When you’re trying to eat healthier, lose weight or get fit, vacation can be a stressful thing.
Lots of my clients struggle to balance vacation & their goals. You want to enjoy vacation and you don’t want to feel like you’re missing out, but you also don’t want to throw caution to the wind and go overboard.
Where’s the middle? We’re gonna find it in today’s episode!
It’s not about deprivation but it’s also not about having a free-for-all. Let’s chat about it.
I finally got my car registered (you wouldn’t believe me if I told you what has happened in this pursuit, which has taken 6+ weeks).
I had a great workout despite lots of running (running isn’t my strength).
I went shopping and picked up some cute shoes.
I had a fantastic call with one of my very favorite friends who happens to be a client.
I got a manicure & pedicure – plus, they had wifi so I was able to work on my laptop the whole time. Yes, I brought it with me to the salon. Gotta make it all work!
I am headed out of town for the weekend & have a barbell seminar on Sunday. (Words can’t describe how pumped I am for that!)
Here’s the deal – there are even more things that went wrong today than the above list of things that have been great.
I choose to focus on the wonderful and therefore I feel pretty darn great & grateful.
I could also choose to focus on all that hasn’t been wonderful, it would be just as true but I would feel quite differently.
…
I woke up at 4:30 this morning so I could get through some work & pack before heading to the gym.
“Nancy”
5 Rounds:
400m Run
15 Overhead Squats (95/65)
I am SO freakin’ grateful for the coaching I got during our warm-up.
My overhead squats got SO MUCH BETTER in a 5 rep warm-up thanks to some great coaching. That always makes me happy.
I’ve shared before that I don’t like to run and have no desire to love running.
But, with each step, instead of thinking about how much it sucked (which it did), I said to myself:
Light as a feather. Strong with purpose, light at heart. This isn’t pain. It’s not comfortable, but it’s not pain. Travel light.
It helped.
During the overhead squats, I imagined my muscles working, my body actively burning fat to power my strong muscle. I focused on one rep at a time, staying in the moment.
I finished proud.
–tangent alert–
My comment just now on coaching made me think of something on of my FLFT clients said this morning. She prefaced her question with “I hate to ask for help, but…”
I completely understand that. We want to be independent and figure things out on our own.
I also vehemently disagree with it and think it’s ludicrous.
One of my FAVORITE things is to ask for help. I get better so much faster when I ask for help.
This morning at the gym, I asked for help.
I have coaches. I constantly seek their help & feedback.
I seek help & feedback from my close friends. It’s one of the primary reasons I’ve had any degree of personal & business success.
If you only depend on yourself, you’re not going to get near as far as you would if you’d open up & ask for/accept help.
I was so hungry that I considered buying a protein bar at the gym and having a couple bites before the workout. I didn’t, but my hunger was easily a 7 on a scale of 1-10. That was at 7am.
Interestingly, it’s now 2:32pm as I type this and I’m not hungry at all. I haven’t eaten since last night and I feel great.
On the food front:
At 2:30 I stopped at Starbucks to type up this blog before kicking off the weekend and I got a coffee. I added a tbsp of heavy cream to it. Normally I drink it black but since I haven’t yet eaten today, I added a bit of cream.
As soon as I leave here & take myself out for lunch. I want to sit in the sun & get a nice charcuterie board and enjoy a few minutes of the day by myself.
I skipped the bread because, for me, it just doesn’t add anything. Fat & protein deliciousness.
No, I didn’t eat it all.
I don’t yet know my dinner plans but one thing is for sure: veggies are on the menu!! I haven’t had any yet today!
Probably fish & veggies or a salad.
Enjoy the hell out of your weekend. Focus on what is right. If nothing is right, do something right. Make someone smile.
I know, I know – it’s not always that simple. Managing hunger can be a tricky thing.
Managing hunger and PMS can be even trickier.
Sometimes our hunger makes sense – there’s a legit reason for it. Other times, it seems random & untrustworthy.
Maybe we’re really just bored, tired, thirsty or thinking about food. Maybe we can’t think of a single reason for our hunger.
Here’s what I know to be true:
The more you pay attention to your body, the easier it is to figure this out.
Unfortunately, most people pay far more attention to Facebook or CandyCrush than to their own bodies.
I can’t tell you how many people are frustrated that they don’t understand their bodies but they spend very little (or no) time, attention & consistency working to figure it out.
They aren’t paying attention. They aren’t doing the work.
Without fail, when my clients tell me that something is hard or they don’t understand, I’ll ask them: So, what are you doing about it? And with what consistency? And for how long now?
I know the difference between hunger that will fade and hunger that needs a response. And, if I’m not sure, I wait. I pay attention. Then I learn.
I’m consistent. I don’t make excuses. I am always paying attention to my body because it matters.
I know that life & fat loss are easier when I pay attention to my body.
I know it’s really not that hard to pay attention; it’s a discipline.
It’s a discipline that has nothing but upside. Nothing but wins. I like to win.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day & we make time for what matters.
My health matters.
On the food front:
I woke up around 5:15am and jumped right into my morning routine.
Around 8:15am I was feeling pretty hungry, so I ate.
When I think about it, today’s hunger makes sense.
First and most obviously: it’s day 24 of my cycle so I’m within a week of starting my period. I get more hungry the week before my period.
How do I adjust? I eat more protein and vegetables.
Secondly, last week I was pretty sick and didn’t eat much. Though I’ve been feeling better for several days now, it makes sense to have some compensatory hunger.
Lastly, I worked out twice yesterday when I normally only workout once.
