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Monday Motivation – Be Greater Than Your Excuses
Life – It is truly one big excuse.
Something can and will always be getting in the way, making your goals more complicated and difficult to accomplish.
Basically what I’m telling you is there will always be excuses and reasons NOT to do something.
The question then is…How bad do you want it?
Because if you really want it bad enough, nothing will hold you back and you will find a way to accomplish your goals.
If you aren’t dedicated to your goals, any excuse will cause you to fail.
And I’m sure right now a few of you are shaking your head and telling yourself…”But I really don’t have time/money/resources/knowledge…whatever to accomplish my goals and I really REALLY want to.”
Uh sorry…But you are LYING TO YOURSELF and making excuses.
And to some extent all of those excuses are valid. They all are reasons why you can’t accomplish your goals. They are all barriers and hurdles that you have to overcome if you want to succeed.
The point is, if your desire is strong enough, if your plan is good enough, then those excuses are just that – merely hurdles that you can overcome.
Notice that I said DESIRE and PLAN.
Because motivation will only keep you going for so long that you need to create a plan to help keep you on track when the excuses build and you want to stop moving forward.
Wait…So I said if you want it bad enough you won’t give into your goals yet I also said that motivation isn’t enough and that you need to have a PLAN.
YUP!
If you want it bad enough, you will create a PLAN that will not allow excuses to derail your progress.
You will create a meal prep plan that doesn’t allow you to give the excuse that you are too busy or stressed to cook. And you will create a workout program that is convenient and quick that fits your crazy, busy schedule.
You will create a plan that address your excuses instead of using your excuses as a way to get out of doing what you know you truly want to be doing!
Because when you really want something, you PLAN for success!
So what’s your plan for this week? How are you going to be greater than your excuses?
P.S. A huge thanks to everyone that came out to celebrate our Grand Opening on Saturday! Had so much fun! Here are some pictures from the event…
The Five Pillars of Health
Being healthy is about more than working out or eating well – it is about balancing what I call “The Five Pillars of Health.”
These five pillars are:
- Diet
- Activity
- Sleep
- Vitamin D/Sunlight
- Stress
When you do your best to get the most out of all five pillars, you will be healthy. Ignore one and all of your hard work with the others may go to waste.
Being healthy is all about BALANCE.
Let’s take a look at all five pillars and how they each contribute to us being healthy.
A healthy lifestyle is 24/7
While I understand the point of this fitspo…To inspire you to believe that you do actually have the TIME…It bothers me because becoming healthier, fitter, happier takes more than one hour a day a few times a week.
Being healthy and feeling good is a lifestyle…AKA it is a 24/7 deal.
It does take lots of time to be healthy. It ISN’T easy to fit in working out and cooking and being active with a busy schedule especially if you are stressed.
It also isn’t easy to stay dedicated day in and day out when results are slow to build. We all want to see instant progress, which is why the first question many people ask me when they are considering joining is….
“How long will it take me to reach my goals?”
I often ask them…”How hard are you willing to work? How much time are you planning to dedicate to making changes?”
Their minds always first go to how many times a week they can come in to train.
And I would love to tell them that their few training sessions with me each week are enough.
But that simply isn’t the case.
If you want results from all of the hard work you put in at the gym, you need to make smart, healthy choices the other 23 hours of the day.
Especially if you want those results quickly.
Quick results mean lots of time and energy spent CONSISTENTLY day in and day out to reach your goal.
Most people know this. Most people know that they can’t out exercise a bad diet.
Yet all too many people try to. And then they still expect to lose weight/get stronger/feel better/be healthier after really only committing to their goals the three hours a week they come to the gym!
So all I’m saying is, if you want results, you have to commit to your goals all day, every day. That doesn’t mean a little slip up or a cheat day is going to make you fail.
It just means that reaching your goals is a lot of hard work…AND VERY TIME CONSUMING.
Don’t delude yourself. It is.
But if you truly want something, isn’t it worth dedicating the time to get it?
Remember a workout may be 4% of your day, but your dreams, your goals, deserve your attention 24/7!
When Healthy Living Becomes Obsession
In clients I deal with two very different issues almost every day –
1. The people who can’t get started and make excuses as to why they can’t create a healthy lifestyle.
OR
2. The people who become OBSESSED with eating well and working out every day to the point that they almost can’t take a day off.
And trust me, neither is really HEALTHY.
When I say OBSESSED, I’m talking about mentally and physically overtraining. I’m talking about never giving yourself a break and doing as much as you possibly can every single day with no break.
I’m talking about training way too often for way too long because you feel like you NEED to do a certain amount each day.
