Nutrition E-book. Follow principles, not diet plans

Transcription

1 Nutrition E-book This e-book is a short overview of some of the most essential principles and concepts that we use at Rogue when dealing with nutrition and changing habits. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive guide, but a primer to get you in the right mindset to actually create long lasting nutritional behavior change. Follow principles, not diet plans Principles are the foundation of any successful training program; nutrition should be no different. Instead of focusing on diets or other short-term plans that are impossible to follow for extended periods I ask my clients to focus on changing eating behaviors one at a time, with the purpose of reinforcing basic nutrition principles. The 30-day rule When making a lifestyle change we live by the 30-day rule, which states that it takes 30 days for a new behavior to become a habit. By habit, I mean an activity that takes only a moderate amount of willpower to implement. How do you implement this method? Find a commitment that seems easy. It canʼt be a I can probably do that type of thing or you wonʼt succeed. Once you have defined a specific task or behavior, focus on doing that one thing for the next 30 days. By the end of the 30 days it will be significantly easier to perform on a daily basis. Using this method you can completely change your nutrition and exercise behaviors over the course of 6-12 months. Not only that, but you will never feel overwhelmed and give up because you only tackle one task at a time. It really is that simple.

2 Basic Nutrition Guidelines The following behavior guidelines are what you should live by every day. If you ever wonder what or when you should eat just go through the 5 guidelines below and you should have a good idea of what to do. Eat as often as necessary based on your temperament and goals Protein with every meal Fruits and Veggies with every meal Healthy Fats throughout the day Be smart with Carbs eat these as necessary for goals and performance Too simple? Maybe you are just making things too complicated. I donʼt have enough time to go into each topic here, but suffice to say that it really isnʼt that complex. Track what you eat for a week and see if you are following these basic principles at least 90% of the time. Chances are that you are not. Donʼt worry about learning anything else until you can implement these basic behaviors. Establish rituals to support principles and behaviors Below I outline two most important rituals for nutritional success. These are just the tip of the iceberg as far as rituals go, but are two of the most important. Morning Pack food for the rest of the day Cook a nutritious breakfast (see rules above) Evening Make sure you have food to take for the next day (see rules above) Make sure you have clean Tupperware Prep kitchen for breakfast routine Prep food for the next days lunch and snacks Have a back up plan: What happens when you have an event at night, or sleep in? You need a back up plan. I always have protein powder, nuts, and fruit around in case I donʼt have time to make breakfast.

3 Consistency, not perfection If you asked me the one quality that defines the very successful from those that see mediocre results it would be consistency. Focusing on perfection breeds failure, but not being consistent is a more common mistake that is harder to indentify. Weʼve all done it before. We go to the gym and work harder than ever and eat really well for a few weeks and then our schedule blows up and we completely fall off track for a week then decide its time to start up again. Repeat for a few months or years and frustration sets in and we wonder why we havenʼt experienced better results. Contrast that with consistency, which nearly always pays off. We all know or have heard of someone who put in the work day after day, year after year. Their daily output or effort isnʼt extraordinary, but their cumulative efforts create a body of work that guarantees success. Everyone can work hard for a time, few can consistently apply themselves. There are literally thousands of examples of people whose hard work paid off. The truth is that hard work is easy, for a time. Consistency takes dedication and persistence to work through the ups and downs of life. Individuals that achieve great things do so by consistent effort over a long time. Ask any MD what med school was like, or any successful entrepreneur what the first 5 years of their business was like. Chances are they will tell you that it was a grind. They had to dedicate themselves day in and day out. Iʼm not asking you for years of effort or to change your entire life. I suggest focusing on being consistent with the basic behaviors I have outlined above. In reality, that is all it takes to achieve nearly any goal. You donʼt need to put forth superhuman efforts or change everything. Small behavior modifications consistently applied over months add up to large changes. Have a clear purpose To help with keep you motivated over the long haul it is important to realize what you really want, and how to achieve it. To get this process we are going to start by setting goals. Before you set goals you need to figure out what you really want to achieve. To do this I want you to complete the following exercise: Take five minutes and write down all of your concerns, thoughts, goals, and worries that you have about nutrition, exercise, and how you feel, look, and perform. Examples may include: how do I lose more weight? Why canʼt I seem to change my diets? What do I need to eat to gain more muscle?

4 If you are honest with yourself you should have a pretty big list. Next, go through your list and put a start next to your top 3 things that are on your mind the most. Now, you need to think of what would solve these three things. For example, if you donʼt like the way you feel, losing 15 pounds of body-fat might be the remedy to that issue. Once you have 3 personally significant goals move onto the next section. Making Tangible Goals The problem with goal setting is that most are too broad in scope and lack a daily call to action. Focusing on the outcome (losing 10 pounds) doesnʼt give you a roadmap to success because there are no tangible behaviors to focus on daily. Abstract goals such as Iʼm going to get in shape this year are even worse; there is no way to gauge success and no behaviors to focus on. To be successful goals need to meet the following criteria: 1. Definable - Excessively broad or vague goals take too long to achieve and you will lose interest if it takes more than 60 days to achieve. 2. Measurable What gets measured gets managed. 3. Timeline for success - Without a timeline you have no success/failure point. 4. Reasonably attainable - Start small, multiple small success are much better than one large failure. Take your three goals and using the four rules stated above to convert them to tangible goals. Once you have these goals I want you to write them on the attached goal sheet and then consciously let these things go. Why would I ask you to do that? Because you cannot control whether or not you will accomplish these goals. To repeat, you are not in control of the outcomes. You can only control your actions, which certainly contribute to achieving your goals, but the end result is out of your control. Doesnʼt that feel good? It should feel like a weight lifted off your shoulders. Now that you know what you want Iʼm going to share how to achieve your goals. Focus on what you can control and let the rest go. Your singular focus should be establishing and following the behavior changes I listed above, not the end result. By focusing on behaviors you take control of the one aspect that you can control.

5 Wrap Up I donʼt want you to forget about your goals, use them as motivation and inspiration for daily action. A Note on Calories Calories do matter, but they shouldnʼt to you. Even my clients with the most advanced goals never count calories. I may have them focus on more precise behaviors but I never ask them to count calories for an extended period. Focusing on food quality and general serving sizes eliminates many of the problems associated with calorie counting (time, obsession, poor choices) and actually nets greater results in the long run. Hormones are the key By focusing on food quality instead of simply cutting calories you will optimize your bodyʼs hormone profiles. What does this do? It allows your body to utilize energy as efficiently as possible and respond favorably to exercise and recovery. Specific goals, same behaviors? No matter what your goal(s) may be they should all be built upon a solid foundation of nutrition behaviors. It is easy to alter your diet when to elicit the desired response when you already have a solid foundation Conclusion Your training, nutrition, and recovery all have to be in balance. Training hard and recovering properly but eating poorly or incorrectly = poor results. Any way you slice it, if you arenʼt balancing stress (training), fuel (nutrition), and rebuilding (recovery) you will never achieve what you are capable of. I hope you found this information useful to start changing your diet and life today. If you like what you have read and want more information feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Jonathan Pope jonathan@trainrogue.com