We've all heard it. "It takes 21 days to make or break a habit". Does it really work? I've always wondered what started such a saying so I did a little digging. Here's what I found.
Where it Started
As far as I could find it began in the 50's with a plastic surgeon who noticed that the phantom pain from certain surgeries would begin to subside about 21 days post-op. He would go on to write a book about the idea and years down the line, like a decades long game of telephone, self-help gurus began latching on to the idea as a catch phrase. They started saying "21 days to make a habit" forgetting the initial part of the idea that it takes 21 days to BEGIN noticing the change.
You see, the 21 day mark is where you start to notice that the new thing really has the ability to become a part of you. You begin to make peace with it. But you are not adept at it just yet. Come on, did you really think you could quit smoking, give up soda, run 3 miles a day, read each night, stop using your Facebook after 7pm (yeah, right!), etc. in just 21 days?! The only research done around this area has shown that even the simplest of habits takes about 66 days to build! Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, it could take a year or more. Ask anyone who has successfully quit smoking, gotten sober from anything, or mastered any skill, it takes constant work to stay successful.
What You Can Do
Mastery of something takes a lifetime! But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't start. It does mean though, that you must be in it for the long haul. Creating a good habit or breaking a bad one is a journey, not a destination. Rather than try it only to fall off the wagon on day 22 just because you made it 21 days, commit to it for the long haul. Just know that after 21 days of doing it (or not doing it) you'll BEGIN to notice it really might become a part of you.
Here are a 3 tips to get/keep you going:
1) Don't get fooled by the Honeymoon Phase. The first few days may seem easy, like this is going to be no sweat. It might be that way (depending on what you are tackling), be prepared for a fight, and soon.
2) Win the fight thru moments. How? We are the sum of our thoughts. Kill off negative self talk and remind yourself why you wanted to this. Give yourself positive self talk and focus on success in that moment. You may not always be able to control the end result, but you can control your attitude and your effort when you want to give up the most. Lose a fight thru moment, and you'll give yourself permission to lose again and again. FIGHT THRU!
3) Don't let hiccups become road blocks. So you lost a fight thru moment. To borrow a phrase from my days as a hockey goalie, "you gotta have a short term memory". It means if you let one by, don't let it be the reason you let the next one by. Give yourself room to grow and get better. You're not perfect, but you are trying to be better which goes back to the fight thru moments. Here comes another. Are you going to fight to win? Or are you just putting on a show but have decided to lose already? Remember, you can control your attitude and your effort in these moments. Use it to propel yourself toward success.
Showing posts with label Nutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nutrition. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2017
Monday, January 16, 2017
Resolutions are hard...
We're 16 days deep into 2017. Are you sticking with your resolution? Have you started to slip? Having worked in the fitness industry now for over 10 years, usually about now motivation begins to wain and attendance in gyms start to slide. Commitment to your new diet has already hit a stumbling block or two. That book you said you would get read has gone a day or two with out having turned a page (ok, that may be my confession). The homework for that class you signed up for is starting to weigh on you.
Resolutions...crap their hard.
That's the thing about something like a "New Year Resolution", you start out on fire and sputter out rather quickly. Why? I mean, you were full of gusto just a few days ago, why did the passion fade away so quickly?
Much like a passing fad, the passion for the event or goal lives in the novelty of it. The idea seems great because you know you'll be better for it, but you rapidly grow weary of that idea as life takes it toll on your motivation.
Motivation. Such a dirty little word. Motivation is fickle. It seems hopelessly lost when you need it most, then POOF, there it is at 11pm when you're trying to sleep. Stupid sleep. I guess I really didn't need it anyway.
Here's the secret: forget motivation. What you need is discipline. In order to have discipline, you must have a written out (or typed up) plan that lays out what you will do in spite of motivations presence. It's a prescription that must be followed that helps you take the steps you said you would take in order to get you to the goal you want to achieve.
Screw motivation. It will always leave you in the worst moments like a bad boyfriend/girlfriend. Discipline is the one to marry. It will see you thru the good times and the bad.