I’m talking about never letting yourself indulge in a treat and/or restricting your calories as low as possible to force weight loss.
I’m talking about the MORE IS MORE ATTITUDE when as I’ve stated numerous times recently MORE IS ACTUALLY LESS.
Yes, it can be good for periods to do MORE, but those periods should all have an expiration date and be used to KICKSTART your program or break a plateau.
You simply shouldn’t workout every day.
RECOVERY IS WHEN YOU REBUILD! Days off are KEY TO GETTING RESULTS.
When you don’t take days off, you are basically hindering yourself from getting the results that you should be getting from your workouts.
And two a days?!?!
While as I said, I can see using them for a few weeks to create big changes, they shouldn’t be used in the long run!
Exercise breaks down our body. We only regrow stronger with more muscle and lean body mass if our body has the change to RECOVER.
So while going hard for a few days, a few weeks, can be a great push in the right direction, YOU CAN’T MAINTAIN IT!
Going that hard leads ultimately to you falling off your program – either due to injury or due to the fact that you’ve created something that is truly unmanageable long-term.
Same goes for obsessing over eating cleanly.
I won’t go into a whole rant here, as I already have numerous times recently, but IF YOU RESTRICT YOUR CALORIES TOO MUCH YOU WILL COMPLETELY STALL YOUR WEIGHT LOSS!
Not to mention you will PREVENT LEAN MASS GAINS! Aka…all those workouts will be for nothing because you aren’t fueling them properly.
Plus, most people can’t eat 100% clean day in and day out without it eventually leading to a complete, uncontrolled binge, which in turn leads to them giving up on their healthy eating program all together. We just don’t have that much self-control especially with all the other life stressors we have to deal with each day.
Just think about how much self-control you are expending by trying to go so intense and PERFECT your diet and exercise program. Self-control isn’t infinite. And trying to control ever last detail is STRESSFUL!
Think about how much you STRESS over not missing a workout. Over eating cleanly even when there is no healthy food around.
STRESS can negatively impact our progress. It can negatively impact our healthy. Heck if you are trying to lose weight, STRESS can prevent you from getting the results you are working so hard for!
Geez…Cut yourself some slack, people!
I know many of you don’t want to believe it, but LESS IS MORE. Working out every day and eating 100% clean really aren’t going to get you greater results.
Actually they may get you WORSE RESULTS.
So stop obsessing.
Don’t stress over miss workouts.
Don’t stress over a treat.
STOP OBSESSING and try ENJOYING.
Seriously, stop bragging about how you workout EVERY DAY. Or do two-a-days. Stop bragging about how you don’t eat ANYTHING BAD EVER.
There is no pride in being stupid and wasting your time!
Trust me…I want people to get results and if I’m saying there is such a thing as too much…THERE IS!
Diet Analysis – Two Diet Approaches
So today I don’t want to discuss what diet is best or what foods you should be eating. Instead I want to discuss HOW to start making changes toward a healthier diet.
I also want to make note that when I say “diet” I don’t mean a fad or a restricted eating program. By diet I mean “The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.”
When you want to change your lifestyle, there isn’t just one way to do it. Every person has to make healthy lifestyle changes in their own way.
But I have found that there are two basic diet approaches that work best for most people.
The ALL OR NOTHING APPROACH:
With this approach, you create a meal plan with everything planned out so that you know exactly what you are eating and when you are eating it. You may even cook and/or prep everything for the week on Sunday so that it is all ready to go.
This is great for people who don’t like having to make decisions. For many, having to figure out what to eat at the end of a long day, or when they are hungry, leads to disaster and binging. Having everything set out ahead of time helps alleviate the stress of making decisions and allows them to more easily instill new habits.
They also don’t mind eating the same thing numerous times a week and do better when they don’t have a ton of different options around the house.
I’ve found this works best for people who are triggered to binge by having “a little” of a food that tempts them or reminds them of old eating habits – this works best for people who think about their new diet as the foods that they CAN HAVE not the foods that they now CAN’T or SHOULDN’T HAVE.
This may also be a great option for someone who is trying to lose weight fairly aggressively for a specific event (while I don’t like when people crash diet for events, sometimes a big push to get the momentum going can help lead to a long-term commitment).
THE TORTOISE APPROACH:
The all or nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone though. Many feel very RESTRICTED when they have a set meal plan because all they can think about is the foods that AREN’T on the schedule.
So the other approach that I often recommend to clients is what I call the Tortoise approach.
This is honestly my favorite way to make diet changes when dealing with clients who are trying to make an overall lifestyle change.
