Deep Thoughts……More on Weight Loss, Health, and Living.
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Today I’m just going to lay out some 1-2 line thoughts and let the message just sink in. No need to probably go into much more detail with each, much like I’ve done in the past with the trainer tells all article. You may agree with some, and disagree with others….and that is ok. Discussion is always welcome….so let’s get to it.
- If your doctor (or anyone you are getting advice from) is overweight, why do you take his advice on what to eat?
- If you can tell me about what happened last night on “Survivor”, then you have no excuses of why you have no time to go exercise.
- If it did not exist 100…1000….10000 years ago, you probably shouldn’t be eating it. If it will still be around in another 1000 years “as-is on a shelf” (preserved), you definitely don’t want to eat it.
- Stop focusing on “how many calories did I burn” with exercise. Focus on “what hormonal response am I giving my body for the next 24-48 hours?” (to burn fat, or waste muscle?)
- Food made by nature is good. Food made by man is bad. Man’s downfall in health could be thinking he could outsmart what nature had intended for us to eat in the first place.
- 2 shorter but more intense workouts divided up in a day is more effective for releasing fat (GH pulses) than just one big long workout.
- Putting sugar into your body is saying to yourself “I don’t feel like burning fat for the next 3 hours” (with the insulin response and shutdown of fat releasing hormones)
- Getting fit/lean isn’t rocket science (as some people with the best physiques are not always the sharpest knife in the drawer), just many don’t stick with it or keep motivated. Stop thinking you need something complicated, the biggest thing you need is just simple consistency.
- The greatest mental flaw for modern society is not realizing people are overweight and sick because of their deviation from eating and living in a more natural way (as our bodies were designed for).
- Diets don’t work, only lifestyle changes. So learn how to break free from diet books and eat for life!
- There is no real failure…there is no real success….only actions and results. Stop judging yourself and just do what you know you need to do. As the worst action, is taking none at all.
- Buy a set of good resistance bands to have with you if you travel or are busy at home. There is always time to use those for a full body workout. (plus pushups can be done with no equipment needed!)
- Muscles seem to grow the most in 24-48 hrs after a workout, so stop thinking you need expensive post workout drinks to build muscle (and focus on eating right on the other days as well!).
- Lead by example with your food and lifestyle choices, others will follow (no need to preach to or force them).
- It’s more important than ever to teach younger people the truth about how (and why) to eat and move, otherwise our kids will keep getting fatter and sicker by the generations (and then old age in a couple generations may be someone living past 40!).
- Challenge yourself to live life fuller…get out of comfort routines….unplug your TV for a month (I just put mine in the closet)….see what happens.
- Don’t have a vision of you 30lbs lighter in 30 days, have a vision of you healthy and lean in 1, 10, 25 years…that will keep you on track for life (as I can’t tell you how many people are always trying repeatedly to lose the same 15+ lbs they seem to lose/regain year after year).
- Tell your doctor everything you do to get healthy, let he/she see your results and maybe he/she will also start to spread the good word. If the medical system is broken, it’s up to us to help fix it from the inside out.
- This year I challenge you to learn a new sport or hobby (taking dancing lessons, rock climbing, surfing….whatever you enjoy).
- It’s a simple rule…but only buy healthy real foods you should be eating at the grocery store. That way if you are ever feeling “weak” you won’t have anything self destructive around the house within easy arm’s reach.
- Don’t spend your whole life inside a gym, you have one life to live….so go experience it. Why spin a bike and go nowhere when you could be going through the mountains?
- Want to save gas money and get fitter? Buy a push mower and a rake, sell the gas powered mower and leaf blower. Plus your neighbors may thank you for the reduction in “noise pollution”.
- Perfection is an illusion, it means there is some final destination to be achieved (and disappointment to be had if you don’t get there). Strive for living daily instead, not trying to achieve a goal that your happiness is depending on. Your happiness is now.
- Drop the word “cardio” and change it to “Lifestyle activity” (or lifestyle cardio) doing things you love to do outdoors and with others.
