Excuses, procrastination & not trusting yourself stem from one problem: communication.
We all understand the importance of honest & productive communication with others, but we don’t spend much time improving the way we communicate with ourselves. This is a problem.
To overcome excuses, to begin to trust yourself and to get to a point where what you say you’ll do actually means something, improve the way you communicate with yourself.
For most of my life, I regretted the majority of my choices. I’d regret over eating. I’d regret giving up on my “diet”. I’d regret spending so much money or not working out consistently. There were daily regrets & big picture regrets. I wasn’t proud of how I was living my life or spending my days. It felt awful.
These days, I’m all about the minimization of regret.
When I’m faced with any choice where I’m wavering between two options, I think about which choice minimizes the likelihood of regret.
For example, if I’m deciding whether I should go to the gym or skip the workout, I’ll look at which choice I’m most likely to regret. I’ve never regretted a workout. I’ve often regretted skipping one, especially as a trend over time. Easy choice: getting the workout done minimizes regret.
Yesterday I was getting a pedicure & I people kept walking by the store front with cups & cones of ice cream. I thought about getting an ice cream. Then I asked myself, which choice minimizes regret? Getting the ice cream or skipping it? My intention yesterday was to make great choices – deviating from that has a greater chance of regret than missing out on ice cream does. Easy choice: saying “not today” to the ice cream minimizes regret.
A huge part of getting what you want out of life and fully loving the life you live is minimizing regret. Consider all your options & make the choice that minimizes the chance of regret.
The alternative perspective here is: which choice will make you feel amazing? Either. Both. Try one. Practice it. See what works.
I did not want to get up when my alarm went off this morning, but I knew that I’d be more likely to regret staying in bed than I would be to regret getting up and getting things done. So, to work I went! After a couple hours of work I headed to the gym.
“Full Split”
Teams of 2, AMRAP 20:
5 Front Squats (165/110)
15 Plate Hops (45#)
10/7 Calorie Bike
*Partners complete full rounds before switching.
This workout was a total beast! You have less than 1 minute to rest while your partner completes their round, so you’re essentially sprinting and then making your way back to your barbell to go again.
Those front squats were feeling mighty heavy 1/2 way through the workout!
On the food front:
I’m planning to eat a little lighter today since I’ll be pseudo-celebrating my birthday this weekend. I already have a couple treats in mind, including an ice cream place in Boston I want to try! Yum yum!
After my workout I had some hormone free greek yogurt with cacao.
Lunch was chicken & broccoli over cauliflower rice & dinner was a cobb salad.
I can’t change what other people are willing to see & hear, but I figured I’d once again take an opportunity to explain my position on carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are not bad. In fact, the majority of my meals are carbohydrates. You see, vegetables are carbohydrates & if you look closely, the majority of most of my meals are….vegetables!
This is where black & white thinking is so flawed. We cannot talk about all carbs in the same way. Cabbage is a vegetable. Vegetables are carbohydrates. Therefore, cabbage would be classified a carbohydrate.
There are only 3 macronutrients (excluding alcohol): fat, carbohydrate and protein. Cabbage is not a fat. Cabbage is not a protein. It is a carbohydrate.
Pasta is also a carbohydrate. We cannot act like pasta and cabbage are the same thing. They are not. Just like Crisco & avocado are not the same thing. Both fat, yes, but not the same. Are you with me?
When we look at carbohydrates, we have to consider the water content, the fiber content, the sugar content and the starch content. (Starch, btw, is a chain of sugar).
Cabbage delivers a elicits a very different hormonal response than pasta does.
I can eat equal grams of cabbage & pasta and my blood sugar & insulin will respond very differently.
Is my diet low carb? That’s relative. “High” and “low” are relative to something else. What something else? Whatever you pick. My diet is probably high carb compared to most ketogenic diets. It’s probably low carb compared to the Standard American Diet. None of that matters.
What matters is what works for me. What matters is what works for you.
I’m not fighting against anyone’s ideology, nor am I selling you my ideology. I’m helping you establish your own.
Here’s to everyone who is open to seeing it and to patience and understanding with those who aren’t yet.
