matt oldroyd blogs

A man’s got to make a living :P

Please come check out my new Realty Victoria website.  I am attempting for a truly comprehensive site and weblog for all things Real Estate in Victoria BC.  That’s where I live and it has to be one of the most gorgeous little cities in world.

Every time I come home from a holiday or extended excursion around the world I love to sit back on a patio downtown and enjoy a crisp West Coast beer and often with a plate of fresh Salt Spring Island muscles (my hometown).

Victoria has a lot to offer in the way of amenities, social events, outdoor recreation and even nightlife.  Hit the lake, take a long bike through all over town along the Galloping Goose trail, or get out of town within 20 minutes by car and right into the wilderness.

It might look a bit spammy right now as I’ve been trying to throw down a lot of material to get google love (SEO side job ;)  and it’s working – but I want this to be a place for real information on a really great place to live.  Comments and suggestions (if constructively critical)  are welcome and I hope to build out the best realty site for Greater Victoria!

Cheers everyone!

Once again I’m working on the 30 Day Challenge. Ed Dale and Dan Raine put together this awesome free one month course to help people like you and me get their web marketing feet wet. I learned a lot last year and I hope to learn even more tips and tricks this year.

Ed is just a great guy and is genuinely interested in helping people make money online. I wouldn’t have known where to begin without this course last year. There’s so much stuff, so many tools and a lot of great support available for anyone who is willing to learn.

If your aspirations involve freeing your time up and making money online then this is a one-stop-shop for internet marketers new and old.

I’m on a roll today, and since this post somewhat coincides with my earlier post I thought I just get it up.

Simple can be delicious is all about… you guessed it!  FOOD.  Yum :)

I’m not a fad diet person and I try to refrain from using the term altogether due to its somewhat negative connotations.  But when it comes down to it, what else do you call the things that you put in your mouth and ingest?!   We’ll go with ‘lifestyle diet’ or ‘healthy lifestyle,’  for now.

So, what is this simple but delicious and healthy lifestyle that I’m talking about? It’s the slow carb diet… yep, ‘slow’  not ‘no.’  This isn’t Atkins or South Beach, it’s the Slow carbohydrate diet.  I’ll break it down into its abreviated form:

1. Eat as much as you want of the following foods: proteins (lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and cottage cheese); vegetables (except white potatoes); legumes (peas, lentils, beans, and nuts); and healthy fats (fish oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil etc.).

2. Stop with fruit eating, unless you’re doing so within two hours after a workout.  Have a look at the glycemic database of those fruits first to see where they fall on the index. Your body converts fruit to fat if you eat too much of it or the wrong type (more on this later). Avoid drinking milk, which easily makes your body gain fat, and avoid eating any kind of junk food or sodas. Stick with water, coffee or tea, if you can.  DON”T DRINK YOUR CALORIES!

3. If you’re eating out, stick to the salads with chicken or beef and get that dressing on the side.  If Mexican is an option – that’s your best bet, with Chicken, Beef or Fish and take the black beans over the re-fried.  Try to stay away from the fatty sauces…

4.  I’ve succesfuly used the cheat day as suggested by author Tim Ferriss (20 lbs. in 30 days).   He suggests setting aside one day a week as your cheat day. You can eat everything you’re missing – junk food, white carbs, sodas, even candy bars – on your cheat day. By doing this, believe it or not, you increase your fat loss by keeping your metabolic rate high.

5.  This isn’t about enjoying every bite of every meal that you eat everyday (but I’ll show you some tasty things you can eat).  This is about enjoying a flat stomach and a toned body everyday.  This is about sticking to a diet as part of your lifestyle.

So that’s about it.  Pretty simple and easy to follow.  I found the following article useful in describing what happens when we eat high glycemic foods – usually found in the ‘white’ carbs and fruit juices etc.

Disclaimer:  I have done this successfully and seen awesome results.  The reality is that it’s easier said than done.  Summertime, bbqs, friends, family – are all going to be against you.  If you want it bad enough though you can have it.  Also, don’t fall into the trap of avoiding carbs altogether – you do need them for energy and also to burn more fat! Just eat the right ones and at the right times.

So now you’re thinking what can I eat if I’m avoiding all these tasty foods?!