- While science is looking for a “cure”, the rest of us should be living with “prevention” (and not expecting for a magic pill to bail us out, it’s our responsibility to stay in good health…not your doctors).
- Throw out the scale, it’s causing more problems than it solves. You don’t know what the magic number should be anyways, so stop obsessing over it. A mirror and your clothes will tell you what is going on with your body composition.
- Not exercising for a day does not give you the right to just throw your healthy eating lifestyle out the window too.
- More damage is done by people “falling off” a diet wagon than those that never diet (rebound binge eating and negative self image).
- Eat Real Food….it can’t get an simpler than that! (and no need to count calories either)
- Do more with less and become an expert in making real foods taste great (with real spices/ingredients). Get a cookbook if you need ideas and then experiment (like The Paleo Cookbook or the Urban Kitchen Cookbook).
- Save more money and eat out less. Still want company? Then have nights of cooking for guests and alternate the locations (and who cooks).
- I like driving past a cemetery and saying “not there yet”…helps to keep things in life in perspective and make me realize anything is possible today…if I just go do it.
- Teach your kids the art of having fun in what they do to the best of their ability, not the lesson of winning just for the sake of not losing.
- I won’t cry if Coke or General Mills goes out of business….sorry I just won’t. If we are to get healthier as a civilization, those types of businesses probably need to fail….and better ones (especially more smaller owned/local) need to take their place (such as farmers, real-healthy foods).
- The planet does not need any saving from us….it’s not going anywhere in the next few million years or so. We need saving from our own worst enemy, ourselves. Just enjoying living and eating is not complicated….it’s everything else we think we need to do along the way that messes it all up.
So if you have any of your own 1-2 liners…please share in the comments below.
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Another post that’s being forwarded to a few friends.
Thanks guys
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Imagine the stress that both men and women alike could cut out of their day if they could read and understand those simple one line statements. Such a great post for those of us out there that know there isn’t a magic pill or some certain amount of money you need to spend to see the reflection you want looking back at you. You get out what you put in, instant gratification doesn’t have a place when talking about a life long objective to stay healthy and not only feel great but look it too, at any age.
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This was great – I can’t tell you how many of my friends tell me they just don’t have time to work out – I always feel like they’re insinuating that I don’t have enough to do with my time if I make the time (and I do!) to work out.
Here’s a one-liner from my trainer that resonated with me, “Eat a ton, drink a ton, work out a ton….still weigh a ton.”
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Simple, to the point, no frills and I agree, live it, everyday.
I forwarded to loved ones and encouraged to print and post on the fridge….
Cheers..
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Jay – Thanks for helping to spread the word and making a difference!
Chet – Most people’s daily stresses (or what they let them stress them out) are usually so insignificant in the overall scheme of what is truly important. The good news is there is hope that people can find the simple truths….and then all the other stuff just sort of melts away.
Beth – I like to call those the “Yeahbut” people….the ones always saying “Yeah, but I…..”. That’s an excuse for whatever it is they are wishing they could do. People need to just dump the excuses (and all the other Dr Phil psychobabble) and just realize….anything is possible if they want it to be. Great line from your trainer as well!
Tony – As much as we can present all the scientific data and research to prove something….it always comes down to understanding a simple truth and then less really is more. I wish everyone could understand (and live) the simple truths in the statements as much as you and I do.
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Great, I specially liked the one about putting sugar into your body……!
I think I shall never forget it.
Thanks a lot I have printed it out.
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This is in response to this:
“If your doctor (or anyone you are getting advice from) is overweight, why do you take his advice on what to eat?”
You’re committing the Tu Quoque logical fallacy here. Basically, just because they can’t “practice what they preach” does not mean that what they are preaching is false or bad advice. This happens a lot. Lots of parents tell their children to not drink alcohol, when in fact the parents drink it too. There are many good reasons for that child to not drink alcohol, but should we just throw the advice away because they drink it themselves? You could use these examples for many, many things.
