Year of Push 3.9 So What? Now What?

I believe that the quality of our lives is directly related to the quality of the questions we ask ourselves and the honesty with which we answer.

If we go through life unconsciously, not asking questions and not paying attention to the motives driving our actions, we won’t reach the quality of life we’re capable of.

When we ask questions, not only are we seeking answers & solutions (instead of fixating on problems), we’re also simply paying more attention to our thoughts & actions. Unconsciousness is a hurdle we need to clear.

Questions are magic. They’re powerful tools for growth & breakthrough.

Two questions I constantly ask myself are:

So what?

and

Now what?

For me, these questions are simple & immediate redirects from thought to action.

So what?” doesn’t mean “who cares?” but rather “So what will I do now?”

Yesterday I caught myself complaining about my workload. I was sharing that I always feel behind and no matter how much time I spend working and how efficiently I approach the work, the pile never seems smaller. I was overwhelmed & focused on the problem.

My friend asked, “What can I do to help?” and I immediately responded,

“Great question. But I’m really the one who needs to ask that to myself. What can I do to help?”

So what? Now what?

I can get the next thing done & not give away my precious energy to complaining. What a gift it is to have work to do!

When clients email me with a setback or frustration, we’ll always work through the question “now what?” Yup, there’s a challenge. Yup, there’s a situation. And now what are you able & willing to do about it.

The “so what” and “now what” questions move you out of thinking about the problem & into doing something about the problem. 

No exaggeration, I probably ask myself those questions 10+ times a day!


I’m going to miss lifting weights today! It’s a pure running workout…yay…

(slight sarcasm)

Seriously though, I’m grateful for a chance to practice and get better. I’ll be practicing my running AND my attitude about running!

I got to the gym 30 minutes early to do some strength work on the rings and loosen up my quads before the run. I am determined to have a great attitude through this workout!

“Tosh Sprints”

3 Rounds:
200 Meter Run
400 Meter Run
600 Meter Run

I got through it. With this workout it’s meant to be equal parts work & rest (so if you did your 200 in 1:30, you rest for 1:30 before doing your 400). However, I was under a time crunch due to my work schedule and had to cut almost all my rest periods short.

I didn’t think I’d finish but I made sure I did.

On each run I was telling myself, “I am an athlete. I am getting fitter with each step.” That way of thinking sure beats, “This sucks. I’m exhausted. I don’t know if I can do it. Is it over yet?”

It is getting easier because I am doing the work & that feels amazing.

On the food front:

I woke up at 5am and had a bottle of butter coffee from Picnik. Before the workout I had a second coffee, but this one was plain black cold brew.

Immediately after the workout I had a call with a client so I knew it was going to be a bit before I could eat. Fortunately, my zevia energy drinks & sparkling waters came in so I sipped on a couple of those. I’m not a fan of the cola flavored energy drink but the raspberry lime, grapefruit and mango ginger are awesome!

Around 11am I had some grilled chicken and a few hours after that I had a cobb salad.

I’m trying to eat all my Paleo Power Meals before a busy weekend of travel, concerts and Memorial Day fun so dinner was steak frites (with sweet potato fries) from PPM.

I’m going to be sharing some recipes & holiday strategies on the blog & podcast over the next week or so – stay tuned!

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.

339: How To Be Stronger Than Your Excuses

339: How To Be Stronger Than Your Excuses

I recently sent an email to my Fat Loss Fast Track clients asking them all a direct question: Are you a dropout?

I wanted them to think hard about their level of effort and engagement while giving a lifeline to those who need some extra support & encouragement.

I want to open the lines of communication with every single one of the FLFTers so we can make the rest of the spring FLFT the best of the spring FLFT.

I got some really powerful email responses from folks who have drifted and are struggling. I printed them all out. I studied them and, to the extend that they will let me, I’m working to help all of them become stronger than their excuses.

In today’s episode I’m sharing some of their emails with you and talking about mental models to help all of us end the drama, stop sensationalizing our choices & become stronger than our excuses.

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Year of Push 3.8 Don’t Preach, Practice

There’s not a single person reading this post who couldn’t preach or teach about fat loss nutrition strategies, workout tips or the importance of mindset.

We all have tons of information in our heads about how to reach our goals and create our best lives.

However, most people are better at preaching (talking about it) than practicing (doing it).

