I needed a little fresh air this afternoon so I took a quick break to carry my trash out. Yup, that’s what a break looked like today. Anyways, while I was walking, a thought popped into my head:
Joy is something I create, not something I consume.
I’ve shared with you guys the deep, scary details of my past binges. I’d get more “pleasure” from planning to binge than I would from actually eating the food. Nonetheless, I thought eating brought me pleasure.
I never thought, however, that food filled me with joy. In fact, I was very much aware that there was very little joy in my life.
I know that many of you still cling to food and argue that it helps – that it calms you down, helps you manage emotion or is something you really enjoy.
I won’t try to argue any of those points with you, but I just want to reiterate the thought that came to me today:
Joy is something you create, not something you consume.
I drifted from joy for a long time. I didn’t know how to get it back.
I am now very intentional about creating joy. When I’m not sure how to do it, I’ll just try something. I’ll take a risk or say “yes” to an adventure. I’ll sing out loud. I’ll play & be silly. I’ll try to be more child-like. More spontaneous. More open.
I create situations where I can say, “Screw it, let’s do it!” instead of choosing to stay in my comfortable bubble.
Joy doesn’t consume from food consumption, media consumption, alcohol consumption – joy isn’t consumed. It’s created.
How can you create joy? If you aren’t sure, what are some things you could try?
I really loved today’s workout, even though it was hard as hell. It was my first time squatting under a barbell in probably 4 weeks & it felt pretty good. Hard, but good.
The front squats took every ounce of energy I had for reps 8-10. After the workout I went for a short walk to catch my breath and keep my blood flowing. While many people drop to the ground after a workout, I never do. I’ve got to stay moving. Physically, I think it helps me recover faster. I also keep moving as a practice in slowing down my breathing intentionally instead of just flopping around on the ground until my heart rate slows. It’s a skill I want to build so I practice.
On the food front:
Two days in a row with the bulletproof coffee. As I mentioned yesterday, I don’t drink it very often but I enjoyed it yesterday so had it again this morning, before my workout.
Around 10am I had a simplified cabbage salad bowl with raw cabbage, a little bacon, 1 hard boiled egg and half an avocado.
I’m headed out to do some car shopping this afternoon and plan to get a large coffee as a treat to keep me happy during the arduous process.
I’m going out to dinner tonight and since I’ve got a big weekend of celebrating ahead, I’ll be keeping the food choices super clean tonight. Veggies, a little protein, some fat. No starch. No alcohol. No sugar.
For details on navigating the weekend, make sure you’re following me on Instagram & Anchor!
I can totally appreciate thinking about & classifying food based on whether it helps you achieve your physique goals or not. However, that’s a limited perspective that can come back to bite you.
When you only think of food through the filter of weight loss/weight gain or indulging/not indulging, you’re really missing some critically important considerations for your health, energy and vitality.
Food is so much more than fat loss (or fat gain). Food is the raw materials with which your body repairs and maintains itself. Food is one of the most influential factors driving how well, or poorly, your body operates. Food determines if you are creating health or creating illness.
The foods you choose can trigger inflammation or relieve inflammation. That might not sound like a really important thing but it is. If you are ignoring the inflammatory impact of your food, you’re in trouble.
In fact, if you think you don’t need to worry about inflammation, that’s a huge red flag that you need to stop & spend some time understanding what we’re talking about.
Inflammation increases appetite. It triggers cravings. It slows fat loss. It leads to brain fog & trouble focusing. It reduces energy. It causes headaches, joint pain, slow recovery, impaired immune response, cellular dysfunction, cholesterol problems, sexual dysfunction and much more.
You know how you feel bloated sometimes? There’s a good chance that’s not just water but also inflammation!
When people talk about inflammation, they almost naturally default to considering anti-inflammatories. They want to know which supplements and ingredients reduce inflammation.
I don’t want you to think about it that way.
Think about it this way: if you are continually stoking a fire with logs, sticks and kindling, what’s the best way to put out the fire? Stop fueling it, right?
You wouldn’t continue to load fuel into the fire while wondering about the impact of spritzing a water on it, would you?
That’s how we need to think about systemic inflammation that is leaving us hungry, tired, grumpy, achy and sick. We first need to think about how to stop stoking the inflammatory fires.
I went into a bit of detail about this on today’s podcast, episode 376, but I really wanted to write about it here in hopes that you’ll take it seriously, listen attentively and make some changes.