Discipline is what makes dreams come true.
Resolutions...crap their hard.
That's the thing about something like a "New Year Resolution", you start out on fire and sputter out rather quickly. Why? I mean, you were full of gusto just a few days ago, why did the passion fade away so quickly?
Much like a passing fad, the passion for the event or goal lives in the novelty of it. The idea seems great because you know you'll be better for it, but you rapidly grow weary of that idea as life takes it toll on your motivation.
Motivation. Such a dirty little word. Motivation is fickle. It seems hopelessly lost when you need it most, then POOF, there it is at 11pm when you're trying to sleep. Stupid sleep. I guess I really didn't need it anyway.
Here's the secret: forget motivation. What you need is discipline. In order to have discipline, you must have a written out (or typed up) plan that lays out what you will do in spite of motivations presence. It's a prescription that must be followed that helps you take the steps you said you would take in order to get you to the goal you want to achieve.
Screw motivation. It will always leave you in the worst moments like a bad boyfriend/girlfriend. Discipline is the one to marry. It will see you thru the good times and the bad.
Discipline is what makes dreams come true.
Monday, September 28, 2015
The Best Supplements on the Planet
Okay. I finally caved. I am going to talk about what everyone wants me to talk about (if you know me, you know I hate doing what everyone wants). I am going to tell you what I think are the best supplements are for any category. Yes, websites like bodybuilding.com have ratings for this and give away consumer voted awards for it every year. But these are all based on user experience and have no science to back up why any of these brands make the best stuff or which product is actually better than another. That's where I come in. And without further ado, the best supplements on the planet are...
Food.
That's right. Food. Nope, not the stuff you bought at GNC that "guarantees" you'll gain 100lbs of muscle and look like a fitness model in just 6 weeks.
Sorry, the $60 fat burner that guy just sold you has nothing on good ol' fashioned food.
What's that? But Herbalife/Shakeology/ViSalus/AdvoCare changed your life? Nope. Sorry. Still bullcrap. The product didn't change your metabolism.
The cleanse you just did. The wrap thing you just tried...it's all smoke and mirrors. I know. I can prove it. I have proven it. Over and over, to client after client. The product you use makes basically no difference what-so-ever. What matters is this: when you use those products it (for the most part) makes you stick to a regimented eating plan that is typically weighed and measured amounts of...food.
So why is the supplement industry a $37 billion dollar a year industry? Is there science behind what they do? What about all the "results"?
The answers to those questions are as follows: Marketing. Yes. They speak volumes to making sure you buy the product (see: Marketing). 90% of what these companies care about is sales. To accomplish this they only show you success stories. They don't show you the 99.9% of people who use the product under the pretense that if they just use it their fitness/wellness/happiness with their body image will change yet it never happens.
Why? Because the human body needs food. The right amount of the right kinds. Your body needs carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water to function on a daily basis. That's it. It gets all of those things from real food. Not from the $90 tub of powder at the local supplement warehouse, although it may contain some if not most of those things, your body still needs food. Real, actual food. In the right ratios, meaning portion control and in many instances meal planning will be essential to accomplishing that (dang! And you were hoping you could just wing it).
Alright, this is starting to feel like a bit of a bait and switch. So which supplements really are the best on the planet? The ones that get you to stick to a program where you eat food and SUPPLEMENT you diet with the products. That's why they're called SUPPLEMENTS. As in "in addition to" or "in aid of" not "in place of" food. Also, supplements are usually used best in conjunction with others, aka, stacks. Stacks are not one size fits all and the best way to figure out your best stack is to work with a knowledgeable, reputable trainer, dietitian, or nutritionist (shameless self plug) to get on the right track.
Still want to build a supplement stack? At CrossFit Crossroads we use Driven Nutrition (drivennutrtion.net) products as well as a few others we have found work well with most people. Work with one of our degreed and certified coaches to build your stack and we can save you a few dollars instead of buying retail. We can also help you with that whole "meal plan" thing I was saying might have some importance. Head to our Coach's Page to contact a coach and get started today. Mention the blog and get your initial consult for free. Mic drop.
