Blog

As we go here, there are bound to be days where you aren’t feeling quite as great & positive. 

Even for people who have adjusted well and are making the best of this situation, there will be days where your energy is zapped and you feel like SHIT!

I started out this morning with that negative head trash this morning. Yesterday was my Jace’s birthday. We had family & friends do a little drive by parade to wish him happy birthday. It was great — it was a sliver of normal. 

After a bad night sleep with kiddos, I woke up down. 

What can we do to get back on track? Check below. 

Hope this helps!

1. Start with the day with something positive or something you’re grateful for. Seems trivial, but can be a huge shift in your mood.
2. Stretch! You’re probably a lot more sedentary than you usually are. Stretching will helps with aches & pains that being sedentary causes.
3. Finish a task. Cross stuff off your checklist. Bonus points if it’s something you’ve been putting off!

Have a great day & GET OUTSIDE!!!!

When we put out the initial Intermittent Fasting (IF) info, I knew a lot of people were interested…I just didn’t know how many!

We have dozens of people who have tried it. Another 10-15 people who are currently doing it. Another 25+ who haven’t tried it, but have heard success stories and are interested in possibly implementing it themselves. And, we have 1 person who has lost 128lbs with the help of IF.  I repeat 128lbs!!!! 😀

All of these numbers directed me to gathering this info so we can all draw from the success of the people who implemented it and learn a little bit more about this lifestyle.

FYI, I end the post with the science (if you want to see that, scroll all the way down). But, I will start with a piece of advice that Mark (the DUDE who lost 128lbs) gave me.

Remember, it’s just a way, not the way.

If it works for your lifestyle and you can be compliant with IF, then go for it. If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t. Flat out. There are other ways. You have to find what success looks like for you.

Common success themes:

• It works with their lifestyle. They were able to implement it without completely overthrowing their daily life.
• It gave them rules. Start eating at (x) time and stop eating at (y) time. This helped them stay compliant. There was no gray area.
• The eating window seems to help them eat fewer calories. Eating fewer times throughout the day allows them control calories and puts them in a better position to get in a calorie deficit.
• It’s adaptable. There are many options. 16:8 (16 hour fast with 8 hour eating window) seems to be the most prominent. But, several people do a 24 hour fast 1-2 times per week. After getting a handle on 16:8, some moved to a longer fast with 18:6, 20:4, or even a 22-23 hour fast with 1 large meal per day. Again, there are lot of roads to be successful.
• They kept busy during the fasting window. They worked, worked out, ran the kids around, ran errands, etc. Staying busy helped keep the fast in the back of their mind. A lot of times, in the fasted state, people felt a sense of clarity, increased energy, & not as sluggish/tired.
• Most people have increased water consumption. To help keep hunger at bay, hydration is key. *A little pro-tip, add Pink Himalayan Salt (you can get at Costco) to your water. It adds a little flavor and the sodium helps with satiety (feeling of fullness). It may help you avoid the salty snacks!!

How should you get started?

• 16:8 is a great starting point. What does that look like? It could simply be skipping breakfast. Start your eating window at 12pm with lunch. End your eating window at 8pm.
• How many meals should you have in that 8 hour window? More than likely, it will be 2 meals plus 1 snack or 3 smaller meals. There is not a single, correct way.
• How often should you do the 16:8? With the 16:8 protocol, you can do it everyday. With things like a 24 hour fast or longer, those should be done 1-2 times per week combined with a shorter protocol, such as 16:8.

Common pitfalls:

• Calories still matter. Portion control still matters. When you’re eating window starts, it’s not off to the races to get as much food in as possible before the window closes. If you can track your calories, you should continue to do so…at least in the beginning until you find your groove/system that works for you.
• What you’re eating still matters. IF is not meant to starve yourself so you can binge on junk food. You may have a little more lee-way, but practical nutrition principles still apply.
• There is no magic about a 12-8pm window. Your window can be any time. It can be early in the day or it can be late in the day. There are no hard guidelines to what is correct. The science is in the compliance- meaning you have to find out what works best for you. If you ABSOLUTELY need breakfast, then have your fasting window be from 5pm to 7am. If you are night owl, then keep your fast going until 2pm and have your window be from 2p to 10pm.
• When fasting, in its truest sense, it means no food and as close to zero calories as can be. Water, black coffee, and black tea are acceptable. Black coffee and tea have <5 calories and won’t break your fast. The #1 goal and benefit of fasting is to control insulin response. If insulin levels are raised, you can forget about being in a fasted state. What does this mean? Well for one thing, with the popularity of keto & IF, it is very common to combine the principles. With keto, it is a high fat diet. It is commonplace to start your day with coffee topped off with MCT oil, kerrygold butter, or heavy cream. All FANTASTIC for keto. But, if you are attempting IF, and you have coffee with one of the above ingredients, you just broke your fast. YOU ARE NO LONGER IN A FASTED STATE!!!