Here are some of the ways I manage inflammation in my own body:
I minimize sugar
I rarely consume gluten
I watch my consumption of nuts – I don’t go overboard like I used to
You don’t have to be a purist, but I want to strongly encourage you to think about the inflammatory effects of food, not just the fat loss effects of food. Please take 25 minutes to listen to today’s podcast! It really matters.
Another way I limit inflammation is by caring for my body after my workouts. Today’s workout was really rough on my forearms and grip!
Instead of leaving the gym feeling achy & sore, I took the extra time to roll out my forearms and stretch. When I got home I iced my knee. I’ll make sure to foam roll again later. To me, this is about working with your body versus fighting against it.
On the food front:
First, I told you guys I’d update you on dinner last night – I had a lamb burger without the bun & some avocado. I drank water.
This morning I had two eggs after my workout. For lunch I made a large salad bowl with cabbage, avocado, bacon and Primal Kitchen Chipotle Mayo.
Dinner is super simple: a wild caught salmon filet and broccoli with clarified butter.
There is a way to reduce hunger, minimize cravings, burn more fat, have more energy and dramatically improve your health that very few people are talking about: reducing internal inflammation.
We are missing the boat when we think of inflammation only as pain & swelling. It’s so much more than that. Inflammation that we can’t see or feel in the traditional way is often responsible for cravings, hunger, brain fog, headaches, acne, constipation, bloating, trouble losing weight, and so much more.
However, when we talk about the impact of inflammation, most people jump to considering anti-inflammatory foods & supplements. That’s not the best way to go!
That’s kind of like trying to put out a fire with water while you continue to stoke it with logs & newspaper.
Step one when trying to put out a fire is: stop fueling it!
In today’s episode we’re talking about strategies to stop fueling the fire of inflammation.
Last year I went out to dinner with my mom & my sister. As we waited for our meal I asked if they would indulge me in a little experiment. I wanted one of them to share a problem or a challenge they were having but they had to share it in the form of a question.
Then, we could only respond to her about this challenge or problem with questions.
If you’ve worked with me, you know I’m a huge fan of questions. I agree with Tony Robbins who says that the quality of your life depends on the quality of the questions you ask yourself. I always add to that “and the honesty with which you answer”.
I wanted to go through this exercise with my mom & sister because I was thinking about including this as an exercise at ASCEND last year in Nashville. I believed that the activity would:
Remove our tendency to defend our point
Focus on curiosity instead of criticism
Drive towards solutions instead of arguing for the problem
My sister offered to share a problem and I kind of panicked when she shared a problem related to her finances.
See, since we were in high school, Debi and I have agreed to not talk about money. I’m much more frugal than she is. She’s struggled with money since her very first job. She’s a social worker with a lot of debt and had been living paycheck to paycheck.
In the past, when we have talked about money, we’ve argued.
She has defended herself and clung to her limitations. I have criticized her and repeated the same solutions. It never ends well. We both get defensive. We both get frustrated. We both cling to our positions and nothing productive happens.
So at this dinner, when Debi led with the question about her financial troubles, I know I wasn’t the only one at the table thinking, “Oh boy…here we go…” I’m pretty sure my mom was holding her breath…
Debi asked, “How do I balance working several jobs to earn money and pay down debt with living the life I want?”
We had an amazingly productive conversation and a week later, at ASCEND Nashville, we tried to replay the conversation.
The amazing thing about this conversation is that:
We focused on what she really wants
We focused on solutions
We weren’t defending our positions but truly trying to solve the problem
This is a strategy we can (and perhaps should) use with ourselves. After all, the quality of our lives depends on the quality of the questions we ask ourselves & the honesty with which we answer.
After I pulled up that audio the other day, I texted Debi and asked if she’d be willing to tell me what has changed since then.
I remember that she had texted me that night at ASCEND, while she waited for her flight in the airport, to tell me that she had already taken some steps towards change.
ASCEND was about 9 months ago, and here is Debi’s update as of this morning:
I think that one of the biggest things that has changed for me since Ascend is that I’m taking action. I used to spend a lot of time making budgets and planning out how much I could put towards my debt, but then I would “find” other things to spend my money on. I wasn’t taking the action. Following Ascend, I just started doing it. And now, less than a year later, I have paid off over $7,000 in debt and continue to be on track to pay all of it off in 2 years.