They might not have their own life on track, or they might have made some bad decisions earlier, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the correct knowledge, or good advice to give. Look at the other side of the coin. There are plenty of people who are not overweight out there giving horrible advice. Should we take their advice just because they aren’t fat? Even if the advice is totally ridiculous? I’ve heard people give the most horrific advice ever (such as only drinking protein shakes, no food, etc.) and they were not overweight at all.
You need to look at the message being given, not the person giving the message.
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Great post. Many gems there. The sugar comment is classic.
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Jordan – I think you do have to always question the source of information. I also think it is wrong when people are the “perceived” experts of health and wellness….yet they are not a walking example, especially if one consults people about the same thing they suffer from. It’s like me telling someone a super complicated nutritional program that I would never want to follow myself, how will that help someone when I don’t even want to do it? Trust me, I’ve seen plenty of in-shape people giving advice that made me cringe as well….so the cover does not always reflect the quality of the book. But in the case of doctors, they are the biggest authority in most people’s eyes….and if they can’t keep themselves healthy and don’t see it as a priority, how do they expect their patients to do the same?
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“It’s like me telling someone a super complicated nutritional program that I would never want to follow myself, how will that help someone when I don’t even want to do it?”
Well plenty of people have different goals which require different nutritional programs. Do you think that a 200lb+ personal trainer is going to follow the same diet as a 115lb female? Or maybe one person wants to gain weight while others want to lose weight. Maybe the person in question has to count their calories/portions because they have problems with overeating?
Same could be said for doctors. I’m sure there’s plenty of advice they give out that at no point in their life they would even have to consider. Doctor’s give out plenty of advice for diabetes/blood sugar but since they don’t monitor their own blood sugar those people shouldn’t take the advice? All I’m saying is there could me a million things going on which could contribute to overweight doctor’s. Hell, I’ve seen doctors who smoke cigarettes, but I’m sure their advice to their patients to not smoke is still good advice. They could be going through family problems and be highly stressed and the cigs might calm them down. Horrible to do, but it could be happening. What if their way of responding to life events/stressors is eating? We’ve all seen that happen. Sounds like more of an issue for psychologists to handle than doctor’s. But, I digress. In the end it’s still a logical fallacy, one that is far too widespread. It happens all the time in politics. Sure, they might be going through some things, and they might not always follow their own advice but that doesn’t mean that I can just shrug it off because their doing exactly what they say to not do.
EDIT: One more thing to add, we’ve all seen fat physical trainers. Yet their clients still have some impressive transformations. Is the advice they’re giving bad? Should the clients not listen to them? What if they were fit at one point, had the knowledge and good advice, yet their bodies became unfit for whatever reason, yet they still have the good advice and knowledge. Should we still not listen to them just because they’re overweight?
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“Hell, I’ve seen doctors who smoke cigarettes, but I’m sure their advice to their patients to not smoke is still good advice”
I would bet none of their patients will quit smoking if they knew their doctor didn’t quit.
“we’ve all seen fat physical trainers. Yet their clients still have some impressive transformations. Is the advice they’re giving bad? Should the clients not listen to them? What if they were fit at one point, had the knowledge and good advice, yet their bodies became unfit for whatever reason, yet they still have the good advice and knowledge. Should we still not listen to them just because they’re overweight?”
Then my question to the trainer….is the advice he giving…really sustainable for someone to maintain their results when they stop training with them a year down the road….if the trainer doesn’t want to keep it up, what makes me think their clients will too down the road?
I would not listen to an overweight doctor…..but that’s just me as I set my standards a bit higher for “assumed” levels of authority when it comes to my long term health. That and most doctors have no real training in nutrition, nor could they really be looking at lifestyle approach solution over more pharmaceutical ones. People who don’t look the part can make all the excuses they want in the world, while the knowledge does matter…..people need role models to lead by example. If you want a person to do something, telling them and showing them produces drastically different responses. People know what their doctors tell them, yet most never listen….so why is that? I can count plenty of people who may be overweight or sick…and know what they need to do, but yet they don’t. So knowledge…without action…is useless.
