Certain things in my life aren’t optional. The list isn’t long, but it absolutely exists. Some of them are silly, but I think it’s important to know what isn’t optional and why it is that it’s not optional for you.
For example, here are a few things that aren’t optional for me:
Working out Monday-Friday (Saturdays & Sundays are optional. I usually do workout those days, but it’s an option)
Brushing my teeth before bed and before my morning shower
Wearing clean clothes
Shutting off the lights before I leave the house
Some of those things seem silly, right? I mean, they almost seem obvious, but they aren’t. Hear me out.
I’m far less interested in WHAT isn’t optional for you than I am in WHY it’s not optional.
The reason this matters is because many of us have made making good food choices, having a good attitude and moving our bodies OPTIONAL. They are things we do when we feel like it, versus the short list of things we do whether we feel like it or not.
I often don’t feel like brushing my teeth. Many nights I wished there was someone to do it for me. Lazy, I know. But even in those lazy moments, I force myself to get up & brush my teeth before bed.
So why is it that some things are optional an some things aren’t?
What makes things not optional? Our attitude and perspective about them.
It is the way we think about something that makes it optional or not.
If you want to move a behavior from the “optional” to “not optional” category, you’ve got to start by changing how you think about it.
For example, if you think to yourself, “I’ll brush my teeth in the morning. I’m too tired. One night of not brushing them isn’t a big deal”, brushing your teeth is optional.
This is how many people think about food, fitness, journaling, self-care and a whole host of other behaviors we want to consistently execute.
It’s your thoughts about the activity, chosen repeatedly & consistently over time, that makes an activity not optional.
One of the ways to make this shift is to explore the grey area – the area between doing it perfectly or not doing it at all.
Sticking with the brushing your teeth example, instead of seeing it as black & white, either you brush your teeth or you don’t, take advantage of the shades of grey. “I’ll do a super fast brush. Something is better than nothing!”
Or, instead of seeing this as a day where you either eat “healthy” or you don’t, you find a way to do a little of both. Maybe you plan to eat clean, fat loss friendly foods AND have one special treat.
Instead of seeing the day as a workout day or a rest day, maybe you do 5 minutes of body weight movements at home instead of skipping your workout all together.
No matter how you approach it, you can absolutely move activities from the “optional” to the “not optional” category by changing how you think about them. This happens choice by choice.
The only thing that got me to the gym today is that I’ve trained myself to see that as a not-optional activity.
With cumulative soreness from Sunday & Monday, my body was feeling pretty uncomfortable this morning. Instead of thinking to myself, “I don’t know if I can do 30 clean & jerks for time” I thought: I can show up & warm up. That’s the first step and that’s a step I can take.
“Grace”
For Time:
30 Clean & Jerks (85#)
It was a fast, fun workout and sure enough, I felt excited to get after it once I was done warming up. After the workout I did 100 cals on the Airdyne bike before heading the chiropractor.
Guys, let today be the day you really focus on changing your perspective on the things you don’t want to be optional.
On the food front:
Can I tell you how happy I was to wake up before my 5am alarm? After a busy weekend & a hard workout yesterday, I was totally beat. I went to bed at 8:45 last night and got up around 4:45 this morning. I’m so happy to be feeling more rested!
I kicked off the day with butter coffee from Picnik and then headed to the gym. I had to go straight to the chiropractor from the gym & was feeling pretty hungry when I got home.
I pulled a salad out of the fridge but put it back and had a few grilled chicken strips instead. I want to explain my thought process here in case it helps any of you:
I prefer to eat a more substantial meal in the early afternoon than in the morning. See, I’m a little more tired then, a little more bored & restless and I often find myself wanting to snack.
Instead of having that munchie feeling in the afternoon, I’ll have my “lunch” or early afternoon meal be my largest. I want it to take the longest to eat and fill me up most of all my meals.
So, as I pulled the salad out of the fridge I thought, “As much as this would be awesome right now, I think having it later will make my food choices easier. I’ll have this bigger meal to look forward when I want it the most.”
Around 2pm I mixed the cobb salad with a whole bunch of raw, shredded cabbage and really took my time eating it. Totally hit the spot!
I think it’s important to pay attention to when it makes sense to have your biggest meal.
I used to make breakfast my largest meal but, with my workouts in the morning, I find that if I can hold myself over with a smaller meal, food choices are easier with my biggest meal in the early afternoon.
Know thyself & remember that everything changes! The key is paying attention & doing what makes you feel your best AND gets you the results you’re after.
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.
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.
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.
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 allthat 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.
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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.
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!
I rarely make blanket recommendations. When I talk about nutrition, I’m quick to say that strategies depend on your goals.
When I talk about nutritional improvements, I’m quick to consider someone’s baseline. I’m not going to recommend the Golden Rules of Carbs & Fat Loss to someone who is currently eating fast food & candy every day. It would probably be too big a transition for them, right now.
I think that almost all change is relative to the individual and their goals.
However, there are a small list of changes that I think EVERYONE would benefit from, regardless of their goals and their baseline.
In today’s episode I’m sharing what those are and why I think they’re so important.