Some of my favourites include:

Oriental Chicken Salad:

Grill up some skinless chicken breast and slice thinly.  Toss a salad together of fresh greens, lettuce, green onions, cilantro, shredded carrot and cucumber (feel free to add/remove your favourites).  Throw the chicken on top and put a dressing together as follows:  soy sauce 1/4 cup, a pinch of stevia (like almost nothing, if you know how sweet this stuff can be), chili sauce 3 tbsp. (the one with garlic and no sugar), fish sauce 2 tbsp., a little bit of sesame oil 2 tbsp., and half a cup of warm water.  – enough for a few salads.  Enjoy!

Grilled Steak Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Pretty much throw the same green salad together but this time grill a steak with some pepper and salt (your choice, I like mine seared and that’s about it).  Then put together a simple dressing:  simmer half a cup of balsamic vinegar in about half, add some extra virgin olive oil about a 1/4 cup and add some crushed sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Only throw a couple of tablespoons of that on, it’s all you’ll need.  Slice the beef up thinly and toss on top.  Enjoy!

Prawn Skewers with Fresh Veggies and Oregano:

I threw this together for some friends the other day and with a little tweaking I think it’s going to be a summer favourite.

Chop the following into 1-2 inch cubes:  broccoli florets, zucchini, mushrooms, red bell pepper (other colours are fine too :P ), red onion. Substitute other vegetables to your liking.  Toss all of that with some extra virgin olive oil, cracked pepper, sea salt, and some oregano (fresh if you have it).   Pre-soak some bamboo skewers in water.  Get a package of raw but peeled prawns ready.  Alternate veggies with a couple of prawns on each skewer.  Get your bbq hot and then turn down to medium.  Grill until everything is lightly seared and the prawns have turned pink/red. Enjoy!

So, there you go,  a couple of simple recipes that you can use for lunch or dinner and that fit the Slow Carb bill.  I think this is the best way of eating I have come across for my own metabolism and energy level and when I stick to it I see great results.  Good luck and enjoy the food.

The king of Lifts - The Deadlift

When I first started weightlifting in my late teens I followed the usual routine that was layed out to me by my local gym trainers.  Lots of reps not much in the way of breaks between sets and stacking the weights every set.  Now, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with the 12/10/8 routines and it definitely got me in better shape than I had been previously but at the same time, I never saw any seriously great gains in strength and could never break that boundary between skinny fat and ripped or big and powerful and soft. At one point I lifted weights and also ran my butt off on the treadmill three or four times a week and went from 190 lbs. to 160 pounds in  four months.   But this just left me with no definition and no strength.

Then I had a snowboard injury that put my knee out of commission for 2 years and I let my life get in the way of the gym.  That lead to me at a squishy 198 lbs. again.

I had just gotten back into the gym last fall when I read an article by Pavel Tsatsouline  on Tim Ferriss’ blog – titled “Pavel: 80/20 Powerlifting and How to Add 110+ Pounds to Your Lifts.” Most of Tim’s blog articles are just killer – you know this if you’re a subscriber.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain I embarked on a three month plan to add as much weight to each of the ‘big three’ lifts as possible.  I was a noob when it came to powerlifting and had actually never done a deadlift in my life.  So I started small, the best way I know how: Squat 175 lbs. Bench Press 135 lbs., Deadlift 165 lbs.   I’m not really very at starting small – go big or go home is a common flaw in my thought processing.  So I just started where I felt comfortable and still had a hard time pushing out the last to sets to 5.

A quick breakdown of the routine is as follows:

Monday: Squat 5 sets of 5 reps

Tuesday: Bench Press 5 sets of 5 reps

Wednesday: Deadlift 5 sets of 5 reps

Thursday: 80% Bench Press 5×5

Friday: 80% Squat 5×5

Between sets leave yourself 3-5 minutes of rest time – you’ll need it because you’re pushing a lot heavier weights than a 12/10/8 routine.  Hopefully people in the gym don’t get annoyed with you for taking up a rack or bench for too long but just help them reset the bar in between your sets if that’s what’s needed.