I will never, ever fight someone about this stuff. That’s not why I am here. I think the world needs more respect & understanding, not less. I think the world needs more “do what works for you” and less “who’s right & who’s wrong”. We don’t have to agree. You don’t have to like what I have to say. That’s the beautiful thing – if you don’t, there are tons of other podcasts to listen to or blogs to read.
I don’t shop at stores where I don’t like the clothes. I don’t walk around them to complain about how ugly they are. I just go somewhere else. Seems logical.
If you would like to understand this better, I’ve done a million episodes on carbohydrates and I also have a comprehensive carbohydrate strategy e-course. None of them are to push an agenda or to sell products. Rather, they are to help you understand the impact of different types of carbohydrates on YOUR body and proceed accordingly.
I choose joy. Joy is power.
Speaking of joy – today’s workout was a nice change of pace. Definitely some muscle burn but it didn’t get me too winded.
“Mad Season”
21-18-15-12:
Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups
DB Push Press (35’s/20’s)
50′ Back Rack WreckBag Lunge (50/35)
On the food front:
I was in the mood for greek yogurt after my workout so that’s what I had. Lunch was a cobb salad & dinner was brussels sprouts & grilled chicken.
Here’s to eating what works for you and makes you feel amazing.
The other day on my daily blog I invited you to “ask me anything” and today I’m sharing my answers. Some of the questions are personal in nature – everything from my goals & recent progress to whether or not I have a boyfriend. Others are playful and some are certainly tactical.
I consider you guys family and I love when we can get to know each other better. Today, you’ll hear a little bit more about my own journey, my life as well as my thoughts on things like sugar addiction, perfection and working out.
I recently invited you guys to “ask me anything” and the answers to your questions will air on tomorrow’s podcast. One of the questions has been lingering on my mind & I wanted to take a minute to address it here.
“Here is another one, when you talk about an imperfect day, what does that look like? I really struggle with black and white thinking.”
Here’s my reality: every day is imperfect. And that’s great. I’m not striving for perfection.
I don’t wake up, ever, intending to create a perfect day. Perfection doesn’t work for me primarily because of what this question references – it’s too black and white.
If the goal is perfection, everything short of that is “off”. No thanks. I have no interest in that. None at all.
See, perfection isn’t required. You can get healthy without perfection. In fact, you’ll have a damn hard time reaching your goals if perfection is your standard. It’s just not realistic for most of us.
I strive for days that make me feel my best. Sometimes that’s enjoying a drink with someone I love. Sometimes that’s crushing my workout. Sometimes it’s an amazing fat loss friendly meal. Sometimes it’s all of the above. Sometimes it’s a cupcake.
Not only do I look for choices that make me feel my best, I value authenticity over perfection.
I’m not here to make you think I eat perfectly. I don’t. That’s not my goal.
I’m not looking to live a life without sugar or alcohol.
I am, however, looking to incorporate those things (sugar & alcohol) as well as fitness and clean eating, in ways that make me feel my very best.
I don’t have a gold standard I shoot for. I embrace every day as a blank slate full of opportunities to make myself feel amazing.
Part of today’s amazing day was a workout. I was pretty psyched to see a deadlift workout! I brought my A game and felt so proud of the way I moved through the workout. When I finished, I reflected on my 4th of July choices yesterday. Today’s workout wouldn’t have felt as good as it did if I had eaten the bread at the restaurant or had a bunch of drinks or got candy at the candy store. Go me!
This workout flew by & set the stage for me to crush the rest of this day!
On the food front:
I got home laaaaaaate last night. Lack of sleep absolutely makes me more hungry and I’m not the only one. Even mild sleep deprivation for just one night can impact insulin sensitivity, impacting hunger & cravings.
I picked up an iced Americano on the way back from the gym & then devoured my chicken & broccoli over cauliflower rice from Paleo Power Meals.
I have a super busy rest of the week so I’m trying to keep my food choices on point so I have energy, focus & stamina. Plus, my birthday is next week and I plan to indulge a bit more than I normally would, which makes it easier to turn down snacks & treats this week.
Both lunch & dinner were cobb salads with chicken (no cheese). You might wonder if I get bored of eating the same things over and over – yes. And when I get bored, I switch it up. If you look back, you’ll notice that I go through cycles with food. I might have cabbage salads every day for a month and then not have them for 2 months after that. Right now I’m not bored with these cobb salads so I’ll keep eating them for as long as I really enjoy them!
