Part 4 Sleep is Critical – How To Sleep Better
August 9, 2019Hydrogen Tablets: Origins
August 16, 2019Small Victories: Healthier Eating
The various sections of our “Small Victories” series will focus on healthier eating, increased activity, and mental health. While these three topics are very different, they are largely connected and enjoy much crossover. This section focuses on different strategies and outcomes to make better food choices and provides some of my recipes that may be healthier, or at least calorically less dense than alternatives.
Consuming just an extra 100 calories a day than you burn leads to 10 lbs of weight gain every year. That’s less than half a 50 g chocolate bar in extra calories or 2/3 of a coke can a day. It seems like such an insignificant amount, but it adds up. Likewise, making better choices won’t lead to magical and immediate outcomes, but will lead to long-term progress and tangible positive health outcomes.
I’ve often sardonically quipped that most people want to go to bed poor and wake up rich without having done any work in the meantime. The same is often true with our fitness. Many, and I have been guilty of this in the past, will give up on a routine when results are not immediate and unattainably significant. Various media are often partially to blame for this, highlighting rare success stories where the individuals highlighted “got rich quick”, or following models and celebrities pushing unattainable images, which are the culminated efforts of weeks of strict dieting, intense training guided by multiple experts, and images which have been altered and enhanced both digitally and with make-up. These are almost impossible expectations for most to strive for.
I was my most out of shape I had ever been this last January (2019). I tipped the scales at 265 lbs, 90 lbs up my “low” pre shoulder injury of 175 lbs 5 years before. My shoulder was as bad as ever and the extra weight had caused me to develop plantar fasciitis which impeded me throughout 2018. New routines, diets, and exercise plans hadn’t been working for me, largely as I had not reconciled with my new reality, at least not fully. Part of my mind lived in a fantasy, where “after my surgery, I will rebound and work out as before and lose all of this in a few months.” This was delusional. When faced with having to buy new suits and dress clothes in February, I set out to “lose a few pounds” to save the hassle of getting fit. The momentum I gained fueled me to keep going. I didn’t catch many breaks along the way and certainly didn’t have any miraculous healing solutions for my injuries. In fact, further exacerbating my situation, I finally went under the knife in mid-May, and I have been unable to work out, play soccer or properly hit my thai bag since.
Despite these challenges, with the lowest intensity of physical activity I have ever had in my life, I lost 34 lbs in 6 months, just shy of 6 pounds a month. I have kept most of my muscle mass, perhaps even adding on my legs. No one strategy helped me achieve this or will continue to help me sustain and progress. This was the result of dozens of small changes, adding up to meaningful results. Small victories add up. While we have a completely different series of articles starting which deal with small victories towards improving mental health and increasing physical activity, healthier eating choices can impact both of these sections. For instance, home cooking meals necessitates shopping for the food and then being on your feet cooking it. This may be very low energy output but swinging a few hundred calories less in your diet while burning even an extra 50 calories per day can have long-term positive impacts.
There is also the sense of pride from preparing your own food, especially when the creation is a success and we take a moment to enjoy it. Many people I talk to admit they don’t know how to cook. They use this as an excuse to eat out for each meal. When we prepare our food, we take pride in it. We savor the flavors, tweak and experiment to increase our own enjoyment, and we revel in the enjoyment others experience from our creation. It is a highly emotional act. Others I talk to will say they “don’t have time” to cook, or they “don’t have the energy” after a long day. Many ask where I find the time to cook my meals; sometimes prep time is in the hours (although I am multi-tasking and working on other tasks, like taking calls, as I do this), to which I respond, “How can I not?”. An old Zig Ziglar talk goes along the lines of a man “exhausted” and unable to do any chores or yard work. He’s run down, tired, and can’t peel himself off, pleading with his wife. Then his buddy calls for a game of golf and he “springs up and is out the door”.
Zig goes on to quip that we have the energy to do the things we want to do and need to use our energy to complete the things we need to do as well. This ties into one of Zig’s most famous quotes
“When you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, the day will come when you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them.”
You see, when we leave our important tasks uncompleted, they weigh down on us, we feel guilt and shame. Most of us know we should be eating better, spending more time preparing our food, and eating less. One of the greatest destroyers of the human spirit and capacity for greatness is convenience. Convenient but inferior alternatives sway us to make poor choices, and then we feel guilty that we succumbed to the easy route. Conversely, when we accomplish something, even if it is learning how to cook delicious and healthy meals, we’ve expanded our expectations of ourselves. The more we accomplish in a day, the more we know we can accomplish and set out to accomplish. In sales, this is known as the 80/20 rule, where management knows that 80% of the performance comes from 20% of the staff. Psychologically, the 80% of staff contributing to the remaining 20% of performance often feel they are working harder, putting in more effort. This is the flip side of the equation, as the less we do in a day, the more each task feels arduous and even insurmountable.
Preparing your own recipes, as well as other strategies for healthy eating, are an important ally in not only improving your health and fitness but your mental health. I frequently experiment in the kitchen and by no means are all of my meals healthy. Some are quite gluttonous and quite delicious if you ask me, find me on Instagram to see photos of homemade desserts and other feasts I occasionally post. Food is one of the great enjoyments in life and I would never promote removing this enjoyment completely. It is about balance; all feast every day causes it to lose its luster.
Throughout my journey, there is nothing I have given up. I still enjoy a wine a few times a week, eat carbs and dairy, and enjoy the odd dessert. Small victories are about making better choices, most of the time. They allow you to savor the experience of a treat more while tipping the scales back to your side. In my writings, I will never promote complete dietary restrictions. The fact is, different protocols work for different people. The best diet is one you can maintain and be happy with, for sustained health and happiness. So long as your caloric intake isn’t in excess and your nutrients are sufficient, eat what works for you, and what makes you feel the best.
Join us next week for my first recipe!
1 Comments
Alex, I love your views on everything. Keep it up.