Blog Archives
Perfection
We all “know” that no one is perfect – that we will never be perfect.
Yet we all try to achieve perfection in our diet and exercise programs.
If we “know” that perfection is unattainable, WHY ARE WE PRESSURING OURSELVES TO ATTAIN IT!?!
DON’T DO IT!!
Slip ups, mistakes are going to happen, but they don’t mean that we’ve failed or that we should just give up trying because we weren’t able to be “perfect.”
I’ve tried to attain perfection according to other diet and exercise programs and I’ve always fallen short. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but I just couldn’t follow their rules every day, all day. There were just times when I was too worn out/stressed/busy/on vacation to be able to stick to all of the rules.
So what happened when I slipped up?
I gave up.
But I realized I would never achieve my goals if I gave up every time I made a “mistake” – every time I cheated on my diet or missed a workout.
I couldn’t let one cheat or one missed workout lead to a week of bingeing or a week off from working out.
I had to change the expectations I had for myself.
I could seek perfection, but my definition of perfection had to include room for cheats and missed workouts. I couldn’t expect myself to be perfect 100% of the time.
BUT I could expect myself to achieve perfection 80% of the time with room for cheats or missed workouts 20% of the time.
I didn’t necessarily want to encourage cheats or missed workouts, but I had to expect that from time to time they may happen and that I could still reach my goals if I was “perfect” 80% of the time.
I stopped looking at reaching my health and fitness goals as an all or nothing thing, but a journey that I had to enjoy.
Plus I found that expecting perfection only 80% of the time lessened the pressure I felt and actually helped me stick to my program more consistently than I ever had before.
If I went on vacation, I didn’t force myself to stick to my diet if there was a dessert I really wanted to indulge in. I didn’t force myself to workout if we were all enjoying lounging by the pool.
But I found that because I wasn’t “forcing myself” to do certain things, I almost had more desire to do them even while on vacation than I ever had before.
And because I allowed myself to enjoy the times I did choose to cheat, it was easy to go straight back to my diet and exercise program when I got back from vacation.
I found a way to strict a balance between perfection and enjoyment of life. You can achieve your goals without sacrificing everything that you enjoy to do so.
You just have to accept that there will be setbacks along the way. And you can’t let them get you down. There will be mistakes and cheats and missed workouts that might upset you at that moment, but they won’t matter if you just accept them and move on.
Perfection isn’t important. Getting right back on track when you cheat or miss a workout is what matters.
It is what makes you stronger and will help you accomplish your goals.
So don’t force yourself to be perfect 100% of the time. Seek perfection 80% of the time and you will find much more success and enjoyment.
Ma’am, step away from the scale!
Maybe the invisible man is messing with your scale!
A good or bad reading on a scale determines how you feel about yourself that day.
You ignore other signs of progress toward your goal because that damn number won’t budge.
Does this sound like you?
THEN STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALE!
Many women I know, myself included, have at one time or another been addicted to the scale. We would weigh every day and our moods would be affected by what that number told us.
Even if pants fit the same (or better!), or we can see our abs more, if that number said we were “fat” then we are!
But that isn’t the way it should be.
Everyone has different builds and different amounts of muscle. Just because your friend is 4 inches taller than you and weighs the same thing, it doesn’t mean you are fat!!
Weight is just a number on a scale!
There is no “right” weight that you have to be!
I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again…I’ve gained over 10 pounds since starting Primal and heavy lifting and my body fat percentage has been better than it ever was before.
The weight I thought was right for me is no longer attainable unless I starved myself and stopped lifting.
I will probably never see that number again on the scale.
But my new number is healthy even though it is above what someone my height is “supposed” to weigh.
So stop weighing yourself!
Start finding other ways to measure “success.”
Do you feel healthy and fit and energized? Do your clothes fit well? Is your body fat lower?
Shoot even take circumference measurements and check in every month!
Just stop using the scale every day. Once a month or even once every couple of months is fine, but find another way to measure change in your body!
P.S. Another bad measure of “success” is clothing size. It freaking varies inside a store from style to style so it is no way to tell if you have gained or lost weight!
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
The Good
- I love the Olympics. I love the Olympic trials. They make me want to go and workout and be really really good at something!
- Ross the boss has been providing me with all sort of great inspirational photos recently. (Ross the boss is also known as Monkey Knuckles haha). She more than anyone should be proud of where she is today! Right before we went paddleboarding her father told her, “Remember you aren’t a jock like those other people.” Uhm sorry Ross the boss’ pops…BUT SHE IS! She’s a heavy lifting, paddleboarding, sprinting, rowing, rock climbing!?! JOCK! AND best of all…She’s lovin’ it!
- I LIKE IT! Active at 85!