I call it the TORTOISE approach because it reminds me of the story of The Tortoise and The Hare. Slow and steady wins the race. For these people, sprinting ahead on a meal plan or with very strict guidelines, leads to binging and ultimately to failure. They can’t keep up the pace or feel like they are so ahead that they can rest for awhile…just like the Hare. They do much better with a slow steady pace that allows them to adapt to each change before making the next one. The slow steady pace helps them stay on course the entire time and achieve their ultimate goal…just like the Tortoise.
For people like this, having basic guidelines to follow while being able to eat technically whatever they want allows them to never feel deprived (even if they never actually indulge) because they have the OPTION of eating something if they really want it.
So now the question is…Which way will work best for you?
Unfortunately, no one can answer that but you. And maybe you even need to give both a shot for a month or two to figure out which works best.
But before you choose an approach ask yourself two important questions:
- Do you feel deprived and only think about the foods you CAN’T eat? (YES, then you are a Tortoise because meal plans make Tortoise feel restricted. They like to feel like they can eat anything while staying within basic guidelines.)
- Do you get completely derailed by even just a bit of a food you don’t want to consume on a regular basis? (YES, then you are an All or Nothing. All or Nothings can’t have just a little of something and stay within guidelines. Just a little leads to binges that won’t stay within guidelines.)
Made a successful lifestyle change? Which approach did you use? Or did you maybe even combine them?
(I have had people do meal plans to get things going and then ease off to guidelines once they’ve gained some momentum.)
Cheat Days – The Debate
So I’ve always known days or meals where you indulge in foods that aren’t necessarily healthy as cheat days or cheat meals.
But recently there has been a lot of talk about whether or not “cheat” is really the proper word to describe the meal or day.
CHEAT implies that you are doing something wrong…something bad…something breaking from what you shouldn’t be doing.
There can be a negative connotation to calling a day or meal a “CHEAT.”
So I’ve heard some people call it a TREAT meal instead.
But personally, TREAT almost bothers me even more. You aren’t a dog…You don’t need a treat for eating well. Eating well is what you should be doing.
Both can really imply, in a way, that eating well isn’t really all that fun, tasty or enjoyable.
Which honestly really isn’t the case.
Healthy food can be delicious. And it not only makes you feel good but helps your body and mind truly run well.
BUT as good as healthy food is and as great as you really do feel when you eat well…there are just times you want to indulge even if that means your belly is going to grumble a bit the next day.
Like for me, a vacation isn’t a vacation if I’m worried about finding something healthy on the menu – If I’m more worried about eating well than on trying new things.
Like for me…I would feel like I’m missing out if I didn’t get to try cookie dough fudge at a cute local candy shop. Grocery store candy I could pass on because it really isn’t worth the indulgence…but homemade fudge!?!
Cheat days, treat days, whatever you call them, are about more than eating bad food. They aren’t even about indulging in things you are “deprived off” otherwise.
They are more about a mental release and enjoying something in life that you don’t necessarily get to do every day.
Maybe a more apt description of cheat days is VACATION.
I mean think about it…Why do you take vacation?
Because you need a break. You need a break from routine. A break from exercising self-control day in and day out. Because you need both a mental and physical rest.
A VACATION is a chance to recharge!
For me…a “cheat day” is exactly that…a chance to re-charge.
It is a mini vacation from self-control and it can mean a ton of different things.
It isn’t always about eating food that is bad for me. I mean sometimes it is…Sometimes it is indulging in those nachos because they just take so good and I really really love food. Sometimes it is getting to try new foods when I’m on vacation and really let go.
But most importantly it is about relaxing and enjoying be it nachos or simply a glass of wine. It is about enjoying something and taking a mini vacation from the normal routine.
It is about “cheating” for the sake of cheating. It isn’t about eating something bad just because it is there or because I’ve had a bad day or because someone else pressures me.
It is about doing something, eating something, that I enjoy because I WANT it.
A big part of making a healthy diet into a lifestyle is about also realizing that you don’t have to be perfect all the time.
You need vacations from work…from family…from daily life…
So why wouldn’t you need a vacation from eating well or working out every once in a while?
We need chances to recharge and indulge be it a glass of wine and dark chocolate, a piece of bread with butter or a whole pizza and pint of ice cream. Shoot maybe it isn’t even eating something unhealthy…Sometimes it is just about telling yourself that you can do WHATEVER that day IF you end up really craving something.
Sometimes you just need a break from your daily habits because those daily habits do wear down your self-control no matter how ingrained they seemed to be.
So whatever your cheat/treat/indulgence/splurge/break/vacation/(whatever you call the snack, meal or day) is, make sure it is something you are going to enjoy to the fullest without guilt.