I’m putting the challenge to those who are respected for their opinion…to do look the part (we are not talking six pack abs, but just be healthy)…and walk the talk…and inspire more….as we are losing the battle on health as it is.
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“Then my question to the trainer….is the advice he giving…really sustainable for someone to maintain their results when they stop training with them a year down the road….if the trainer doesn’t want to keep it up, what makes me think their clients will too down the road?”
I’m almost 99% sure that the diet the trainer is following is not going to the same for say a 100lb female client. But that’s besides the point. What I’m saying is if the diet and everything worked before, when the trainer was fit, and kept long-term benefits throughout the clients life, and then for whatever reason the trainer became fat, yet still kept all other variables the same (the same diet and training for clients, which is prove to work long-term), should the clients not listen to the trainer’s advice?
This same principle can be used for the Doctor’s case.
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“I’m almost 99% sure that the diet the trainer is following is not going to the same for say a 100lb female client. ”
While the portions and calories may be different….the main approach IS the same usually. Like a plan for the Zone for a 300lb man and a 100 woman…it’s still the “zone” approach. Eating 6x a day is still the same approach with differences only in portions. Telling people to eat the same foods is still the same approach, even if portion sizes vary.
As for an overweight trainer, his message can prove to work….but it would just concern me as a client that if he can’t keep it up, what makes me think I could. Anyone can have a setback in life, but I would hope trainers would just get back to doing what they know needs to be done for their own health. Honestly I am less concerned about the trainers….as they will either do a great job in helping clients or put themselves out of business in the process.
As for the doctor….sorry, I make no excuses for people in that position…instead I hold them to a higher standard for the good of their patients. While 20% of their patients may actually listen to what they say for “lifestyle” approaches….the other 80% who blow it off are who I’m trying to help. If any doctors have excuses…I’ll put them in touch with one I know very well who works 10-12+ hr days 6x a week and still makes it a priority to eat well and exercise (and looks great too…which I have personally seen as a positive motivating factor with her clients).
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Wow, those are really great tips – thank you so much. Its so refreshing when I read about someone recommending life-long changes instead of short-term diets and explaining that nature knows best when it comes to our food.
Thanks so much for the advice!
~ Gina
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“More damage is done by people “falling off” a diet wagon than those that never diet (rebound binge eating and negative self image)”
I couldn’t agree more. Rather than “dieting”, why not make a lifestyle change? I listened to a dietitian talk at a presentation a few weeks ago and she said to ask yourself one question when looking at a diet: “could you do this for the rest of your life?” If the answer is no, it’s probably not a good thing to do!
Great list, lot’s of solid points! Thanks!
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Bookmarked for life!
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How about “you become what you think about – whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you can bet for sure that you’re absolutely right”
(I think I stole that one from Henry Ford – it’s one of my favourites and I definitely try to live by it!)
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Kat, love that one. So very true. I was at a USA Track and Field coaching certification this past weekend and they were discussing the psychology of coaching, especially at the high school level and how the athlete’s confidence and self-image has an effect on their performance. If you don’t step to that starting line with the confidence that you are going to win, you’ve already lost the race.
It works with weight loss, gaining strength (have to visualize that max deadlift going up before it ever goes up), and pretty much every other area of life.
Cheers
Scott
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Scott C – So true, while everyone is always looking for short cuts and quick results….it’s the longterm ability to maintain that is the key to success. Hence why I love the IF lifestyle…something I can do forever and enjoy!
Kat – 100% right. Heard many different versions of that same philosophy….but it comes down to our mindset will determine the results to come. I also like the version “Where attention goes….energy flows….and results show”.
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“could you do this for the rest of your life?”
Hmm … my moment of truth came two years ago, when I checked my blood sugar after a “normal” meal and it was over 140! It was like I was just mindlessly walking along, and all of a sudden I found myself standing in front of a car speeding towards me. I HAD to act to save myself! I knew I HAD to switch to low-carb – I have a family history of diabetes from both parents, and I’d struggled with my weight for years. I didn’t even feel a sense of choice – because I did not want to end up like my grandmothers.
