Today, I came across a quote that I wanted to share with you all in light of this week’s challenge: “One of the saddest pieces of advice in the world is ‘Oh come now — be realistic'”
The author uses this to illustrate the point that limiting yourself by focusing on what’s “realistic” takes away from what makes life worth living…the pursuit of the BEST life, not just a better one. Today I’m using this quote to push me to not only reach my higher, more challenging standards, but surpass them. Every time I make a choice today, I’m going to ask myself “am I just being realistic? or am I being audacious in pursuit of my best life?”
Hmm, maybe that should be a new affirmation…I’m audacious in the pursuit of my best life
We are so quick to convince ourselves not to leave our comfort zones. We sell ourselves arguments like:
I don’t want to be too extreme
I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew
That might set me up for failure
It’s probably too ambitious
Understand that when you do that, you’re talking yourself into your comfort zone. You’re arguing against growth, achievement and momentum.
Oftentimes, playing it safe isn’t really playing at all. You’re on the sidelines.
You’re choosing a mediocre life at the expense of a great one.
You’re choosing an easy life instead of an exceptional one. A comfortable life instead of a fulfilling one.
How can you be bold today? How can you be audacious in your creation of the life you want?
I know how hard it can be to make that transition – to be audacious instead of realistic – to be a goal achiever instead of a quitter – but I want to help you.
I want you to take that desire & turn it into action. I want to help you harness the hope and aim it at your choices.
Next week I’m hosting a totally free masterclass on creating motivation & claiming consistency. This’ll be the first step in creating these changes and bridging the gap between knowing & doing. I really hope you’ll join me! Click here to register – please note that space IS limited.
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Today’s workout wasn’t too fun but I pushed myself hard. My body was feeling a little tired & achy but I know a lot of that was not having put myself through a tough workout since Friday. I knew that if I got moving I’d feel better. I was right! I told myself to do single unders instead of doubles and move slow but steady on the air squats. Once I got to the air squats I was already feeling better. Movement is medicine!!
“Shred It”
160 Single Unders
80 Air Squats
800 Meter Run
40 Kettlebell Swings
40/30 Calorie Bike
I’m doing this to see how my body feels with 50 grams of carbs or fewer each day and around 110 grams of protein.
I cut the cabbage in my salad bowl down today. Between the cabbage & the avocado, there were about 29 grams of carbs in my breakfast bowl. With the eggs & bacon, there were about 52 grams of protein.
I’m determining fat intake based on my hunger & energy, not a specific gram amount.
I had 10 big pieces of celery dipped in Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo to bring me up to my 50g carb limit for the day. Really I was just looking for a vehicle for the mayo. #truth
I roasted 2 chicken thighs in grassfed butter for dinner. I thought I’d really miss the veggies since I had the celery earlier but I didn’t at all. Instead of focusing on what wasn’t on my plate, I focused on savoring every bite of what was.
Then I took a hot shower, washed my face, brushed my teeth and got into bed early with a book. That made everything better!
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One of my clients asked me to share with you guys my favorite sweet potato chips. She wants to make my sweet potato nachos. These couldn’t be easier – I simply buy a bag of sweet potato chips, spread a couple handfuls on a plate and top them with ground beef, salsa and guacamole. They’re delish!
I prefer Jackson’s Honest sweet potato chips – they super tasty and cooked in coconut oil (versus highly processed crop oils).
Plus, if you use the URL thrivemarket.com/primalpotential you’ll get an additional 25% off your first order plus free shipping! Thrive Market does have an annual membership fee but you get your first 30-days free when using that URL.
This series has one goal: to help you understand the dieting strategies that don’t work and the fat loss strategies that do.
Too many of us are investing our time, energy & hope into fat loss tactics that don’t work or aren’t sustainable. Nothing creates frustration faster.
Plus, the more failed strategies you pursue, the more you doubt yourself & damage your metabolism, making each subsequent effort more challenging.
It’s time to work with your body & not against it. It’s time to invest only in what works and let go of what doesn’t.
I know how frustrating it can be to feel like your body isn’t cooperating. Like you aren’t sure what to eat or not to eat, what’s fact & what’s fiction and to be constantly consumed with the pursuit of the right approach.
I know how exhausting it is to want change but fail to create it and have a huge, disappointing gap between your intentions and your actions.
This series will help you change that.
I’m speaking from decades of miserable experience.
I have tried every diet under the sun. I was addicted to finding a new program, plan, detox, strategy, hack, pill or potion.
In fact, I dieted my way to over 350 pounds. You can read my story here.
