Snowballing. (If only this post was about the act described in Clerks)

I have long supported the idea of snowballing when it comes to positive change in one's life.  The idea in which by doing small changes that you could create momentum and make lasting and impressive change.  Through my own self-analysis I have come to this conclusion (basically a lot of baseless anecdotal evidence), but now I am sitting on a wealth of books that agree with me!  Damn, I love being right all the time.

Disclaimer: I ain't citing shit.  Just trust me on this crap.  For what it's worth the books I'm referencing are Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, Drive by Dan Pink, and The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal.

The scope of these books are much wider than exercise and nutrition.  For the sake of this blog post however I'll be cherry picking pieces from these books and what I learned from them to help your nutrition and exercise endeavors.

First off, eating right has shown to improve your self-control.  Basically, when you stop eating processed crap and fast food and head towards a diet high in protein your self-control increases!  Also, 5 minutes of exercise a day (like something simple, say walking?) has shown in startling tests to bring your focus towards eating healthy and making positive choices.  In addition, those who started even a small amount of exercise also drank less caffeinated and sugar laden drinks.

THAT'S RIGHT ASSHATS IF YOU WALK AROUND THE BLOCK YOU MIGHT NOT FEEL LIKE EATING SO MUCH FUCKING MCDONALDS.  THE INVERSE IS TRUE AS WELL, IF YOU EAT LESS MCDONALDS YOU WILL BE IN A MUCH BETTER HEADSPACE TO GET OFF YOUR ASS AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU AND YOUR BODY.  ISN'T IF FUNNY HOW THAT ALL WORKS OUT?

Allow me to preface this next tip just a little bit.  I know this might sound like really obvious advice but the staggering amount of people not doing this is frankly retarded.  So, the caps and huge font is justified

SLEEP AT LEAST 8 HOURS A NIGHT.  IF YOU DON'T YOU ARE DUMB AS ALL FUCK AND I'M GOING TO PROCEED TO TELL YOU WHY YOU ARE A PERPETUALLY EXHAUSTED CAFFEINE CHUGGING ZOMBIE.

Now that I've got that off my chest I can get to the reason why you need to be sleeping at least 8 hours a night/day whatever.  I've compiled it into a nice neat little list.

-Increases your self-control by providing essential energy to the pre-frontal cortex which in short is the control center of Willpower.  When you are sleep deprived you are legitimately in a mild form of intoxication and are prone to do stupid shit.

-For men Testosterone production is impaired CONSIDERABLY when sleep deprived.  Optimal Test levels are great and you should be worried about this because test decreases body fat, increases muscle mass, improves your boners, and is essential to really appreciate killer guitar solos.

-8 hours of sleep is also essential to anybody strength training or under considerable physical exertion.  You might be asking yourself.  Oh Brilliant Bastard why is that?  How could sleep possibly be essential for somebody lifting heavy ass shit or running long distances?  Well faithful reader.  If you don't sleep your body doesn't have enough time TO REPAIR YOUR BODY AFTER YOU ROCK IT HARD IN THE GYM.  Sleeping basically is the time when all that hard work really pays off and your body can start building those badass muscles you've been tearing up in the gym.  You need to sleep to have optimal gains.

-You'll be less tired and in a better position to do something about your caffeine addiction (if you were so inclined)

In closing, if you were to walk around the block for five minutes a day, eat less junky bullshit food, and sleep 8 hours a night you would be making huge leaps and bounds for your health.  Your self-control and willpower would increase, you would be more focused on your body, and possibly start an avalanche of good habits.