One of the most powerful questions I ask myself is, “what does my practice look like? or “how can I practice today?

I’m not immune to negative thoughts & frustrations. I’m not immune to days where I don’t put in the work.

Positive people aren’t immune to negative thoughts, they just respond differently.

Whether it’s frustration with lack of results, desire for faster progress, unhappiness with the current state of your life or anything else, you’ve got to focus on your practice.

You must choose to bring your attention to what you can DO about it, not what you need to KNOW about it.

It’s not about what you know, it’s about what you do. Don’t preach. Practice.

When I catch my mind drifting to negative thoughts about my body, I remind myself that I can’t simply preach about seeing the good and focusing what I can do. I have to practice it.

I practice by redirecting my attention to what I appreciate about my body, what it is capable of, and to what I can do today to move in the direction of my goals.

When I catch my thoughts fixating on frustration in the gym, I remind myself that I can’t simply preach about getting excited about my potential, I must practice getting excited about my potential.

It’s not enough to think about it. It’s not enough to preach or listen to preachers.

Growth & change require practice.

Speaking of practice: today was Fran day!

Fran is a classic CrossFit benchmark workout and the pace of fran is: move your butt as fast as possible. Don’t think about it, don’t whine about it, don’t put the bar down, just get it done!

Every time I caught my mind drifting to thoughts of pacing, getting tired or wanting to rest, I redirected them to “Go! Go! You’re strong & capable! Do not quit on yourself!

It’s practicing what I preach & it’s powerful stuff! Practice is everything. 

“Fran”
21-15-9
Thrusters (95/65)
Pull-ups

I scaled those pull-ups but was still super happy with my time and, most importantly, was super happy with my effort.

After the workout I spend about 20 minutes on the airdyne bike doing some intervals and then a good hour throughout the day doing mobility with a foam roller and lacrosse ball while reading and writing.

Yay for movement! The more I move my body and take care of my joints & muscles, the better I feel! It feels amazing to feel amazing and that won’t happen by accident!

On the food front:

I started the day with a bottle of butter coffee from Picnik and a cup of cold brew.

After my workout I was hot & hungry and decided to make a shake. I’m usually not much of a shake person but the warmer weather has me craving them. Here are two of my fave shake recipes – this one is mint and this one is chocolate nut.

I usually skip the protein powders in my shakes because I’m partial to whole foods for their increased bioavailability and fewer binders & fillers. I love using frozen cauliflower instead of ice (the flavor is so neutral you can’t taste it) and blended it with unsweetened almond milk, greek yogurt & vanilla extract. Delish!

Lunch was a cobb salad from Paleo Power Meals with a little extra avocado and dinner was steak frites (sweet potato) also from PPM.

If you decide to give Paleo Power Meals a try, listen to my review and be sure to use the coupon code ebprimal20 to save 20% on your first order!

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 3.7 Use Your Butt

How you do things matters. It’s a huge mistake to focus primarily on what you do at the expense of improving and paying attention to how you do it.

How you do things determines whether it’s easy, hard and/or sustainable.

Let me use working out as an example.

Doing a deadlift without bracing your core will fatigue you quickly, put unnecessary strain on your back and increase your risk of injury.

Bracing your core, removing the slack from the bar and intentionally firing your glutes will make the same movement much easier, it will reduce the load on your back and dramatically decrease your risk of injury.

It will feel easier and be easier. You can even do more work with less energy.

This theory holds true in all movements from pushups to pull-ups to planks, rowing & running.

The theory is also true in our daily lives. Yes, what we do matters. How we do it often represents a huge opportunity for improvement.

Anything done with a great attitude is easier than the same thing done with a negative attitude.

Anything done in a calm, organized manner is easier than the same thing done in a hurry.

Yesterday I shared that I went to the CrossFit regionals this past weekend. I saw this play out in real time.

Sure, the athletes were doing the same workouts. What they were doing was uniform.

How they did it was not.

The advantage was with the athletes who had mastered how they went through the workouts.

The workouts were far easier for the athletes who stayed calm & focused while moving efficiently.

They saved energy and made fewer mistakes.

It’s not just what you do, it’s how you do it.

I was excited to apply this perspective to today’s workout. By staying calm, breathing evenly and really focusing on my form, the workout was much easier than it would have been otherwise.

