Monday, January 5, 2015

WHY I EAT PIZZA EVERY FRIDAY, STEP 2

RESHAPE YOUR MIND TO GET IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE

MAIN POINT: YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO, JUST DO IT.


I don't like to talk about nutrition anymore.

We all know what to do, we just don't do it. Or we all act like we know what to do because we've read a million things on the internet, so why'd you ask me then?

The good thing is I'm not a nutritionist, so technically I can only provide basic recommendations and guidelines and food for thought. What I do understand very well though is the MIND.  And quite frankly, when it comes to eating right, it almost ALL boils down to this....

HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

ARE YOU WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THERE?

THEN GET OUT OF THE CONTEMPLATION STAGE AND DO IT ALREADY.

But it's so much easier said then done right?  I'll get to some success steps in a second. But first, let me give you a few perspective changers to digest:

1. MINDFULNESS EATING
I think many times, we just don't think. We respond. We get hungry and we just grab something. We're flying around all day doing a million things and so we just get to the first thing we can. While we're eating, we just keep stuffing our face because we haven't felt that full feeling yet. Before we know it, we are bloated as heck and now feeling guilty of what we just ingested, because we're finally thinking straight again and are focused.  Don't let yourself get to this point. Start with.....

2. PREPARING AHEAD OF TIME.
Even if it's not actual meals, just prepare your game plan for the day. I know I'm going to eat eggs and sweet potatoes for breakfast, turkey chili for lunch, and salmon and greens for dinner, plus a post workout shake after my training session. Now, even if you don't have the food made yet, you know what you're shooting for. If you are traveling and have to stop at a restaurant or deli, you have an idea of what to get. It's like training, if you walk into the gym without a template, you may be all over the place and just jump on the first machine you see. When eating, if you don't have your meals laid out in your mind, you're more likely to grab that huge Steak and Philly Sub at Subway because your impulses took over when your mind wasn't structured.

3. WILL POWER IS NOT ENOUGH.
If it was, then you would be able to pass up those cookies on your kitchen counter. Unless you absolutely don't like cookies, which you're crazy if you don't, then you're going to give in and eat them.....because they're there. Will power is a finite commodity (stole this from a friend).  If you're using it in so many other places like work, marriage, kids, etc., it will be tapped out in other areas. So the last thing you will do when you come home from a long day is muster up enough discipline to go for the fish instead of the greasy burger. Yuck your mind says. So you have to shape your path by preparing, being conscious of yourself and cravings, and KEEPING CERTAIN THINGS OUT OF YOUR HOUSE AND OFFICE. Who cares if your kids don't like it, they will get used to it. And tell your co-workers to quit putting pastries out every morning. You're eating them because they're there not because you like them!


3 THINGS TO DO IMMEDIATELY TO GET YOUR NUTRITION RIGHT:

1. ADD A HEALTHY SHAKE DAILY TO YOUR DIET.
If you don't change anything else, just add a healthy shake to you mix. Put fruit in it, veggies, and 20grams of a protein source. Mix it with almond milk and slam home a handful of almonds with it for some good fats.

2. GET TO THE GROCERY STORE WEEKLY.
Buy your groceries or have someone buy them for you. Get whole foods in that fridge so you're not picking at the processed scraps left in your cabinets and pantry.

3. CUT OUT SUGAR.
Or at least greatly reduce it. Sugar is a major culprit for so many health issues. It's the first thing I look at on food labels now. It's so good though and realistically, I'm addicted to it. We all are. Therefore, I won't miss out on it entirely. My 4 yr old son came up with a genius idea last night though. He said, "Daddy, let's make a list. A list of three times a week that we can eat sugar and pizza. The rest of the time we have to eat healthy."  It's brilliant. When you know you're going to treat yourself every Friday night to some pizza, you're not struggling with the I want it cuz I can't have it mentality. 

2 THINGS TO HELP YOU JUST DO IT ALREADY:

1. GET IN A GROUP OF MOTIVATED PEOPLE.
If anything I've seen work the best with getting people to change habits, it's this. The magic behind meeting with a nutritionist or fitness coach is accountability. But there are other options too. Get on our Facebook "Clean Eating" group, or share group texts with a few dedicated friends. It's the concept behind everything in life, you need relationships---people to check you, challenge you, and encourage you.

2. EVALUATE, OR HAVE SOMEONE ELSE EVALUATE, WHAT YOU'RE EATING.
We lie about what we eat. "Well I'm eating really good, I don't know what's happening," says the person who somehow forgot about the bag of chips and pop he eats every day at lunch. Little things matter and to give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe you did just forget or you just didn't know. So although I'm not a food logger or calorie counter myself, at the beginning stages of transformation and even on a regular basis, you need to gauge what you're consuming. Here's the beauty about showing someone else your food log, it forces you to sit down and evaluate yourself. Sometimes then you don't even need their feedback. You'll have figured it out on your own.

Hey, the more I learn about nutrition the more I learn that I don't know anything.  As always, everyBODY is different. So the ultimate key is to be really in tune to yourself and figure out how your body reacts to certain foods.  You can read more about that here: http://www.coachtheotv.com/2014/09/quit-making-nutrition-so-difficult.html 

Perspective. Once it changes, so does your life.

I hope you make some of these mindset shifts in 2015 to help make it your best year yet.

Stay tuned....I'll be back with step 3 later this week. The one thing that will help you get in the best shape of your life, without doing anything but be lazy.

You'll see.

It's not about me,
Coach Theo





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