Food is Not Fuel

"Gotta get you calories in! Food is fuel, gotta keep it up. Your body is like a car, keep it filled with gas and you're good to go!" - Overheard at the gym

When you treat food as simply fuel, calories, or energy you will miss out on a much larger picture about what food really is.

*Food Provides Micronutrients

For example Calcium helps:

• build bones,
• clot blood,
• regulate blood pressure,
• keep our muscles and heart pumping, and
• maintain cell communication.

Magnesium plays a role in more than 300 enzyme systems and helps with:

• protein synthesis,
• muscle and nerve function,
• blood sugar control,
• blood pressure regulation,
• energy production, and
• transport of other minerals.

Folate (vitamin B9) helps:

• convert food into energy,
• the nervous system (including the brain) function,
• tissues grow
• red blood cell production.

None of these aforementioned nutrients provide fuel for the body because if you're missing key nutrients or vitamins in your diet your body won't work the way it's supposed to. 

Food Provides Phytochemicals

These are chemicals found in plants such as flavonoids, phenolic acid and stilbenes/lignans.   Some of the most well known phytochemicals are found in soy, teas, and berries. These nutrients have been known to:

• offer DNA protection against free radicals,
• protect against cancer,
• decrease risk of heart disease, and
• reduce overall mortality.

All these chemicals do a lot but one thing that it doesn't do is provide the body with only fuel for energy. 

Our bodies have priorities and will extract nutrients by any means necessary to keep you alive, even at the expense of your muscles! I'm sorry does your car catabolize it's own headlights to keep you driving when you're low on gasoline? The human body unlike a machine is a constantly evolving living organism. And as such is infinitely more complicated than a car will ever be. Cars are jealous of humans. 

Food as a Chef

As someone who has cooked professionally and stood for hours to provide customers with quality food I take the idea that food is only fuel with some offense. To some food means so much more than calories, carbs, fats and proteins. Food tells the world a story offering insight about you as a person. A parent cooks because they love being a provider for their children and spouse. For many food can be an outlet for creativity and without it they would wither away in a cubicle. To many on social media food is a status symbol of being "cool" because they had an opportunity to dine at the newest hipster foodie restaurant. Food is an adventure, because you get to try something once when you're traveling. Food is a social magnet for friends and families where you gather together and break bread with people you love. Where you get your food tells the world you care about supporting local small family run farms. 

So tell me again how food is ONLY fuel for your body?

*From Precision Nutrition

Exercise Breakdown: One Arm KB Racked Carry

The one arm kettle bell racked carry is a favorite of mine for a few reasons. As is with all loaded carries, they're a core endurance exercise you can't cheat on. This version also helps to lock in the proper core position: THINK: Neutral, Brace, and Breathe. 

HOW TO:

1. Choose a kb and lift it up to the rack position at a shoulder. 

2. Positioning should be:

• Elbow packed down by the body
• Kettle bell resting into your body
• Wrist neutral
• Thumb into your collarbone

3. Walk down in a controlled manner focusing on not swaying or leaning. Don't forget to switch sides. 

NOTES

• The unilateral loading like in a suitcase carry will force you to stabilize the body and not allow it to lean away. 
• Don't stick your arm straight out to your side, it defeats the purpose of the exercise by helping to "balance" yourself out. 
• Instead make a fist and simply keep your arm down by your side. 
• This is a great go-to move for anyone with rotator cuff issues as it is a huge isometric loaded move. You feel all the muscles in the shoulder working without having to move your arm anywhere.
• Work up alternating between simple one way trips and lightening up the load and performing one side for multiple trips or even for timed sets building up endurance in the shoulder.  

WHY VS WHAT: Dating and Business

Imagine you've landed a date.

And lets say this person is named Gary....what?
Do you not think I can get a date??? I mean this hypothetical Gary can't land a date?! 

Yeah OK! I don't blame you but stay with me here!

Sales and dating have A LOT in common. One sits across the table from another person trying to close a deal. 

Gary opens his date with "I'm rich, I have a nice car, a big house, and make a lot of money because I can deadlift A LOT of weight and oh I'm really good looking."

Does Gary close this deal? Maybe once or twice, but moving forward if his goal is to cultivate a long term relationship, it's not going to end well with this approach.  

Does Gary score another date with this woman? Nope.

This idiot Gary is only yammering on about the WHAT, when he needs to be telling the person sitting across from him his WHYs. All those things, a big house, a lot of money and a nice car may have helped him secure this date but does very little else to convince this woman that you're not some self absorbed rich douche. And while the big deadlift may impress her (it doesn't...sigh) it only touches upon logical reasons, you've explained the features without the background or context behind those things.

Instead if I...uhh if Gary had said this: 

"I get to wake up every morning and do something I love. I get to inspire people and the best part is trying to figure out the different ways to do that. I've even been able to get a large house, that nice car and meet some famous people along the way. BTW did I mention I can deadlift 3x my bodyweight" (no, she's still not impressed by that last one? Damn).

He said all the same things from the first scenario only this time included at the beginning WHY he does what he does.

The why inspires whereas the what is purely logical. 