With the deadlifts, I kept reminding myself “Use your butt. Use your core!” Instead of merely pulling a bar up off the ground with my arms & back, I was consciously recruiting the strongest muscles in my body, making it so much easier.

“Christine”
3 Rounds:
500m Row
12 Deadlifts (160 lbs)
21 Box Jumps (20″)

I really love both rowing and deadlifts but those deadlifts make the box jumps feel hard! By staying focused on my form, using my butt for power & landing softly on the box, I made those jumps so much easier than if I was sloppy and looking to grind through without attention to HOW I was moving.

When I do push-ups I tell myself the same thing: Use your butt! Who knew squeezing your glutes could make a push-up so much easier?

I’m telling you guys, just like using your biggest muscle groups and being efficient in your movement makes workouts easier, being efficient, calm & organized in your approach to the day makes your choices easier.

Sometimes the smallest adjustments to how we do things makes the things we do require far less effort.

On the food front:

I started the day with a bottle of butter coffee from Picnik and a cup of cold brew.

About an hour after my workout I had 4 grilled chicken strips with some honey mustard.

A couple hours after that I had a coconut chocolate RX bar.

I get a lot of questions about bars and I’ve done a podcast episode on them. In short, I don’t think there’s any bar that should be included on a daily basis for most people.

I totally recognize that they might represent a huge improvement for some people and in that case, do what is an improvement for you so long as it’s working. I have found that for me and many others, bars can trigger cravings AND not satisfy hunger.

I like the flavor of RX bars and I have a couple of them from my weekend at the CrossFit East Regional. However, I don’t go out of my way to buy bars. It’s not a good idea for me. It doesn’t set me up for success.

On the front of the RX bar (coconut chocolate flavor), it lists some of the ingredients. They proudly label the front of the package with:

  • 3 egg whites
  • 6 almonds
  • 4 cashews
  • 2 dates
  • No B.S

I can totally see how consumers would think that’s all that is in the bar. That’s not true. Sure, there’s not too much more but I just want people to be clear that there are a few other ingredients listed on the back that aren’t on the front.

If you’re going to eat bars, please make sure you pay close attention to whether or not they are working for you.

—-

At this point in the day, I had to call an audible. Such is life. The unexpected is expected. If you’re expecting it to go according to plan, please stop. You’ll always be frustrated and feel out of control.

Here’s how it went down:

I write these blogs in the early afternoon. By that point, I’ve made it through my workout and I have a food/work plan for the rest of the day.

Today was no different. I planned to have Paleo Power Meals for both lunch and dinner & be in bed early.

However, my plans changed and I’ll have a visitor for dinner tonight. No stress! Roll with the punches! I’m more attached to my potential than I am to my plan.

Lunch remained Paleo Power Meals: chopped suey on a portabello mushroom “bun” with cauliflower rice.

What about dinner….

I don’t want to serve Paleo Power Meals (I’m selfish & don’t like to share – seriously) but I also don’t want to go to the grocery store and spend time cooking a legit meal.

The solution? His & her shakes!

I say “his and hers” because my goals are different from the average bear. If I’m going to have a shake for dinner I don’t want it to have fruit or sugar and I want to make sure to get my veggies in there. I also don’t need multiple sources of protein – I had plenty today. No protein powder for me!

For someone with different goals, I might make the shake more indulgent & delicious.

Here’s what’s going into mine:

  • frozen cauliflower
  • almond milk (unsweetened)
  • spinach
  • greek yogurt
  • avocado
  • peppermint extract
  • vanilla extract

Mine is a lot like the peppermint shake I posted a few months ago.

Here’s what’s going into his:

  • frozen cauliflower
  • almond milk (unsweetened)
  • greek yogurt
  • strawberries
  • vanilla protein powder
  • vanilla extract

Yay for no-cook meals that are still delish & fat loss friendly! And here’s to not getting so attached to “the plan” that you can’t enjoy the adjustments!

Here’s to a great day and focusing not just on what you do but also on how you do it!

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.

339: How To Be Stronger Than Your Excuses

338: The Big Lie About Binges

There are a series of well-worn lies we tell ourselves about binges. There are a series of stories we tell ourselves that aren’t true.

They might be familiar, but they certainly aren’t true.

Today I want to help you move beyond overeating and binging by shining light on these well-worn lies and stories.

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Resources:

Summer Fat Loss Fast Track Wait List

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