Fortunately, it turns out that eating low-carb is usually pretty pleasant, and the sense of doom I felt about starting a “boring” low-carb diet quickly faded.
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Simple rule for healthy eating:
Never eat anything that comes in a cardboard box.
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thanks for the reminders, mike.
we paleo people do things a little differently than others and sometimes it’s easy (for me anyway) to get sucked into the deprivation mindset. for example, i can’t or shouldn’t have that chocolate chip cookie that’s calling my name because if i eat it i’m off on a sugar binge for a month.
when i find myself in those situations, i try to reframe my thoughts and turn a potential negative into a positive. i’m fasting today and i’ve been telling myself that i’m not depriving myself of food, i’m burning fat and improving my lipid and glucose profiles. it helps… a lot.
so i guess my one liner would be…”it’s not deprivation; it’s freedom”. freedom from an unhealthy lifestyle, diabetes, heart problems, decrepitude, etc, etc.
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Mike…wonderful information, inspirational and words to live by. Sharing your information with family and friends….Jordan…I am a healthcare professional married to a personal trainer…I lost all respect for my former MD who told me to get out more to exercise if I could, take meds to loose weight, but not make any lifestyle changes. Yet, he was around 150lbs overweight and ate double portions at all meals, complained of being overweight. His wife and children were following his over -indulgent example. As someone that educates patients DAILY, I do not give any form of education that I am not willing to follow myself…I am healthy active and eat natural foods-my co-workers notice it and the physicians I work with are interested in changing their lifestyles based on what I do…Jordan my friend, you sound like a person always looking for the easy way out or the “excuses”. Stop wasting your energy trying to discredit others, use that energy to get out and enoy this life…
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I happen to agree with Jordan.
Back when I was first learning about health, I told people stuff I was learning. But they used the fact that I smoked as an excuse not to listen. Then when I quit smoking, I gained weight, and people used the fact that I was fat to reject what I was saying. I kept learning and sharing and started losing weight. Next thing you know, they wouldn’t listen because I drank coffee. So I gave up coffee and one day I told someone the bad news I had just read about grains. But they argued with me and eventually fell back on, “Well, why should I listen to you? You just ate a dinner role.” So I eventually lost 35 pounds (20 to go) gave up grains, coffee, processed food, and cigarettes. And I’m still fat. So nobody should listen to me?
Just a few days ago someone left a snarky comment on a blog about how they couldn’t get anything from my vegan to paleo video because they couldn’t get past the fact that I bought a mocha at Starbucks while receiving food stamps!
NEVER REJECT THE MESSAGE because you don’t like the messenger. Everybody is a teacher. And everybody falls down. Reject the message because the message itself is no good. In other words, judge the message, not the messenger. It could be the message is, as Mike says, not do-able, and that’s why the messenger fails, or maybe the messenger is just weak.
Everybody struggles. I have a preacher friend who gives me great encouragement and advice. He admits that he has trouble following his own advice, and I respect him more for it, because I know the advice is difficult.
Now, EE, would you like to tell me what kind of person I am?
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Great Post. Keep fighting the good fight for eating real food. It’s one of the most important battles for the fitness world today to get out there to the general community.
-Rafi Bar Lev
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In the words of Aerosmith, “live and learn from fools and from sages.”
Cheers
Scott
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Great post! Especially like the first statement. The only thing I remember from my high school health class 20 years ago is “Heed not the adipose physician.”. It has stuck with me all these years.
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Reminds me of an old song …”Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ‘99…wear sunscreen…if I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.” (Baz Luhrman – Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen))…Brilliant
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*if I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it*
And then we were warned of the Vitamin D deficiency…
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This is one of the better lifestyle articles I’ve read…simple and easy to understand. Everyone tries to make it sooooo hard…because they don’t want to change their lifestyle. Excellent writing!
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