The other big thing that has changed is my mindset. I now know with absolute certainty that I will pay off my debt in 2 years. Before, I would have hopes, but I always let something get in the way. It reminds of me the blog you did recently on the living into our problems and the stories we create. I created a story about social workers and how they don’t make a lot of money, that I didn’t go into this work for financial gain. I was living in a deficit mindset. However, now, I live in an abundant mindset. Every time I get an opportunity to make extra money, I express gratitude for the opportunity of abundance. When people in my life talk about “being broke” or “having no money,” I no longer join in. I know that I making choices in my life that are bringing towards financial freedom and I remind myself of that. I am grateful for all opportunities of abundance.
Don’t get me wrong, I still make mistakes and fall into deficit thinking sometimes. However, I no longer live or stay there. I am quick to redirect my thinking and make the next best choice.
I am so proud of her. And I am so hopeful for every single one of you. These are the kinds of changes that we are only 1 decision away from making related to food, health, fitness, career, mindset, finances or everything in between.
There are still tickets available for ASCEND Boston and I’d really love to have you there with us! Debi will be there, too!
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Today’s workout was a lot of fun. Wednesdays are usually for weight lifting so we spent the first bit working up to a heavy clean & jerk complex. I LOVE heavy barbell work so that made me happy.
Then we did this little number:
“Drop Dead”
4 x :20 seconds on, :10 seconds off
Sit-Ups
Deadlifts (155/105)
Sit-Ups
Deadlifts (155/105)
So it was 4×20 seconds on, 10 seconds off on situps. Then the same construct with deadlifts. Then the same construct with situps. Then the same construct with deadlifts. Good stuff!
On the food front:
I am headed out of town for the afternoon & evening so I’m not sure what the day will bring food wise but I promise to update this post either tonight or tomorrow with what I choose to have for dinner.
Breakfast was, for the first time in eons, a cup of bulletproof coffee. I don’t drink it often anymore (it doesn’t usually satisfy my hunger these days) but for some reason I wanted it to day so I had it.
Lunch was my cabbage salad bowl and I’ll keep dinner clean – a burger without the bun or fish & veggies. I promise to update you tomorrow.
Yesterday I posted a quote on Instagram that probably makes people nod & agree, but that’s not enough. That’s really, really not enough.
This quote should change you. It should move you to action. It should prompt you to sit down and ask yourself, “what are the lies that are holding me hostage?”
You know why I struggled with my weight for so long? Because of those lies that held me hostage.
You know why I couldn’t take hold of the power of change?
Because I was too busy clinging to, believing in and arguing for the lies that held me hostage.
For me, the included things like:
I’m just the big girl.
My metabolism is messed up.
I’m a food addict.
I’m great at losing weight & terrible at keeping it off.
I’m an emotional eater.
I created every single one of those stories. I created them with my beliefs and I reinforced them with my choices. I believed in those lies and so they held me hostage.
Do you know what is just as true?
Change is possible if I decide to create it.
My present can be different from my past.
I can make new choices today.
I am 100% in control of what I put in my mouth, how much & when.
If you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them. Stop clinging to stories you’ve created that keep you living in your problems.
Create & cling to stories that set you free!
———–
Today’s workout was fantastic! I tore my hand…during the warm up…but brought level 10 effort to each AMRAP!
“Bike Buffet”
AMRAP 4
15-12-9
Wallballs (20/14)
Pull-ups
Max Calorie Bike in Time Remaining
Rest 4 minutes
AMRAP 4
15-12-9
Wallballs (20/14)
Knees to Chest
Max Calorie Bike in Time Remaining
rest 4 minutes
AMRAP 4
15-12-9
Wallballs (20/14)
Pull-ups
Max Calorie Bike in Time Remaining
Afterwards, I did shoulder mobility work, foam rolling & then saw my chiropractor. A good morning for the body, for sure!
On the food front:
Betcha can’t guess what I had for breakfast!? Oh wait…you totally can because it’s been the bulk of my diet for the past week: a cabbage salad bowl!!
This morning’s included cabbage (raw), eggs, bacon and guacamole. I ate it around 9:45am and it kept me full until about 5pm. Love that!!
At 5pm I had a mahi burger from Trader Joes, cauliflower rice and steamed broccoli. Oh, and leftover bacon.
No, I don’t eat bacon every day, but I have eaten bacon almost every day for the past week or so. You do you!