The Science:

IF has been shown to lower blood sugar levels, improve insulin resistance, decrease inflammation, lower blood pressure, and have a positive effect on other health markers.

How is it so powerful?

• Helps get you into a calorie deficit (consuming less calories than you’re burning).
• Controlling your insulin levels. Every time you eat, your insulin levels are raised. Insulin is really the only hormone that we are in control of for the most part. If insulin levels are raised, you can forget about losing body fat. Insulin is the main ‘storage’ hormone, storing nutrients either in our muscles or as more predominantly happens, in our fat cells.
• Increases Growth Hormone levels dramatically, in some cases by up to 1300% in women and 2000% in men (for a 24-hour fasted period). Growth hormone is profound at mobilizing body fat for energy and keeping us young.
• IF will get the ‘gut’ environment a break, essentially allowing it to rest and reduce inflammation. This will help with the production of digestion enzymes and a better immune system. (Stress once again depletes digestive enzymes).
• Fasting increases blood flow to your stubborn fat areas (abdomen for men, thighs and glutes for women). You have to get blood flow to an area in order to get the fat out of the cells. In order to do this, blood sugar has to be low and catecholamine levels are high (being in a fasted state accomplishes both).

*Source: Kyle Newell: The Human Strength Experiment

Everyone knows exercise is important, but during this COVID-19 craziness, it needs to be at an all time high on the priority list.

Bottom line: Get your daily workouts in. It could be the Zoom Sessions, the Live FB Workout, a replay of the Live, the 10 minute burners, a walk, a bike ride, gardening, etc. Do something to get your heart rate and break a sweat. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT!!!!

According to University of Virginia Health, Regular exercise may help prevent or reduce the severity of ARDS for those with coronavirus. A single session of exercise increases the production of a critical antioxidant, called EcSOD, helping to reduce the effects of COVID-19 infection.

More of the article…

Regular exercise may reduce the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, a major cause of death in patients with the COVID-19 virus, a top exercise researcher reports. He is urging people to exercise based on his findings, which also suggest a potential treatment approach.

“All you hear now is either social distancing or ventilator, as if all we can do is either avoiding exposure or relying on a ventilator to survive if we get infected,” Yan said. “The flip side of the story is that approximately 80% of confirmed COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms with no need of respiratory support. The question is why. Our findings about an endogenous antioxidant enzyme provide important clues and have intrigued us to develop a novel therapeutic for ARDS caused by COVID-19.”

Article here: https://neurosciencenews.com/coronavirus-exercise-16169/?fbclid=IwAR0F5giQoPAuVdEwXwiyudmOpjthZH0Mlk3oPMxtPnZLFE9twVkb89JeiLA

We’re talking about NEAT today!

NEAT = Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

Basically is talking about all the daily activities that you do, excluding an organized/planned workout, that burns calories. 

NEAT tends to go unnoticed or even forgotten, but studies show that the cumulative effect of all the NEAT you do actually has a larger overall effect on your long term health than your actual workout. 

Things like: 
Riding your bike
Walking 
Gardening
Cleaning the house
Taking stairs instead of elevator
Playing with kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews

This low intensity “exercise” is super important for your heart and controlling stress levels… ESPECIALLY in our current quarantining. 

So, while we’re stuck in quarantine, try to make an effort to increase your daily NEAT. Go on bike rides, go long walks, take a hike on a trail, clean/organize a room your garage 😬

You will burn calories, control stress, and make a long term investment in your health!

Homework: have you done any NEAT that you’ve enjoyed in your quarantine? Are you doing any today?

Started the week off with basics always work. Then, went peeled some layers back with the 100g of carbs/day tip. 

I hope I didn’t confuse you too much with the 100g of carbs/day. 

The basics are an excellent principle. The 100g/day of carbs is an excellent tactic. 

There is a difference.

Don’t get caught up or overanalyze the tactics.

That is generally when we say F*** it and spiral. 

Every. Single. Day. 

1. Did I get 8+ hours of sleep?
2. Did I drink 1/2 my BW in ounces of water?
3. Did I eat 2-3 healthy meals?
4. Did I get a workout in or break a good sweat?

Answer those honestly. If you have those bases covered, venture out & dial in some other tactics. If not, focus on those. 

It’s very similar to a conversation we have with high school athletes at the gym.

“Hey what supplement should I take to get ripped?”

Well…
Did you stay up til 2am on your phone last night? 
Did you eat breakfast?
Did you eat more than a pack of starburst and a bag of flaming hot cheetos for lunch?

As you can imagine, the answers we get to those questions are never good. 

Basics first. Then, move from there. 

Have a WONDERFUL Friday!!!