Now,  Pavel says this is the simplest and best way to gain the most amount of strength in the three major lifts.  He also says to get out there and do some competitions so that you have deadlines to push yourself to action with.   I wasn’t looking to compete, my main goal was to get the strength necessary to be useful in daily life as well as to get more definition and muscle bulk – especially in my upper body.  So, I did a bit of tweaking and threw in a few smaller lifts to balance out the routine and build more bulk in the biceps, triceps, lats and abs.  I basically added the following in after the main lifts: Bicep curls, Tricep French Press,  Chin Ups and Abs on the Swiss ball.    I still managed to keep the whole routine between 45 minutes and one hour.  I did no major cardio during these 3 months as it would have depleted my energy stores too much to see serious gains.

After 3 months I noticed myself beginning to plateau a bit so I took a couple of weeks off and then got back in at the same weights and continued to climb albeit at a slower rate.  Pavel said that 100 lbs. + was attainable within a year and it only took me 3 months.  I was completely blown away at how quickly I was able to gain strength.  I have better tone and more power  than any other time in my life and am now beginning to focus on getting even more definition.  Diet plays a big part in all this and I usually try to stick to a Slow Carb diet which is low in total carbs and skips pastas, bread, potatoes and all refined sugars.  Of course, this is easier said than done when you’re having fun in the sun or on a road trip.   When this is diligently applied you can watch the fat disappear in no time.  I only supplemented with protein powder and lots of water.

My results were as follows:

Weight: Start: 198 lbs.  3 months: 188 lbs.  massive change in body build.

Bench Press: 135 lbs –> 215 lbs.

Squat: 175 lbs. –> 265 lbs.

Deadlift: 165 lbs. –> 305 lbs.

Remember,  this is for both men and women of just about any age not just the ‘roid monkeys’ you see at the gym.  If you don’t want to go to the gym, all this takes is a power-rack, a bench, and an olympic barbell set – that’s all!

In conclusion,  Pavel knows what he’s talking about.  If I had followed his routine to the ‘T’ then perhaps I would have seen even greater strength gains but I was more than satisfied with the results I attained in the period of time I worked at it.  I am continuing to follow this system but am adapting it to a 3 days per week time frame so that I can enjoy the outdoors more while the sun is out in the rainy North West.

Seems to be my favourite thing to do on here :P   I had some requests for a white background seeing as it is hard to see the ‘white on black’ text.  I had to agree after coming back to the page over and over.  Simple and minimalist again – just the way I like it.

I’ll have a post about my success with Pavel Tsatsouline’s 5×5 strength training regimen coming up, along with some healthy recipes for those of you who need a refresher on ‘slow carb’ eating.

It’s time to vote people!

Whether you’re a political scientist, casual observer or government hater… I strongly believe that you have to make yourself count.  I know many of you that feel that it makes no difference, or that you would rather not vote for anyone because you don’t believe in the platforms that have been presented.  It doesn’t matter whether you are Liberal, Conservative, Democrat or Republican.  It’s you’re chance to have a say in the future of your country.  It just so happens (or maybe not) that Canada and the U.S.A. are having their elections within a month of each other.  Every vote counts (well if you can put an ‘X’ or a ‘check’ in the right spot).  For those of you that feel that not voting is the best way to make your voice heard… I have a serious message for you –> you are not being heard! and by not voting you are allowing everyone that votes a chance to change your country for better or worse and without your voice.  I’ve always felt that if for no other reason… voting gives you the right to complain.  I am quite an ‘anti-complaining’ campaigner but it’s a way for many people to vent their frustrations, and if you haven’t come out to vote, then you haven’t got that right to complain.

So make a difference on election day,  get your voice heard.  Come out and Vote!

Tuesday October 14, 2008 – Canadian Federal Election

Tuesday November 4, 2008 – U.S.A. Presidential Election

(poster campaign by AIGA)

As I move forward in my quest for total freedom, this nagging question often comes into my head, “what will happen if you succeed?”  It always makes me mentally stumble.  I’ve read a lot of books on success, goals, and business and this is a common thread throughout many of them.

Sometimes my thoughts run like this: If this project works I’m likely to get really busy with work… what if there’s too much work?… will I be able to handle it?… I want freedom of time not to get too busy with work… what other changes will this bring? etc.

It’s amazing how your mind can run off on you like this.  When we really look at where these fears come from we can see they come from our fear of change.  By taking control of your life and setting a path and goals for yourself you can begin to overcome the burden of change learn to embrace it.