Food.
That's right. Food. Nope, not the stuff you bought at GNC that "guarantees" you'll gain 100lbs of muscle and look like a fitness model in just 6 weeks.
Sorry, the $60 fat burner that guy just sold you has nothing on good ol' fashioned food.
What's that? But Herbalife/Shakeology/ViSalus/AdvoCare changed your life? Nope. Sorry. Still bullcrap. The product didn't change your metabolism.
The cleanse you just did. The wrap thing you just tried...it's all smoke and mirrors. I know. I can prove it. I have proven it. Over and over, to client after client. The product you use makes basically no difference what-so-ever. What matters is this: when you use those products it (for the most part) makes you stick to a regimented eating plan that is typically weighed and measured amounts of...food.
So why is the supplement industry a $37 billion dollar a year industry? Is there science behind what they do? What about all the "results"?
The answers to those questions are as follows: Marketing. Yes. They speak volumes to making sure you buy the product (see: Marketing). 90% of what these companies care about is sales. To accomplish this they only show you success stories. They don't show you the 99.9% of people who use the product under the pretense that if they just use it their fitness/wellness/happiness with their body image will change yet it never happens.
Why? Because the human body needs food. The right amount of the right kinds. Your body needs carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water to function on a daily basis. That's it. It gets all of those things from real food. Not from the $90 tub of powder at the local supplement warehouse, although it may contain some if not most of those things, your body still needs food. Real, actual food. In the right ratios, meaning portion control and in many instances meal planning will be essential to accomplishing that (dang! And you were hoping you could just wing it).
Alright, this is starting to feel like a bit of a bait and switch. So which supplements really are the best on the planet? The ones that get you to stick to a program where you eat food and SUPPLEMENT you diet with the products. That's why they're called SUPPLEMENTS. As in "in addition to" or "in aid of" not "in place of" food. Also, supplements are usually used best in conjunction with others, aka, stacks. Stacks are not one size fits all and the best way to figure out your best stack is to work with a knowledgeable, reputable trainer, dietitian, or nutritionist (shameless self plug) to get on the right track.
Still want to build a supplement stack? At CrossFit Crossroads we use Driven Nutrition (drivennutrtion.net) products as well as a few others we have found work well with most people. Work with one of our degreed and certified coaches to build your stack and we can save you a few dollars instead of buying retail. We can also help you with that whole "meal plan" thing I was saying might have some importance. Head to our Coach's Page to contact a coach and get started today. Mention the blog and get your initial consult for free. Mic drop.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Brandon's Nutrition Formula
I get asked often "What should I be eating?" Or, "What diet is the best?" The simple answer to the second is, the one you'll stick to, forever. Not just for a few weeks or months, but one you can make into a lifestyle. As for what should you be eating? Well, here is my recommendation after 10 years of tinkering to find what's simple and effective. I call it The PaleoFlexZone.
The Paleo Diet
This is arguably...ok no argument, this is THE best tool for teaching you what foods to eat. The Paleo Diet is restricted to eating veggies, meats, nuts and seeds and fruits. That's it. No grains. No beans (that means peanuts too). No dairy (milk products). No artificial (or "natural" labeled) anything. This is, without question, the best way to teach your body to eat whole, real food basically all the time. If you find yourself constantly eating from boxes and bags, start here for a while. It'll learn ya real fast. It isn't easy, but it is simple and effective. The draw back here is the totalitarian restrictiveness of this method. It becomes excessively difficult to stay on point as you try and eat with and around other people.
The Flex Diet (a.k.a. If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM))
The advantage of the Flex Diet is that it leverages the fact that humans are omnivores and can make energy out of anything we eat. It tells us that as long as your are hitting your calorie count via making it to your macro-nutrient goals you can control your...wait for it...GAAIIINNNZZZZ! (I just threw up in my mouth a little). Meaning your can control your fat loss, muscle growth, and overall performance buy setting specific goals in grams per day of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and hitting them exact (or as near as possible with out going over) each day. I hate how bro-sciencey it sounds, but it's backed by actual science and it works without question. The draw back is that the only restriction it has is caloric. Although Flex Diet "recommends" eating a clean, healthy diet, many folks who eat this way eat poor quality food because it fits their macros.