Ergo: I had two chicken cakes from Paleo Power Meals this morning before my workout.
After my workout, around 2pm, I had another Paleo Power Meals speciality:
Steak frites – steak strips with a few sweet potato fries. I only had about half the fries that come with the meal because I was satisfied by the first few & know my body doesn’t need the extra starch. Extra protein & veggies: yes. Extra starch? Nope.
Oh yeah dinner! I had to come back in to add that because I forgot!
I didn’t forget to eat, just forgot to write it in here!
I had I piece of coconut crusted chicken (leftover from yesterday) and 2 cups of Greek yogurt with cacao & a little stevia. I don’t do dairy too often, but I really enjoy it every once in a while!
I really loved today’s workout – it was totally in my wheelhouse and I’m feeling much more energetic today than I was yesterday. It’s funny how a low day in the gym can be followed with such a high one. Super important to remember! Don’t get hung up on peaks or the valleys!
So for this workout, you’re doing each of these moves in sequence and then repeating the entire sequence 3 times, going as fast as you can.
The sit-ups and strict presses allow you to catch your breath coming off the rower and 15 deadlifts gets your heart rate up again before hopping back on the rower.
After yesterday’s tough day in the gym, I was excited to just be competing against myself today, regardless of who was doing the workout near me.
Are vitamins and supplements worth it? Are they important? Do they make a difference? And how do you know which ones are good and which ones aren’t?
Rarely does a day go by when I don’t get some variation of these questions.
I’ve been on both sides of this conversation. Prior to starting Primal Potential I worked for a dietary supplement company and worked to both formulate & market protein powders, vitamins, minerals and other products.
I’ve also been a confused consumer, desperate to get healthy and eager to take any potion or product that would help.
Hopefully I’ll simplify this discussion dramatically in today’s episode! If you’ve got a million questions about supplements or a cabinet full of them, today is for you!
Yay for lessons! Today brought a great one. Sure, it’s one I already knew & one I teach my FLFT clients all the time, but as with all lessons, we have to learn them over and over.
Today, I re-learned. I’m so grateful for a good friend giving me a powerful truth.
My workout was brutal today. It was a combination of being a little sore & tired from yesterday and just a tough slog of a workout. I was bringing my best effort but definitely not functioning at my best.
Somedays I feel strong & energetic in the gym. I probably feel that way most days. But other days, things I’m normally good at, like rowing, feel really hard. Today was one of those days. Everything felt HARD.
The workout consisted of 3 back-to-back 21/15/9s
“Make It Rain”
21 – 15 – 9
Bike for Calories
Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
21 – 15 – 9:
Row for Calories
Burpees
21 – 15 – 9:
Medball Squat Cleans (20/14)
200 Meter Run
Let me clarify for those who aren’t familiar with this structure. I’m gonna condense it.
The clock starts and you’re looking to finish as fast as possible:
21 cal bike/21 kettlebell swings/15 cal bike/15 KB swings/9 cal bike/9 KB swings/21 cal row/21 burpees/15 cal row/15 burpees/9 cal row/9 burpees/21 med ball squat cleans/200m run/15 med ball squat cleans/200m run/9 med ball squat cleans/200m run
Oh, and the run was in the rain.
Here’s what I’m proud of – I finished the dang thing in a good-for-me time & I brought my very best effort.
After the workout, I texted my friend Nathan (who was also my personal trainer for quite some time before I moved) and I said:
I got my ass handed to me in my workout. I came in last.
He asked what the workout was & I told him.
He came back with EXACTLY what I needed to be reminded of.
I am not there to compete. I am not there to win.
I am there to improve myself, which has absolutely nothing to do with when I finish relative to other people.
Yup, it’s super easy to feel excited when I come in first or in the top few. And it’s super easy to feel crummy when you come in last.
But none of that matters. What matters is the effort I bring, the effort YOU bring every day.
You are interested in improving. I am interested in improving. That’s about you vs you and me vs me. We aren’t competing. We’re training.
I tell my FLFT clients this all the time. When they compare themselves to what others are doing or the results others are getting, I’m quick to remind them to keep their eyes on their own work.
Today, I needed that message to come through for me.
I’m not competing.
I’m training.
I’m not training against anyone else, I’m training to improve myself.
I can come in last every single workout for the rest of my life and still get dramatically better if I’m bringing my best effort.
I could also come in first in every workout, not give my best effort, and not get any better.
Training is training. It’s not competing.
And now I have an awesome reminder to keep my eyes on my own work & judge my workouts based on my effort & attitude, not the place in which I finish.
I’ll judge my weight & time compared to my previous workouts, not to anyone else’s weight or time.
Later in the afternoon, around 4pm, I did a little rowing workout – nothing crazy, this morning was enough – but skill building. Training. Me vs. Me.
I spent time alone on the rower working on my efficiency so that the next time I do this morning’s workout, I’m just a little bit better than I was today.
On the food front:
Holy voracious appetite mid-morning! I did the workout on an empty stomach (I worked out around 7:30am) and then got a massage. After the massage, I came home to eat 2 servings of coconut crusted chicken strips from Paleo Power Meals.
I can’t say I’ve ever done that before but I’ll adjust accordingly. I definitely didn’t need lunch after that!
Dinner was intentionally heavier on the veggies since I hadn’t had any yet – cobb salad from Paleo Power Meals with added spinach. I added about 4 cups of spinach to the salad.
Since I got a massage today, I made sure to drink lots & lots of water to help facilitate detoxification.