- Great deadlift workout with some of my favorite lifting ladies! Both ladies set new lifting PRs! AMAZING!
Oh yea sweat and biceps! Beautiful! 🙂
- Also, I think I’ve mentioned this at least once before…I LOVE SUMMER! Fresh, local, delicious fruit!
The Bad
- I think is potentially my diet nightmare – “The Starch Solution.” I love how low-carb diets are called “fad diets” while this diet by Dr. McDougall’s isn’t considered a fad diet because it has helped thousands of people. Well, low carb diets have helped thousands of people too. And if you do the research, low-carb diets have been around for a lot longer AND helping people for a lot longer. So how are we defining fad diet here? Also this kind of sounds like a “fad diet” claim : “The Starch Solution is a groundbreaking program that will help you shed pounds, improve your health, save money, and change your life.” I am curious though what research studies this book is based on….I looked at the site but I didn’t find many studies. I found news articles, which seemed more promotional than informative. I also did find an article called “Posthumous Interview with Tim Russert.” Uhmmm….this is not PROOF that your diet is right!!!
The Simply Stupid
- OH MY GOSH! Did I really just see this!?! Diet tips from the Jersey Shore girls!?!
This isn’t really a good, bad or simply stupid thing. It is just an interesting article and the doctor cited in it was a member of the gym I work(ed) at. I especially like it because it isn’t against fat and it bashes the low-fat diet. Of course it isn’t flattering about low-carb diets either but I don’t think a Primal diet full of fruits, veggies and some non-gluten carbs would fall under what they define as a low-carb diet. Actually I wonder what their definition of “low-fat” and “low-carb” truly is…
Another random thought, do you ever see an infomercial for something and think, “That is super cool” and then right after think, “That can’t be healthy?” I saw a commercial for Slushy Magic and thought about just how amazing a slushy drink would taste during the warm summer months (or year around in sunny California!). I then thought, “But how can something that turns any liquid into slush in one minute be good for you?” I seriously wonder what is in those cubes that can turn any drink (or even yogurt) into slush in under a minute.
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
First off, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a tenacious young woman, Fern! Happy Birthday!
Now onto the good, the bad and the simply stupid!
The Good
I LIKE IT!
- I like this quote from Michelle Obama,”You wouldn’t think of watering a plant with soda.” No you definitely wouldn’t.
- Interesting research about dietary fat and cholesterol absorption.
- I’ve discovered that I love designing workouts that ask you to do as many rounds as possible in under a certain time limit (usually 20 or 30 minutes). If you push hard for 20-30, you will probably get more out of the workout than steady-state cardio for an hour. Actually I GUARANTEE you’ll get more out of it!
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
5 Dips
10 Inverted Rows
15 Burpees
20 Front squats with weight
Your quads definitely burn a bit between the burpees and using a challenging weight on front squats!
The Bad
- Ryan and I watched a Restaurant Impossible, in which Robert helps upgrade a community center. While they do create a garden and make the place super nice, the thing that bothered me the most was the prepackaged food the kids were being served. IT WAS ALL CARBS AND IT WAS BEING PASSED OFF AS HEALTHY! When seriously will the low-fat diet fad pass!?!
- If only they ate Primally, they wouldn’t have to suffer. They could bulk up or slim down easily and healthily! Celebrities and stupid diets…BLEH! Of course I do understand that some roles demand extremes but still…I mean especially Anne Hathaway! You want a catwoman body!?! Eat Primally!
The Simply Stupid
- Silk Pure Almond milk – According to their commercial people preferred the taste over regular milk. Of course the flavor they show in the commercial isn’t the Original, which has very little sugar – they instead show chocolate and vanilla! Of course people prefer them! They have more sugar and more CRAP in them!
- Yesterday while at the gym, there was a guy who walks in and starts doing bicep curls. He definitely looked like one of those guys who follow the Muscle and Fitness Bodybuilder workouts. He was definitely one of those guys that thought he was “big” because he had lots of muscle. He was definitely one of those guys that annoys me. BUT the best part of this story is what Ryan told me when we left, “So you know that guy who was doing all the bicep curls? I thought he was reading a Muscle and Fitness since it seemed like that is where he was drawing his workout from, but no…he wasn’t. He was reading a People magazine.”..For some reason this made me laugh…
I ned food.
Yes that was an intentional spelling mistake. (One of the Cave Kids’ songs is “I need food,” and the demo of this song on our computer is “I ned food.”)
Anyway, stupid joke (that only amused me and maybe Ryan).
BUT really you do actually need food.
AND I think that most of the population thinks about food (and/or consumes it) as often, if not more so, than the male supposedly thinks about sex!
So we are thinking about food a lot then! 😉
And because we are thinking about food all of the time, we tend to have lots of questions about diet.