The Zone Diet
The Zone Diet has been around since the 1970's. The whole premise is balance. Many diets are so carbohydrate biased that getting all of the essential macro and micro nutrients is difficult. The Zone hands us a macro-nutrient balance of 40-30-30. 40% of your calories come from carbs, 30% from proteins, and 30% from fats. This is very effective and makes it more possible to get all or most of your carbohydrate calories from vegetables. This also makes it a great partner for the Paleo diet. The problem with this diet is the way Dr. Sears set up the "blocks". Blocks are used to get people to eat good and correct amounts of each macro-nutrient, but the calculations are flawed and out of date. It also has odd restrictions on it's recommendations of "good" carbs and "bad" carbs.
The PaleoFlexZone
I am a proponent of balance. Ebbs and flows that allow life to happen well and leave us feeling better than we did the day before. The combination of these 3 diets gives us, in my estimation, the best balance for how to eat. Start with the Paleo diet, learn quality foods. Move to the Zone and learn how to portion those foods. Add the Flex Diet in to zero in on the absolute numbers to be in real control over the calories going into your body. The Flex Diet usually sets calories off of 50-55% of calories from carbohydrates on active days, and drops them on inactive days. The PaleoFlex Zone is this: 1) The bulk of your diet should be as strict Paleo as you can tolerate. 2) Use the 40-30-30 Zone balance with total daily calories based off of .7-1.0 grams of protein per pound you weigh. 3) Use the Flex Diet to track those numbers as a whole, as well as allowing yourself to eat not-paleo when it is difficult to do so or when you're in a social setting (see my blog from August 24th about this). This means looking at an egg as fats and proteins, not just proteins or milk as carbs, proteins, and fats or oatmeal as carbs and proteins, or...well you get the picture. It also means allowing yourself to have a meal or snack here or there that is totally not paleo, but you're ok with that. MyFitnessPal (no affiliation here, it's just what I use to help me, they are not paying me... although, I wish they would) is a great mobile app to help you set your calories and macro balance and then track it very closely.
Doing this takes discipline. This is simple, but it is not easy at first. You will struggle with willpower. You will want to quit. You will want to skip logging that fun size snickers you just ate, or that handful of skittles, or that "Sugar-Free/Low-Calorie" mocha-choca-bull-crap you just drank. Tough. Do it. Make yourself aware of where your calories are coming from. Buy a food scale. Weigh and measure everything that goes in your mouth.
If you want to make a change you have to be willing to do something you have never done before. You want to lose weight? Guess what? You gotta track your food intake (a.k.a. diet) and get your butt off the couch. You want to learn to play guitar (a personal goal of mine)? Guess what? You have to buy a guitar and start learning and practicing. None of this stuff is easy, but it works and it's worth it.
You should do it because you're worth it. You are worth more than the handbag you couldn't afford in the first place. You are worth more than the 8 hour Netflix binge in which you just indulged. You are worth more than you think. Are you willing to stop treating your body like a dumpster and more like the high performance machine that it was designed to be on the first place? Time to dust off the work ethic and get going.
Need help? Head to www.crossfitcrossroads.com (link is to our coaches page) and contact one of our coaches to get started on a PaleoFlexZone Plan and begin learning how valuable your health really is.
The Paleo Diet
This is arguably...ok no argument, this is THE best tool for teaching you what foods to eat. The Paleo Diet is restricted to eating veggies, meats, nuts and seeds and fruits. That's it. No grains. No beans (that means peanuts too). No dairy (milk products). No artificial (or "natural" labeled) anything. This is, without question, the best way to teach your body to eat whole, real food basically all the time. If you find yourself constantly eating from boxes and bags, start here for a while. It'll learn ya real fast. It isn't easy, but it is simple and effective. The draw back here is the totalitarian restrictiveness of this method. It becomes excessively difficult to stay on point as you try and eat with and around other people.
