Year of Push 4.4 Were You Meant For More?

I want & deserve a life that is so much bigger than food obsession.

I want & deserve a body I feel great in.

I want more than obesity.

I want more than unhappiness.

I want more than insecurity.

But, wanting & deserving doesn’t create change. 

Only I can do that. 

I decided not to settle for the life I had been living. A life of overeating, constantly indulging, severely restricting, always being tired & sad.

I was meant for more than that & I decided to work for it. 

Sometimes, it was as straight forward as seeing binary choices:

  • choices that create the life I want
  • choices that anchor me to a life I don’t

Life is short. It can be amazing or it can be empty. Most of that depends on what you decide to choose, day in and day out.

I’ll be talking more about this on the podcast, because I think it’s so important and I don’t want you to miss out on your best life. I think you were meant for more, too. Much more.

Today’s workout didn’t look bad on paper but holy hell was it rough!

“Escape from Wonderland”
3 Rounds:
75 double unders
50 Air Squats
25/18 Calorie Row (the slash means men do 25 and women do 18)

Let me just tell you: my legs were TOAST after that workout! Man, it was a great one! Hard as nails but so good!

On the food front:

Today is a travel day but I’ve packed my Paleo Power Meals. It is a holiday weekend in the states so I wanted to make today really clean to boost my energy and create a little margin for some drinks this weekend.

After my workout I had 2 grilled chicken strips and while working from a Starbucks later in the afternoon, I pulled out a cobb salad from my backpack. I totally don’t care if people look at me sideways! It was delicious and it makes me feel so much better than most takeout.

I felt hungry as it got closer to evening but I decided not to snack because I was going out to eat. I prefer to be hungry for my meals versus just “ready to eat”.

I went out for dinner and had salmon & tuna sashimi and 1 piece of a spicy eel roll. Oh, and some broccoli.

This weekend I’ll definitely enjoy a couple drinks, but I’m going to pick one day on which I’ll enjoy them, instead of justifying something special each day for several days. That just works best for me.

Love you guys! Be safe this weekend and make yourself feel amazing!

PS: If you’re new to these posts, listen to this podcast episode to get the scoop on what changes I’m making in my life and you can start back at my first daily post here.

Year of Push 4.3 Best Advice

The other day on Instagram, I shared advice from Marcus Aurelius. Meditations, a publication of his personal journals, begins with him recounting some of the best advice he received from friends, family & teachers. Some of my favorites include:

  • hear unwelcome truths
  • be a man of both strength & flexibility
  • self control & resistance to distractions
  • if I’ve failed it’s no one’s fault but mine
  • do my own work, mind my own business & have no time for slanderers.

In that Instagram post, I asked others to share some of the best advice they have received. One of my favorites was “nothing beats a failure like a try”.

Nothing beats a failure like a try.

When you’re feeling down, when you feel like you’ve dropped the ball or failed, respond by trying. Try again, try harder & never stop trying.

We all have these pieces of sage advice, but what are we doing with them. Are they just clever sound bites? To what extend does your behavior reflect this advice.

Put it to action.

As always, life served up a great chance for me to practice today. This workout was a heck of a lot harder than it looked and my grip was really taxed after just the first round.

“Get a Grip”
AMRAP 15:
15 Toes-to-Bar
15 Hand Release-Push-ups
150m KB Farmers Carry (70’s/53’s)

My hands were burning and my forearms were cramping. I kept telling myself: you don’t have to stop, you just want to. One more step. One more second. The workout begins when it gets hard. The work begins when you want to quit. That’s when it begins to count!

On the food front:

I have no issue eating non-breakfast foods at breakfast time. I think it’s probably because I get up so early and don’t eat until 4-6 hours after I wake. Maybe in my mind, it seems like lunch.

Anyways, after my workout, around 10am I had pork short ribs & sautéed cabbage. It’s the Paleo Power Meals weekly special & I absolutely love it.

Around 1pm I had a cobb salad and then was out of the house for several hours. While I was out, I grabbed a bag of Rhythm Naked Beet Chips. You guessed it – they’re dried beets. I don’t do a whole lot of starchy veggies (I feel best when minimizing them) but these were good. Of course, if you don’t like beets, you won’t like these, but I’ll grab them again in a pinch! (I’m never really “in a pinch” – it’s not going to kill me or even hurt me to go several hours without food. But I’d eat them again if I wanted a snack).