One of the most interesting diet questions I’ve received recently was “How do you manage to stick to Primal when you are on your period and craving crap?”
I had two different answers for her.
The first one was – sometimes you just have to indulge. If I’m craving something specific and I just can’t shake the craving, I’m going to indulge. If I don’t, I’ll just end up bingeing on crap at some future date instead of having a controlled cheat.
My second answer was – if I’m not craving anything specific just something sweet/salty/flavorful, I’ll indulge in a Primal cheat. I’ll allow myself some dark chocolate on a day when I wouldn’t usually eat it. Or I’ll eat some cheese and salami, an extra piece of bacon or even some dark chocolate macadamia nut bark if we have some around!
Essentially what I told her to do was listen to her body and “measure” her cravings. Do you really want pizza or do you just want a little extra salt? Do you really want ice cream or would some frozen berries and chocolate suffice?
I find that 90% of the time, I’m super satisfied with just a Primal cheat.
The key here is to not have a ton of non Primal crap around to tempt you, but to keep some extra Primal cheats around when you know it is that time of the month. Having the Primal cheats around will keep you from going in search of something worse!
Anyway, what do you do when you are craving bad food on your period?
(P.S. You Man Bicep Males also need to read this as you are all subject to sympathy cravings! :-P)
Do you really see yourself clearly?
People come to me confused about why things aren’t working. Why they aren’t losing weight. Why they aren’t gaining muscle. Why they aren’t getting stronger/fitter/faster.
The first thing I ask them is to take a closer look at what they are TRULY doing. What does your diet or workout program truly look like?
You know what I most often hear back?
Not the facts. Just excuses.
Well I had only a little bread. Oh well I couldn’t come in on Wednesday for an hour because of work. Oh I was tired. Oh I didn’t feel 100%. Oh well I was hungry. Oh well someone brought in snacks. Oh well….
Oh well nothing!
Seriously I’m sick of excuses. I’m sick of whining.
Freaking just do it people! Stick to the diet. Don’t just have a “little” bread. Stick to the workout program. Don’t go easy because you are a “little” sore or you have too much work that day.
There will always be excuses – there will always be things that can get in the way.
But if you want results, you need to work to get them.
I was inspired to write this post because of all the whining I’ve heard recently and this old Nike ad.
Next time you whine, think seriously before you do it!
WOW..I can’t believe it’s not peanut butter…
Actually I CAN believe it’s not peanut butter.
EW!
SchoolSafe WOWButter is a peanut free soy butter that supposedly tastes like peanut butter and is safe for school since it won’t set off anyone’s nut allergies.
I honestly thought this website was a joke when Francine sent it to me yesterday.
BUT NOPE!
I honestly don’t even know which part of this to start ranting about.
So here are the ingredients, which speak for themselves (all of which are things I despise).
Ingredients:
Non GMO Toasted Soy, Soy Oil, Granulated Cane Sugar, Monoglyceride (from vegetable oil, prevents oil separation) and Sea Salt.
Ok so I don’t hate sea salt, but soy oil? Sugar? Vegetable oil? UHMMMMM…
I think I would rather just not give my kid peanut butter than to give them that crap.
Actually, I wouldn’t give my kids peanut butter since it actually isn’t a nut! And I definitely wouldn’t give them this even more processed crap!
I mean did someone ACTUALLY think this was a good solution for peanut allergies?!?
Also, PLEASE DONATE TO THE MAN BICEP TEAM! All three of us are cycling for 16 hours and would appreciate any help we can get to reach our fundraising goal!!!! Click on this link to donate! Put Man Bicep in the notes section and leave a comment on this post!!!!
THANK YOU!
What works for YOU!?!
Today Lois and I were talking about her daughter trying to change her diet and how difficult that can be.
Lois didn’t think that her daughter could make the transition to Primal like she did.
But I told her that her daughter most definitely could.
Everyone goes about starting a healthy diet in a different way. And even once we’ve settled on a healthy diet, we are constantly editing it – we are constantly changing it to fit our lifestyle better, make us healthier, help us reach a fitness goal….
No one’s diet is exactly the same as anyone elses.
For some people, making a drastic diet change is simply impossible. They have to ease themselves into it.
That is exactly what Lois’s daughter will have to do.
It may start with cutting out soda. Then vegetable oils. Then gluten until she finds a diet that not only makes her healthy but allows her to reach her goals and enjoy life.
Yes that’s right…ENJOY LIFE.
Most people don’t consider “enjoying life” when they start a new diet.
You have to create a diet that works for you! And you won’t stick to a diet that you don’t enjoy!
While you want to eat what’s healthy, you also have to allow yourself foods that you enjoy.