The Flex Diet (a.k.a. If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM))
The advantage of the Flex Diet is that it leverages the fact that humans are omnivores and can make energy out of anything we eat. It tells us that as long as your are hitting your calorie count via making it to your macro-nutrient goals you can control your...wait for it...GAAIIINNNZZZZ! (I just threw up in my mouth a little). Meaning your can control your fat loss, muscle growth, and overall performance buy setting specific goals in grams per day of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and hitting them exact (or as near as possible with out going over) each day. I hate how bro-sciencey it sounds, but it's backed by actual science and it works without question. The draw back is that the only restriction it has is caloric. Although Flex Diet "recommends" eating a clean, healthy diet, many folks who eat this way eat poor quality food because it fits their macros.
The Zone Diet
The Zone Diet has been around since the 1970's. The whole premise is balance. Many diets are so carbohydrate biased that getting all of the essential macro and micro nutrients is difficult. The Zone hands us a macro-nutrient balance of 40-30-30. 40% of your calories come from carbs, 30% from proteins, and 30% from fats. This is very effective and makes it more possible to get all or most of your carbohydrate calories from vegetables. This also makes it a great partner for the Paleo diet. The problem with this diet is the way Dr. Sears set up the "blocks". Blocks are used to get people to eat good and correct amounts of each macro-nutrient, but the calculations are flawed and out of date. It also has odd restrictions on it's recommendations of "good" carbs and "bad" carbs.
The PaleoFlexZone
I am a proponent of balance. Ebbs and flows that allow life to happen well and leave us feeling better than we did the day before. The combination of these 3 diets gives us, in my estimation, the best balance for how to eat. Start with the Paleo diet, learn quality foods. Move to the Zone and learn how to portion those foods. Add the Flex Diet in to zero in on the absolute numbers to be in real control over the calories going into your body. The Flex Diet usually sets calories off of 50-55% of calories from carbohydrates on active days, and drops them on inactive days. The PaleoFlex Zone is this: 1) The bulk of your diet should be as strict Paleo as you can tolerate. 2) Use the 40-30-30 Zone balance with total daily calories based off of .7-1.0 grams of protein per pound you weigh. 3) Use the Flex Diet to track those numbers as a whole, as well as allowing yourself to eat not-paleo when it is difficult to do so or when you're in a social setting (see my blog from August 24th about this). This means looking at an egg as fats and proteins, not just proteins or milk as carbs, proteins, and fats or oatmeal as carbs and proteins, or...well you get the picture. It also means allowing yourself to have a meal or snack here or there that is totally not paleo, but you're ok with that. MyFitnessPal (no affiliation here, it's just what I use to help me, they are not paying me... although, I wish they would) is a great mobile app to help you set your calories and macro balance and then track it very closely.
Doing this takes discipline. This is simple, but it is not easy at first. You will struggle with willpower. You will want to quit. You will want to skip logging that fun size snickers you just ate, or that handful of skittles, or that "Sugar-Free/Low-Calorie" mocha-choca-bull-crap you just drank. Tough. Do it. Make yourself aware of where your calories are coming from. Buy a food scale. Weigh and measure everything that goes in your mouth.
If you want to make a change you have to be willing to do something you have never done before. You want to lose weight? Guess what? You gotta track your food intake (a.k.a. diet) and get your butt off the couch. You want to learn to play guitar (a personal goal of mine)? Guess what? You have to buy a guitar and start learning and practicing. None of this stuff is easy, but it works and it's worth it.
You should do it because you're worth it. You are worth more than the handbag you couldn't afford in the first place. You are worth more than the 8 hour Netflix binge in which you just indulged. You are worth more than you think. Are you willing to stop treating your body like a dumpster and more like the high performance machine that it was designed to be on the first place? Time to dust off the work ethic and get going.
Need help? Head to www.crossfitcrossroads.com (link is to our coaches page) and contact one of our coaches to get started on a PaleoFlexZone Plan and begin learning how valuable your health really is.
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