This 6-part series will set you free from dieting. You’ll understand how fat loss works and you’ll understand the most common dieting flaws that keep you trapped in the yo-yo cycle. You’ll differentiate between fads & facts and find how you can work with your body instead of against it.
In the following parts of this series, we’re going to dive deep into a variety of critical areas:
The Calorie Model Is Flawed
We’ve all been told that the key to weight loss is simply: eat less, move more. That’s not how fat loss happens. In part 2 of this series, we’re going to explore fat loss signaling in the body & what influences it. We’ll talk about the hormonal triggers required for fat burning & fat storage and show how certain foods influence these triggers. Sure, how much you eat matters, but looking at calories and macros as the answer to fat burning ignores how fat loss actually happens.
When you understand the cellular signals required for fat loss, you’ll be free from calorie & macro counting and you’ll get more results with less hunger and fewer cravings.
We’ll give specific examples that show how two different foods with the same number of calories and the same macronutrient breakdown create dramatically different fat loss responses in the body.
All or Nothing Is A Recipe For Failure
How many times have you been “on the wagon” or “off the wagon”? Guys, there is no wagon. Setting a standard of perfection or creating a definition of what “on” looks like means you’ll always have a reason to throw in the towel and start fresh the next day. That’s not going to work.
Your body doesn’t require perfection to generate progress. Plus, the pursuit of perfection is going to leave you frustrated and disappointed, even if you’re making progress.
In this part of the series we’re going to talk about seeking incremental progress so you can establish a strong foundation for sustainable change. We’ll establish how & why to let go of the notion of “on” plan and “off”.
Tools, Not Rules
We have a thing for rules. We love food lists, meal plans and structured diets. However, we usually don’t follow them. Okay, maybe we do for a handful of days or weeks (at best), but when we find a conflicting rule, we’re all confused and we stop trying.
These plans & rules feel good, they give us a sense of certainty, but that feeling isn’t linked to our ability to consistently execute.
Diets give you rules. They tell you what to think instead of teaching you how to think.
This leaves you totally dependent on the opinions of an expert and unable to identify what works and doesn’t work for your body.
Other people will always share their rules and opinions. But your body is unique. Your hormones, lifestyle, preferences, metabolism and everything in between is unique.
Instead of following rules and boxing yourself into someone else’s system, use what you learn as a tool to help you identify what works best for you & is sustainable over the long haul.
This part of the series will help you do just that & give you some tools to do the work.
Follow The Leader Will Leave You Stranded
Diets teach us to find a leader & do what they say. Whether the leader is a company, a book or a person, we heed to their authority and try to do what they say.
There is a much more reliable way to find answers that are true for you: listen to your body.
Most of us know more about reality TV stars and professional athletes than we do about our bodies because we’re so consumed with following someone else’s approach.
“Follow the leader” creates a handful of unfortunate problems.
The sheer number of potential “leaders” is distracting. Every time a new book, shake, program or opinion comes out, you’re hopping on the bandwagon of a new leader.
This alone prevents consistency, which is required for sustainable results.
We allow this to distract us. Instead of objectively facing our inconsistency & lack of follow through, we focus on the fact that we’ve changed our approach due a new plan (leader) when what really happened is that we didn’t follow through.
In this part of the series we’re going to address the leader-leader fat loss model & how you can adopt it in your own life.
Mindset Matters Most
There’s a huge gap between knowing what to do & actually doing it. Too often, our intentions far exceed our execution.
The reality is simple: we have more than enough information to reach our goals, but we’re not consistently acting on it.
Why? Mindset.
Our perspective and propensity to make excuses keeps us from taking action. We justify, defend and avoid more often than we dig in and do the work.
Sure, we’ll do it when we feel like it, but when we don’t feel like it, all bets are off.
You cannot create a different result with the same mindset.
Fat loss is less about your skillset and more about your mindset.
So where do we go from here?
Great question! In part 2 we’re going to completely break down calories, macros and how fat burning actually happens in the body. Most importantly, we’re going to talk about the strategies you can implement to consistently trigger fat burning and prevent fat storage in your own body.
In today’s episode I’m talking with one of my current Fat Loss Fast Track clients. For the first weeks, she was struggling to see results. But, in the two weeks prior to our chat, she had lost 5 pounds.
I asked her what changed. She said, “I started really paying attention to my hunger.”
Guys, hunger is so major.
Sometimes, as was the case for this client, when we’re eating healthy or fat loss friendly foods, we feel entitled to results. We get emotional about it.
“I’m eating healthy! Why isn’t the scale moving!”