Do you include a “cheat” something into your daily, weekly or monthly diet plan? What do you prefer to call that “treat?”
Learn, Do, Decide, Spin
So I love the fitness community that I’ve fallen into out here in Cali.
There are so many people to learn from.
There are so many people out here experimenting and trying new things.
And some of those new experiments are amazing…while others…well…not so much.
But the point isn’t whether or not their experiments are always right.
The point is that they are experimenting!
And many of these experiments aren’t ground-breaking. Many are with simple tools that have cycled in and out of the industry over the years.
Many of these experiments are simply a new SPIN on things.
Because let’s face it…there really aren’t that many NEW ideas – ideas that NO ONE ELSE out there have ever had before.
BUT there are a lot of different new takes on the same old ideas – there are a lot of people out there putting a new SPIN on things.
Because that new SPIN is what makes all the difference.
That SPIN is what creates the perfect diet/exercise/healthy lifestyle FOR YOU!
But it isn’t simply a question of arriving at your own spin.
There are clear steps you need to take to turn something someone else does into something perfect for you.
The first step is to LEARN.
Learn about a diet and exercise program that you think may be good for you. Research that program that made your friend super fit. Find out how they did it. Find out all the details. Read about other people’s experiences. LEARN ABOUT IT.
Then you must DO the diet/exercise/lifestyle program.
And when I say DO I mean do it EXACTLY the way it was laid out. If you want to know if something will work, you have to actually give it a chance to prove if it can work. And the only way a program can prove it works is if you actually do it the way it was laid out.
You can’t do a Primal diet and then eat pasta every day and then three weeks in claim it doesn’t work.
I’m all for making your own adaptations to things, BUT only after you’ve done an experiment following the rules exactly as they were laid out by the people who created, and achieved success!, by following the program.
If you DO a program the exact way it was laid out, you will find out if it is something that will bring you success. You will find out if it is something you enjoy. If it is something you could commit to on a long-term basis.
After you’ve done the program, you’ve got to decide.
Will you accept or reject the program? What parts did you like? What parts didn’t you like?
Did you see results?
After any experiment, after trying any program, you’ve got to ask yourself these questions.
You’ve got to DECIDE for yourself whether or not the program was a success.
You can’t listen to your friend tell you how great the program was. You can’t be swayed by all of the positive reviews. You can’t let Dr. Oz or Jillian Michaels or any of those famous people tell you what program is right for you.
After you’ve, RESEARCHED and TRIED something, you’ve got to make an educated decision based on your experience.
Are you going to stick with the program? And if you are going to keep doing it, then how are you going to make it perfect for you?
So now that you’ve learned, done and decided, what’s YOUR SPIN?
No one else can tell you exactly what will work for you. Others can guide you and make recommendations, but sorry…you should know yourself best.
And the more you experiment and do things other people’s ways, the more you actually WILL learn about yourself.
You will figure out what types of workouts you enjoy the most. You will figure out what time of day is easiest for you to workout at and stay committed to.
You will figure out if low carb/high carb/vegetarian/WHATEVER is right for you.
You will figure out if you stay more committed to a program if you can easily prep all meals for the week ahead of time or if it is easiest for you to cook single portions the day of.
Through doing things other people’s ways, you will figure out what works best for you.
Just remember though, it is up to you to put your spin on a program to make it completely personalized for you…No one else can do it for you!
So if you want the perfect healthy lifestyle for you – Learn, Do, Decide, and SPIN!
The missing pieces
So often we talk about losing weight/being healthy/getting stronger/being in shape in terms of the diet and exercise program that we need to follow to achieve our health and fitness goals.
Depending on your specific goal, you may even be told that diet is 80% of the battle.
But is it really that simple?
Are diet and exercise really the main players in the healthy equation?
Yes…and…No.
Yes, if you follow a well-developed diet and exercise program, you most likely will hit a lot of your health and fitness goals.
BUT, these goals may be more easily realized AND easier to maintain IF you get some of the other pieces of the puzzle in order.
The amount of stress you have and the amount of sleep you get both affect your hormone levels, appetite and level of fatigue.
Too little sleep and too much stress can cause your body to not only try to hold on to fat, but also to feel hungry and overeat.
Holding on to fat!?! Overeating and feeling hungry when you really aren’t!?!
HMMMM…Maybe sleep and stress need to be a part of our program…..
And not only can too little sleep and too much stress cause you to hold onto fat and overeat, but both can also make you feel fatigued which can lead to crappy and/or skipped workouts!
Sound familiar? Skipped a few workouts recently or have you seen your numbers slowly declining even though you KNOW you aren’t overtraining?
