Kratom Popularity Continues To Grow As Scheduling Looms

One popular plant that continues to see a growing popularity is kratom. While kratom has been around for a long time, it's still relatively new here in the U.S. However, thanks to its growing fan base and advocates, it seems like everyone is talking about kratom.

When all is said and done, there's one core reason behind its popularity, "it's changing lives."

Over the last few years, I've met hundreds of men and women that take kratom. While there's a number of different reasons why, all of them take kratom because it helps. Many of them have switched to kratom versus taking opioids. Pain relief is one of the key benefits that kratom is scientifically known to help with.

Thanks to the efforts of the American Kratom Association and other advocates, we're learning more about kratom than ever before. Even with the research, the FDA says there's no benefits to kratom. Yet, you have a mass of the population that says otherwise.

Who's right?

A lot of people think the FDA's decision is "political."

If they do have special interest, what are they?

Are they benefiting off the opioid crisis? Are they upset because they're not benefiting from kratom?

The DEA is trying to ban kratom and of course, the FDA is with them every step of the way.

They claim kratom is addictive, so is PS4, alcohol, cigarets, and sex.

A lot of the bad rep behind kratom is due to the fact that they say kratom has opiate-like effects. Yeah, because kratom interacts with your pain receptors like pain pills do. However, it's no where near the same level, meaning kratom does not have the same effects as taking morphine, oxycontin and other strong opioids.

Only time will tell if kratom gets a fair shake or not. On the positive side, kratom has growing momentum and popularity.

Is Kratom The New Go-To Natural Supplement?

There's no secret that great kratom debate is officially mainstream. Everywhere you look, people are talking about kratom. What gives? Is kratom really the miracle herb everyone is talking about? Is it really true?

What we do know, everyone is talking about kratom.

Anyone that knows me knows that I work with teens and adults that are trying to get their lives back together due to drug addiction. I do my best to alter their mindset and help them get the help they need.

I'm seeing more and more addicts go to kratom. I'm not judging, I'm just giving this story context. I'm seeing it on the East Coast, in Appalachia. I set out to find some people that are trying kratom and it was an awesome experience. The names in this story have been changed to protect their identity.

I first met up with Romona, which is a recovering heroin addict. She's been using kratom for a year now. I first met her 5 years ago when she was struggling to stay clean. Today, Romona has her life on track, she's working and she now has a home. I was surprised to see her doing so good. How? According to her, kratom.

"Kratom changed my life," she said tearing up. "I had been struggling for years to get my life in order and I kept falling back into bad habits. A friend introduced me to kratom and it gave me a second chance. I'm working, I'm in a relationship and I'm stable."

Romona was kind enough to introduce me to the friend that helped her, Steve. He was willing to share his story with me.

"I've been using kratom for 3 years now," Steve explained. "Before that, I was doing pain pills, about 8 years. I was doing some research online and heard others talking about kratom. One day, I decided to order it and take it right, that's when my life began to change. I quit pills, I quit everything and I've been clean ever since."

Say what you will, but kratom is changing lives. I guess my worry, kratom is still new. We don't know the long term benefits, but it's obviously popular here in the South.

For those of you that don't know what kratom is, it comes from a natural plant in Southeast Asia. Traditional tribes have been using it for centuries. In Southeast Asia, it's a common practice to use kratom. Due to the internet, kratom's popularity has drastically increased and made it's way to the United States.

The big question, can kratom help me? Check this out. There's a lot of benefits, despite what some may so.

I'd recommend taking the time to research it well, see if kratom would be a solution for you.

Weight Lifting Guides For Beginners

Hey everyone! Thanks again for visiting our blog.

If you're new to weightlifting or perhaps you're considering taking it up, there's a lot of different things you need to know. I hope to walk you through a few of these.

One of the biggest myths I hear over and over again is women can't lift weights. They tell women they will ruin their body if they weight life. This is totally false. Ladies, weightlifting helps you get stronger.

One of the most common mistakes I see is men and women coming in trying to lift too much weight. If this is your first rodeo, start out slow. Then you can work with more weights.

Nutrition has A LOT to do with your progress. It doesn't matter if you're weight lifting, trying to lose weight or simply wanting to get healthy, nutrition plays a key role in your health. You have to know what you're eating at all times.

Lastly, before we get to the weightlifting guides, I want to bring up accountability. I'm bad for it, it took a mentor teaching me. But you need to be held accountable for what you do or don't do. Trust me, get someone to hold you accountable. They can't be the personality that tells you yes all the time, it won't work.

You need someone that isn't afraid to tell you no.

Ok, to what I promised, here's the 5 best weightlifting guides (and strength training) for beginners that I found online this week.

Bodybuilding.com - Best Beginner Weight Training Guide

Mensfitness.com - The Beginner's Guide To Weight Training

PositionUSA.com - Weight Lifting Guide For Beginners

Nerdfitness.com - Strength Training 101

Niashanks.com - The Women's Beginner Strength Training Guide


These 5 guides have some great information.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to check out my blog.

Motivation Plays A Big Role In Everything

In fitness, you hear the word "motivation" a lot. But why is that? Do we really need this much encouragement to lose weight, get fit, stay healthy? To be honest, yes we do. We often need little motivation to start, but we need to be motivated to follow through with what ever goals you put in place.

Motivation is not only for those of you trying to live healthier, we all need to be motivated. It doesn't matter if you're a doctor, a construction worker or a teacher. While motivation is important, accountability is the crucial piece of the puzzle.

When you're alone trying to lose weight, who holds you accountable to follow through with your weight loss plan? If you're alone, nobody. It's tough to follow through on our goals when we're not being held accountable for our actions.

One of the greatest gifts I gave myself was a mentor. He held me accountable, he made sure both of us had my best interest to heart and he made sure I followed through on my goals. I suggest the same for you. You don't have to go the mentor route, but that depends on your set goals. What you must have is someone that can hold you accountable to get things done.

If you take away anything, "have someone hold you accountable so you can stay your course and succeed in what you do."