When I got home around 6:30pm so I had chicken & broccoli with cauli rice and some Halo Top ice cream.

After a solid day of training and choices I’m proud of, I’m feeling pretty darn good!

PS: If you’re new to these posts, listen to this podcast episode to get the scoop on what changes I’m making in my life and you can start back at my first daily post here.

354: Tackling Food Addiction & Feeling Powerless

354: Tackling Food Addiction & Feeling Powerless

Are there foods that you feel have more power than you do? Like once you stop with that certain thing, you just can’t stop? Do you ever feel like you’re addicted to sugar?

I’ve certainly been there and so has one of my clients, with whom I’m chatting on today’s episode.

After losing 100 pounds, she convinced herself that she had been addicted to certain foods and she didn’t have the power or self-control to include them in her life. For a time, that perspective really served her. It helped her keep the weight off and consistently make quality food choices.

However, things changed and she realized she wanted to trust that she has far more control than any food, at any time. She wanted to find her own power and move beyond the idea that food was more powerful than she was.

Today we chat about finding your power, overcoming fear and a different approach to the idea of food addiction.

Listen Now

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Resources:

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Year of Push 4.2 DO WORK

You know, I’m a little heated today. We’ll call it passionate. It happens often.

After my workout today, I stayed at the gym to do some skill work towards a particular fitness goal I have.

The workout was really challenging & I was tired. I was hungry & absolutely would have preferred to head right home to eat. But, I didn’t. I stayed and I kept working because this goal matters to me and I know it takes effort – daily effort.

I stepped away from the crowds of the gym and did the work on my own. I didn’t do it to impress anyone. I didn’t do it to get credit from my coach, it was for me.

While I worked, I realized that this was a goal I hoped to hit in April. Here it is, almost July, and I haven’t made it yet.

Does that frustrate me? No. Does it make me work less hard because, “what’s the point?” No.

I’m making progress. I’m stronger and more agile today than I was last month & the month before.

Setting a goal is arbitrary. That date you pick by which you hope to lose 10 lbs or run a mile without walking or fit into those jeans – it’s a target. It’s a hope. It’s a starting point.

It blows my mind how many people lose heart & throttle back when they don’t hit it.

You have to persevere. You have to do work. You cannot quit and expect to arrive.

You know, when I was in the process of paying off $130K in debt, not one single month went according to plan. I didn’t hit the expected payoff on ANY month along our 18-24 month journey. Not once.

You know what though? We were still making progress.

And if you’re not making progress: change your actions. Do the work. Get more consistent. Get more strategic, or all of the above.

Please, stop wasting energy being dramatic about your missed deadlines or disappointing choices.

Move on. Do work.

If you aren’t getting stronger, leaner or whatever your goal is: do work. Ask for help. Get a coach. Increase your consistency.

But for the love, stop making excuses and being a victim of your own choices. It’s a terrible waste of energy and potential and it certainly won’t help you create the life you want.

Do work. Then do it again. Pay attention to your results and keep showing up to do the work.

And while you’re at it: make it fun. Recruit your friends. Try new recipes, wear a new style of clothes, get a new hairstyle, try a new type of workout.

Whatever you do, stop getting so dramatic about your timelines. Make progress, do work, have fun, repeat.

That workout today…I am PROUD of it!

“Up Front”
Front Squat – Heavy Single
Push Press – Heavy Single
Thruster – Heavy Single

EMOMx 10:
Odd Minutes: 200m Run
Even Minutes – 5 Thrusters

I was super proud of my heavy front squat & my push press & thrusters are coming along beautifully. I did decide to adjust the EMOM to align more with my personal fitness goals. Instead of a 200m run, I did a 100m sprint. I cared more about speed and heart rate than distance for this workout and it ended up being a perfect choice for me!

On the food front:

After my workout I had greek yogurt with cacao and cashews for breakfast  – oh man did this hit the spot! I don’t do a lot of dairy but I really enjoy it when I do!

Around noon time I had a cobb salad from Paleo Power Meals and I added extra grilled chicken to it to make sure it really satisfied me completely until dinner.

Dinner was the Paleo Power Meals special of the week – pork short ribs with cabbage. I absolutely LOVE cabbage and was pumped to see it as part of the special this week! Nom nom nom. I love food!