While you don’t want to eat a ton of bacon or a ton of cheese, if you enjoy those foods ALLOW yourself to have them. If you deprive yourself for too long, you will just fall off the wagon and have the hardest time getting back on.
If you enjoy pizza, while you don’t want to eat it every day, you can give yourself meals to eat pizza at…and I’m not talking about some Paleo/Primal pizza…I’m talking about the real thing.
I think that all out cheats once a week really work for some people.
There are just so many things that can work. You just need to find out what you enjoy the most while staying in line with what is healthy.
Only if you enjoy the diet will it really work for you!
And if a diet doesn’t work for you? You won’t stick to it no matter how healthy it is!
Diet books – BLEH!
Don’t waste your money on diet books. Go buy some grass-fed beef!
So yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble to get a Paleo/Primal diet book for one of my clients to read. After seeing the Crossfit games, and my long lectures, she finally decided to give the whole “caveman eating thing” a shot.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
But when I got to the store I was overwhelmed by a whole lot of crap. All of the “advertised” books were fad, low-fat diets!
The book that I wanted, that they CLAIMED to have in stock was nowhere to be found.
I was overwhelmed by all of the conventional wisdom/fad diets lining the shelves.
I had the desire to run through the diet aisles knocking every book off the shelves and then sprint out of the store.
Or I wanted to grab an armful of the stupid books and throw them in the trash.
Either one would have felt really satisfying.
Of course I probably would have gotten arrested or something, but still….It would have felt good!
I didn’t do it though. Instead I managed to focus enough to find one of the HEALTHY DIET books I was looking for.
With that huge load of diet crap out there though, no wonder Americans are confused about what the right diet is!
Actually it is almost kind of depressing that we turn to brightly colored books with neon words stating “Lose 15 lbs in 2 day!” instead of just eating the foods that come naturally from the earth!
I mean honestly it is simple. Just do an experiment. Eat all the crap they recommend for 30 days and then go eat all of the natural foods that I recommend for 30 days.
Which makes you feel better? Which do you think you can maintain for longer than the 30 days?
I think I know the answer….
Actually I’ve lived the answer. Heck I used to buy diet books and read every article in all of the women’s health magazines looking for some secret new trick.
BUT IT DOESN’T EXIST!
Anyway, don’t take my word for it. Try an experiment yourself. You’ll see.
Oh and just a random side note…
While I complain about all of the crap diet books there were lining the shelves, there definitely were more Paleo/Primal/Caveman books out there than ever before.
I could make a very cynical comment about how there are now books being published about this healthy diet because there is now a market to make money off of….but I’ll keep my mouth shut.
What is next though? A Caveman Lifestyles magazine? Or maybe even a Caveman Vogue?
Hey I’m not saying I don’t get it. But I just think everyone needs to realize that everyone out there who is pushing something has an agenda.
Even me.
I obviously want you to believe that eating my way and lifting heavy weights is the BEST way.
And of course it is…. 🙂
Dieting – The Perfection of Imperfection
Lots of people pressure themselves to never cheat and to stick 100% to a diet.
These people also never manage to stick to a diet for very long.
The belief that you can maintain a PERFECT diet is completely and utterly unrealistic especially if you plan to do the diet for any extended period of time.
This is what happens when you expect perfection out of your diet.
Instead I don’t plan on perfection. I plan on cheating.
I live by the 80/20 rule – I eat well 80% of the time and badly 20% of the time. Always have. Always will.
And I think you achieve the greatest success when you don’t expect yourself to be perfect. That frankly is just too much pressure and leads to failure.
You simply run out of self-control when you are working to maintain perfect. However, if you plan in a cheat day, you allow your self-control to recharge.
And if you PLAN in cheat days, not only do you recharge but you do DAMAGE CONTROL.
WHAT!?! By doing damage you are controlling the damage?
YEP!
When you plan in cheats and allow yourself to recharge, you prevent yourself from completely losing control and doing more damage than that one single cheat day would do.
I mean think about it…
When you feel super deprived, what do you do? You eat everything in sight and eat way too much because you’ve run out of self-control. And sometimes it takes you weeks or even months to get back on track.
On the other hand, if you plan in a cheat once a week, even if it is just a Primal cheat, such as dark chocolate and cheese, you quench your cravings enough that you don’t feel the need to stuff your face until you have a food baby! AND you also can go back to eating well the next day because you know you will get all that wonderful tasting food again in only a few days!
So what seems better?
I personally would rather plan to be good 80% of the time than plan to be good 100% of the time. Because I know that 80% is attainable while 100% simply isn’t.
Why set a goal that isn’t realistic when you can set yourself up to succeed and get great results while indulging 20% of the time!?!
Take a look at your diet? Do you always feel like you are falling off the bandwagon because you are expecting too much?
Man Bicep 