This is when I’ve found that having well laid plans and goals really comes to the rescue.  If my ‘blue print’ is solid and I stick to the plan then I have less to worry about.  If it fails, It might mean a financial setback but it also means I’ll have learned something.  If I succeed by taking action… I really don’t know what will happen and there’s just no point in wasting my time worrying about it.  It’s likely that if i keep laying those plans, and things work out, then I’ll be closer to my goals and that can only be a good thing.  Lay the plan, and make good on the plan by taking action.

To paraphrase David J. Schwartz, “Use action to cure fear and gain confidence.  Action feeds and strengthens confidence; inaction ina ll forms feeds fear.  To fight fear, act.  To increase fear – wait, put off, postpone.”

Don’t let that fear of success become subconscious stumbling block.

Here’s some great reading I’ve run across lately that has helped me move forward and jump those hurdles:

• Fear of Success: What will happen if you succeed? by Steve Pavlina
• The Fear of Success by
• The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Shwartz
• Focal Point – Brian Tracy

Sorry for the long break folks!  Got busy with some work in NB and put the sites redesign on hold.  But we’re back and looking better than ever :P  New Posts coming soon!!!

I just wanted to introduce Google reader to any and all of you that aren’t up to date with this awesome tech.  I use google reader everyday to keep track of news that I’m interested in.  It’s a one stop shop for news and blog updates for just about anything and everything that you might want to know about.

Number 1.  Sign up for a free Google Account.

Number 2.  Read these directions on how to view your Google Reader site.

Number 3. If you already have a gmail account or google account then follow the above link to Google Reader… Really, it’s that great :)

Number 4.  Now anytime you’re on a site, have a look at your address bar and see if there is an RSS feed icon.  If there is, then you can click on that feed and ad it to your Google Reader (or simply look for the RSS feed icon and Left Click on it.  You’ll be taken to a screen that lets you decide whether to ad that feed to your google reader)  It’s that simple.  And it keeps track of everything for you.  I’m really stoked on how easy this is and it’s all free!

If you want to link to my RSS feed, then click here and you’ll be on the Google Reader bandwagon!

So,  Just in case anyone’s tuning in… which at the moment, i don’t think you are (google analytics ftw)  :P

You may have heard all my great ranting about author Tim Ferriss’  “4 Hour Workweek.” And I know a couple of you actually went out and read it.

Well,  that’s what I’m working on, my soul goal – create complete freedom from the mundanity of everyday slogging so that I can truly pursue my passions without the voice of the “boss” in the back of my head or whoever that might be… even yourself.  For the neighsayers just have a quick google around to see what it’s all about and also read the book for a better idea.

Ohhhh, so that’s what the beanbags thing is all about you might ask…. well, yes and no.  It’s been my learning tool for the 30 Day Challenge and a way to get into online sales and marketing business.  (No, i’m not becoming another multi-level marketer.. gasp! I hated even saying that word)   But I’ll be honest t’s not all good times, but I am having a lot of fun puting my psychology and my love of design and products all together.  I mean, the net – it’s only been around for 11 years… it’s less than a baby really… and it’s an awesome place to get your word out and also to make some money (you need the bling.. if you’re going to live the 4 Hour Work Week :P )

And then, you might ask… well, if you don’t have a job and you only work 4 hours a week then what will you do with your time!?  Not sit on the couch and watch TV, that’s for sure.  I don’t think I’ve even lived with cable tv in the house for longer than 3 months in the last 10 years.  And not sit around and play video games – which i do enjoy ;)  It’s about having the freedom to go to school and not worry about the loans – Architecture for me (yes I will – just wait and see).  Also,  get those bigger picture businesses running that you’ve always wanted to try out.  And last but not least – go travelling – for seriously extended periods of time – and not have to eat bread and cheese to survive (which i’ll admit is awesome when you’re in Europe. lol )

So, there you have it.  Yeah, it’s taking me a little bit of time to get this going, the learning curve has been steep I suppose – or more that there’s such a huge river of information available, it’s taken time to condense and use it.  When it comes down to the business side though -  24 hours for my sites to be google indexed and get traffic… that’s definitely for the win.