients businesses through providing them with governance and management, Sirdar has experienced exponential growth since inception in 2007. Like any new business Sirdar had zero revenue on start-up. Six months later the group revenue was R7 million and at the end of July 2008, it had reached R57 million. In roughly just under two years Sirdar’s group revenue had grown by over 800%. Sirdar now operates in South Africa, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Stainability and social enterprise is core to Sirdar’s Global business. We believe strongly in building emerging economies by developing local small to medium enterprise. Specifically Sirdar itself, and its equity partners, implement transactional giving to achieve this.

What makes the difference?

While some business owners end up owning a job in their business, others manage to build and grow successful enterprises that create true wealth while enjoying every moment of it.

Regardless of the industry they operate in, come and find out what lies behind astonishing growth and success. Discover how you and your business can benefit from astutely applying principles of success and entrepreneurship to address your business growth challenges and achieve extreme business success.

Testimonials:

“I have seldom seen a room of people so inspired and talking instant positive action to create AND implement truly solid processes to achieve totally new performance levels in their businesses.”
-Paul Dunn, Globally Acclaimed Serial Entrepreneur & Business Mentor

“Carl Bates is an inspiring leader who has an exceptional amount of business nous.”
- Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce Magazine, July 2008

“Your investment in this workshop will drive home the distinctions between shareholders, directors and management – which will lift your business to another level when you apply it.”
- Paul Wetton, Pachira Capital Pty Ltd, Australia

If  I had a Rand (yes, not even a dollar!) for every time I’ve been asked that question, I’d be sitting in the pound seats! I think that every person would probably define it slightly differently from the next. Some might say that two people that manage to stay together for life are in a successful relationship. Really? Even if they have not had sex or an in-depth conversation for 30 years? Others might say, if they don’t fight. But is it a successful relationship if they don’t fight because one or both have given up declaring how they feel? So many people, so many opinions.

All of us have at some stage had our struggles with relationships. It is inherent in the design of a relationship: two sets of values, two communication styles, two sets of emotional and sexual needs, two sets of expectations regarding relationships, etc. Is it any wonder that we get lost in this jungle? And the more intimate we are, the higher the stakes are and more expectations we have of our partners. Conflict seems to be a function of intimacy. The more energy we invest into someone, the more we expect that person to meet our needs, consciously or unconsciously.

But what if relationships are not designed to make you happy until you ride off into the sunset? Would you still want one? What would the purpose of a relationship be then? And if you know a relationship will sometimes make you happy and sometimes dog-miserable, how would you define a successful relationship?

For me the answer is written in the forecourt of the temple of Apollo at Delphi: Know Thyself. There is no other place in our lives where we are given the chance to learn who we are with such clarity, as in the image that our intimate partners reflect back at us. And what we see isn’t always pretty.

One way of deepening our self knowledge is through the ancient analytical system of astrology. Through this lens one can look at how we employ the various parts of our psyche in an intimate relationship. And of course, once one sees one’s own behavioural patterns clearly, one can make conscious choices on which ones to keep, which to discard and which to change.

Using the elements of an astrological analysis, one would look at a person’s core personality, their emotional needs, their communication style, their relationship preferences and their sexual drivers.

There is a common belief that good communication is the number one prerequisite for a successful relationship. But somehow we humans seem to have a lot of trouble with the simple mechanics of sending and receiving a message! Could it be that our habitual communication style needs to be adapted in order to be more finely tuned to that of our partner’s? For example, if our communication style has the characteristics of the earth element, we would be talking straight, matter-of-factly and to the point. If we then encounter someone who has more of a water element emphasis, we would have to adapt our style to a more feelings-based approach, so that they feel heard and validated.

In the process of exploring our communication style, we would of course also take a look at how we listen, as well! It is also helpful to negotiate beforehand what the rules of engagement are, when encountering a conflict situation.

Through any type of self-exploration, we become more aware of the mechanics of our own mind. With more knowledge of ourselves, we are set free from being a victim of  living a life by default and we can make conscious choices that enable us to become our best possible selves. Sometimes relationship trouble is just what we need in order to kick-start a journey towards a more conscious life.

And what greater success story is there than having a more balanced, healthier and conscious outlook on life? Perhaps Eckhart Tolle has a point when he says that relationships aren’t there to make us happy, they are there to make us conscious.

Written by Babett Baer, Counselling Astrologer and director of AstroDate

For more information and to contact Babett, click here.

Swine Flu has finally hit South Africa and people are very worried about it. With confirmed cases of death in it makes the pandemic even a little more scary. We decided to search the Internet to find a few helpful and practical tips that you could use to protect you and your family:

1. Always cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing; ideally use something disposable like a tissue. Avoid touching your face, nose or mouth too frequently with your hands since swine flu appears to be transmitted through respiratory droplets in the same fashion as the common cold.
2. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water since swine flu like other viruses can be contracted by touching objects contaminated by the virus. It’s unsure how long the swine flu virus can survive on surrounding surfaces.
3. Though alcohol based hand sanitizers don’t routinely kill viruses they probably do offer some limited protection in preventing swine flu infections.
4. If swine flu infections have been medically confirmed in your area consider avoiding large public gatherings. Individuals can be contagious with the swine flu virus for several day before demonstrating any signs or symptoms of infection. Be particularly careful about indoor gatherings where air circulates poorly.
5. If you start feeling ill with cold or flu-like symptoms do not go to work. Stay home and begin the usual home remedies for colds and flu. Contact your health care provider, local health department or hospital emergency room if your symptoms worsen or fail to improve for information about where to go to be screened for possible swine flu infection.