This applies to business as well. I don't stand in front of a perspective client touting all that I can do for them. If I do that, in my experience, it will always come down to these two things:

1) Price
2) Convenience

And those two things have very little to do with what I do well. But if you're able to strike a nerve with WHY should someone go with you, the what handles itself. In fact you don't even have to be the best, you just can't be mediocre because if your service or product still stinks, your sunk. If you and the client both understand why you should work together, then you're good to go. But not every perspective client fits your why and you their why for wanting to hire a coach.

And that's okay because you're not looking for just anyone.
And I suppose that applies to dating too!

I'm A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

I recently received an e-mail in which I am asked the following:

How do you maintain a positive attitude when you have overly negative clients and can't afford to fire them? You appear to be nice to all your clients, some days I just can't.

Here was part of my response:

I'm actually an asshole, so it's not hard to understand where these people are coming from. I had to work REALLY HARD at improving who I am or better said who I was, a big selfish asshole.

Growing up I was never far from being the punch line to a joke or being pushed around. I had little understanding up until a few years ago how much that had affected me negatively. From my Mom, my extended family or classmates, there's always been a constant source of negativity in or around my life. I was encouraged to do well, so long as it was in an avenue that deemed appropriate like school or a degree towards medicine. 

I always had trouble making friends or initiating conversations with strangers. Even flashing a smile was a pain, preferring to look away from direct eye contact. It's something that didn't come naturally to me. I bottled up my emotions inside, and as a result I was an angry person. An angry person who thought the world had it out for me, and I was putting others down because it was the only way to make myself feel better.

Fast forward to the present day.

While I can "turn it on" and be really outgoing when I need to, it's not who I naturally am. I believe I'll always be a fairly quiet and reserved individual. What I will never be is an overly negative angry person again. Having been in those shoes, perhaps your client needs a friend and I say that in the least condescending way possible. People who are that negative and critical are usually unhappy.

I was an unhappy person. 

I tell you all this to give you context. To give you some background behind WHY someone might be the way they are. Anytime someone is rude, inconsiderate or just straight out mean; I take a second to think why are they acting like that and then respond accordingly. It's often hostility masking another emotion: for me it was a feeling of inadequecy and loneliness. Empathy is an under utilized emotion, practice it and you will be an even better coach.  

Now to the business side of this question, what to do when you really dread the scheduled hour but you need to keep the lights on in your apartment. Well my friend like any good fitness question the answer is it depends.

Can you scale back spending in other areas to make due?
If so, by how much will you be off your necessary monthly income?
If it's not a lot you can decide then if you wish to keep this client.

If not, what are you proactively doing to replace this client? 

We must not act emotionally instead you need to formulate a plan.
Are you marketing?
If so, for how long have you been at it? Has it generated any leads?

Have you tried asking any existing clients for a referral in exchange for a percentage off their next month/package? (By far the best approach)

There's a lot you can do besides simply "firing" the client. Once you can replace the income then you can decide whether or not to cut ties with said "negative" client. Though I would try to take the empathetic route first. I appear to be nice to all my clients because I thoroughly enjoy the time I get to spend with each and every one of them! No acting only geniuine care and love for their health and improvement as people. 

---

Reflecting back on this response I would like to add this: I am a happy person now. I've learned to forgive those who may have wronged me in the past. I hold no grudges and try to always move forward. I have my health, a fantastic home life, a thriving business and my family; really what would I have to be unhappy about. If you put out love and happiness you'll get just that in return. 

Smile, it costs you nothing and can even turn someone's day around. I am forever grateful for who I was because it's made me the driven person I am today. This is the first holiday season I can say with clarity that I have everything I will ever need. Anything else I accomplish moving forward is simply the cherry on top.

Thanksgiving Dinner: A Balancing Act

Often when I discuss Thanksgiving and the ensuing madness of potatoes, pies and gravy; there's a large contingency of people who just chalk the day up as a loss.

Here are two strategies you can use to help combat the influx of calories and keep you on track.

Get a (Few)Workouts In

This one is pretty obvious. If you're going to go nuts at dinner, you can help offset some of that by going hard in the gym. Do you go before or after the meal.
(Some research points towards going after, but really we're splitting hairs at this point)

Most gyms close fairly early, usually around 1pm at the latest. You're going to be left with going before the big feast now. Considering you don't eat until the mid-late evening and you're kind of stuck in between. So much for a post workout feast!

A great damage control technique would be to increase your workout volume during the week leading up to the planned meal to deplete a little more glycogen. You would perform your usual 45min-1hr weight lifting and then throw in afterwards a 15-20 minute complex or interval session. 

Eat Before Hand

Now I know what you're thinking, "Don't eat anything, you'll spoil your appetite!" 

But there is some validity to consuming a small meal before the big feast. This has been shown to improve your body's tolerance to carbohydrates afterwards. 

It makes sense since you won't be as hungry if you've already eaten 2-3 hours prior to dinner. It's a sure fire way to force portion control without leaving it to chance or having "will power". 

The initial meal needs to be both low glycemic and have a decent amount of dietary fiber as well. A nice sandwich on whole grain bread with a small legume soup would do the trick. 

Whatever the case may be, also know that it's a day to enjoy and celebrate with your loved ones. So what if you don't do any of the tips I've outlined above, it's only one day. The most important thing is to have a plan and try to stick to it. And if you don't, know that there's always tomorrow.

And with tomorrow comes another opportunity to get it right.