Because you’re giving your body fuel when it doesn’t need it.
Sure, when you feel like snacking you’re choosing veggies and hummus instead of chips & dip but the reality is this: you’re giving your body more fuel than it needs.
Extra fuel, regardless of the type, gets stored. There’s no emotion about it. You don’t “deserve” results.
Today we’ll chat about understanding hunger, the common sense approach to knowing when you need more fuel and snacks that don’t work.
To see the snacks I recommend in today’s episode, see below.
To join the Fall Fat Loss Fast Track Wait List, click here.
In October 2019, our relationship with Thrive Market changed. They decided to put their marketing dollars in avenues outside of podcasting but we still think they’re a good choice if you’re looking to save money on health & personal care products.
Let’s talk nuts. First, the title here isn’t a typo. You are nuts.
If you’d rather listen to this blog than read it, click here to listen on my Anchor channel. Please note that Anchor is not my podcast – it’s a short-form audio only casual content channel where I share daily thoughts, challenges & answer your questions.
I’m gonna keep this part short. If you aren’t happy with your life but you aren’t creating change, you’re nuts.
One of the most powerful and transformative quotes I’ve ever heard is from the poet Rumi:
Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?
Is change easy? No. But is being unhappy easy?
No!
Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.
I was in a habit of eating fast food & Hostess cupcakes. I was in a habit of getting snacks from the vending machine and overeating daily.
The choices were easy because they were familiar but my life was not easy. It was agonizing. I was miserable.
Changing my choices was hard, but certainly not harder than being unhappy and feeling hopeless.
It’s perspective, my friends.
If you aren’t happy but you choose comfortable and easy over amazing & hard – you are nuts.
You are in control. Progress is worth it.
Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?
Focus JUST FOR TODAY on what you can do to move towards your goals and do the damn thing!
Ok…
Let’s talk about my nuts.
Actual nuts. I get a lot of questions about nuts. Are they fat? Are they protein? Carbs. It depends. First of all, peanuts are actually legumes – part of the bean family. They aren’t nuts.
The rest of the true nuts (tree nuts) – almonds, cashews, macadamias, etc – differ greatly in their nutrient composition.
Cashews, for example, are higher in carbohydrate than almonds.
Almonds are higher in carbohydrate than macadamia nuts.
Macadamia nuts have more fat.
Here’s an awesome chart I’ve borrowed from almonds.com to give you a sense of how various 1-ounce servings of nuts compare.
Know what nut isn’t on this chart? You might not have ever heard of it: pili nuts. They’re suuuuper tasty. Of all tree nuts, they have the lowest carbs and the highest fat. They’re also a great source of magnesium. We’re talking only 1g of carbohydrate and a whopping 24 grams of fat per serving.
Don’t go nuts with them though! Pun intended. They’re a hefty dose of fat so take it easy.
Wanna talk about today’s workout? I’m excited to say that I did wall balls – my first time squatting in a few weeks and it felt pretty good.
2 RFT
25 deadlifts
50 wall balls
50 cal bike
Not having squatted in a while, my quads definitely had a hard time adjusting to the wall balls but I pushed through, gave 100% effort and feel really proud of the workout. I made time to foam roll & ice right afterwards just to make sure I’m not aggravating my knee. Since I tested it out today, I’ll go back to babying it for a few days.
On the food front:
I didn’t really eat last night’s dinner. I made it but wasn’t too hungry so I put it back in the fridge and had it for breakfast this morning.
Around 1pm I had 1/4 cup of those pili nuts – nom nom nom. Then, I did the classiest thing of the day and prepped dinner to bring to a restaurant. Yup, I’m headed out to watch the first Patriots pre-season game at a bar and I’m brining my own meal.
Is it allowed? No. Will they throw me out? Probably not. If they tell me to put it away, I will, but I don’t think they’ll say anything.
I’m making up my cabbage salad bowl with raw shredded cabbage, hardboiled egg, avocado & bacon and taking it on the road with me.
Could I order fish & veggies at the bar? Or a burger without the bun? Of course. But it wouldn’t be as tasty or filling as my cabbage salad bowl so I choose that!
Make it a great day! Make choices that make you proud.
There’s a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about food and metabolism. Every couple of months I want to devote an episode to misunderstandings about fat, misunderstandings about protein and misunderstandings about carbohydrates.
In today’s episode, we are tackling some major misunderstandings about carbs and blood sugar. We’ll also talk about specific changes you can make to improve your carbohydrate choices without drastic dieting choices and cutting out carbs.