Maybe you aren’t getting enough sleep OR maybe your body is just too stressed!
And if all of this wasn’t bad enough…let’s face it….they both also really affect your self-control.
Tired? Stressed? Where do most people turn for comfort?
FOOD!
And usually BAD food.
That doesn’t sound very good for your health and fitness goals…
So maybe diet and exercise aren’t enough on their own. Maybe you do need to consider your sleep and stress levels.
I’m not saying to change jobs to lessen your stress level. BUT it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start to plan in some “me time” to help you unwind every once in a while so that you don’t turn to food.
I’m not saying to start sleeping in and going in late to work, but every once in a while maybe try to take a nap or sleep in instead of forcing in that extra hour of work that realistically you COULD do at some other time. If you really do create a time management schedule, you may just find you DO have more time that you could use for sleep than you originally thought!
Anyway, sleep and stress ARE two other things you should consider when trying to create a healthy lifestyle. Diet and exercise AREN’T the only pieces to the puzzle.
The Difference Between Diet and Lifestyle Part II – No end date
When most people go on a “diet,” they usually want to lose weight or look good at a specific time in their life. Most of the time there is an end date in which they must accomplish this goal. And after this end date, usually people plan on returning to their previous eating habits.
A lifestyle has no end date. Yes, you may have short-term goals – events that you want to look good for. Yes, you may start a lifestyle because you want to lose weight.
But unlike a diet, you aren’t going to go back to your old eating habits once you’ve reached your goal.
Yes, you are going to cheat. Heck cheating will probably even be a part of your lifestyle. BUT you will cheat on your terms and always return back to your healthy lifestyle.
Making a “diet” into a “lifestyle” means that you don’t just give up your healthy eating habits at the first sign of adversity.
It means sometimes not cheating while everyone else is indulging.
A prime example of this is Ryan’s dad who started a version of the Man Bicep diet a little over two months ago.
Ryan’s dad started the diet so he would be healthy and active when his first grandchild is born in August (Congrats Jamie!!!). He has lost over 20lbs and has increased his energy level.
While he would still like to lose more, Ryan’s dad has basically accomplished what he set out to do – he feels better than he has felt in YEARS.
And because this is more than a DIET, because this is a LIFESTYLE, Ryan’s dad has stayed committed even though he could be tempted to eat badly every day!
His co-workers invite him to eat out almost every day. And when he goes out, he could cheat. It would be easier. But he doesn’t. He sticks to his healthy eating habits.
He could cheat every time he has to make food for parties for his children and their friends. He could have cheated the entire time Ryan and I were out in California.
But he didn’t.
He doesn’t cheat at every opportunity because his healthy eating is about MORE than losing weight – it is about being HEALTHIER and FEELING BETTER.
And I’m so proud of Ryan’s dad. Not because he didn’t cheat, but because he truly has created a new, healthy lifestyle for himself.
So now take another look at your eating. Are you eating well with an end date in mind or will you forever stay committed to your healthy lifestyle because it has improved your quality of life?
If your eating hasn’t improved your quality of life, is it really worth continuing or should you start experimenting with other diets?
Is your eating program merely a diet or is it a lifestyle?
P.S. If you’ve emailed me and I haven’t responded, I’M SORRY! I will get to emails this weekend!
Getting Back into the Groove
Rebeca…this post is for you!
So you’ve gotten into a great rhythm. You’re eating well and going to the gym numerous times a week. You are so in the groove that it isn’t a challenge to keep your healthy lifestyle going – it has become a habit.
But then, you go on vacation.
And when you come back, your rhythm is gone.
You can’t drag yourself into the gym and you’re not sure you even know what healthy foods look like anymore. You’ve undone the habit in a quarter of the time it took you to create it.
So how do you get back on track?
It is by no means easy, but you did it once before and you can do it again! Remember that!
Also, remember that the quicker you get right back into it after vacation, the easier it will be. The longer you wait, the more you will regress. Just think about how hard you worked to make all that progress in the first place! You don’t want to lose it all!
I know how hard it can be to get back into the groove. When I come back from vacation feeling like a slug from bad food and inactivity, I don’t want to workout or eat well. But I remind myself of how great I feel once I start…and how crappy I feel when I continue my sluggish ways.
It’s all about the mindset! Your mind is the strongest muscle in your body so use it to push yourself to get right back into healthy habits!
For more great tips, check out my post about how to change your lifestyle and stick with it!
If you need more motivation to get back into working out and eating well after a vacation, email me. I’ll keep harassing you until you do!
You’ve been warned Rebeca!
Man Bicep 