If you try Paleo Power Meals, be sure to use the coupon code ebprimal20 to save 20% on your first order! And definitely let me know what you love most!

PS: If you’re new to these posts, listen to this podcast episode to get the scoop on what changes I’m making in my life and you can start back at my first daily post here.

How Much Can You Change In 12 Weeks?

How much can you change in 12 weeks?

A whole hell of a lot.

If you will, walk through this exercise with me.

I want you to think about your ultimate goals. I want you to think, seriously, about who and how you want to be. In as much detail as possible, write out answers to the following questions.

  • What do you want your life to look like?
  • What do you want your body to look like?
  • How do you want to spend your time?
  • What kinds of habits do you want to have?

Now, imagine that you ARE that person. Right now, you’ve achieved all you want to achieve and you are living the life  you want to live in the body & with the ultimate health you desire.

As that kind of person, what kind of choices do you make? What does a typical day look like?

Stay with me – this will be really powerful if you do it. Let’s go through an example.

  • I want to wake up and immediately feel proud of & comfortable in my body
  • I want to look forward to getting dressed each morning, feeling confident in everything I put on
  • I want to workout daily, bringing my best effort and building strength & endurance
  • I want to eagerly choose real food and never eat to the point of feeling stuffed or regretful
  • I want relationships full of love, laughter and positive energy

You get the point – take the time to define your ultimate outcome – the life you want.

Then, imagining that I am that person, I’ll look at how my days would go. If I had achieved those goals, what kinds of choices would I make on the daily to be that person:

  • I’d wake up with a positive attitude
  • I’d show love to those who matter most to me and I’d create opportunities for laughter
  • I’d take annoyances less seriously
  • I’d prioritize working out
  • I’d push myself in each workout
  • I’d choose whole foods and minimize sugar & processed foods to ensure I don’t struggle with cravings
  • I’d be mindful of when I was hungry & satisfied to make sure I don’t cross the line into stuffed or regretful

Ok. You have YOUR lists, right? Don’t use my example – create yours based on what you want.

Here’s the last step…

What would happen if, right now, you started living your days like the one you’ve described and you built increasing consistency, day after day?

What if, for 12 weeks, you focused on daily improvements and instead of seeking consistency in perfection, you committed to consistency in progress?

After 12 weeks, 84 days of progress & attentiveness, you could change a whole hell of a lot, eh?

You could lose weight. You could increase your fitness. Become more confident. Have more energy. Eliminate cravings. Be happier. Enjoy life more. Right? Of course. If you did the work…

How many 12 week cycles have you let slip by?

Can we please draw a line in the sand & stop wasting time?

Can we start doing the work, making the progress, and taking small steps forward each day? You’re so worth it. Life is so worth it. Confidence is so worth it. Happiness is so worth it.

That ideal you wish for is absolutely possible for you!

I would love the opportunity to help you create it, one small step at a time, during the summer Fat Loss Fast Track. It kicks off on July 9th and you can learn more & register here.

If you want to know what some of my spring Fat Loss Fast Trackers are saying about their 12 weeks, here are a few thoughts straight from them! They have done exactly what I just described: committed to daily small steps toward their ideal. They’re transforming and it’s amazing.

It’s possible for you, too.

“I actually ended up losing 29 pounds through this process, even through the ups and challenging weeks.  Yes, that’s great, but I’m more excited about my Mindset and everything that is coming from the tools you teach.  I believe in ME and I thank you for showing me the way to do this.”

“Yesterday I could not ignore the fact that my jeans fresh out of the dryer were in danger of falling off after an hour of wear. Also my monthly stitch fix items were all too big!”

“This has been a very, very powerful change in perspective and I feel like there is nothing holding me back.  I have basically thrown out my bag of excuses and I am committed to bringing forward my best self, because I know that I can.  It’s like putting together a puzzle, all the pieces, the podcasts, the FLFT, the level up lectures are all in place and a clear picture has started to emerge.  Hard has become easy!”

“I didn’t implement everything perfectly and there’s definitely room for more effort and more improvements. BUT, I did lose 10 pounds and a bunch of inches which means I’m in a smaller size (yay!).”

If you want to hear more about the Fat Loss Fast Track, listen to episode 352 of the Primal Potential podcast. Registration will close in the next few days so don’t wait!

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