Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants.

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EAT FOOD. NOT TOO MUCH. MOSTLY PLANTS. Don’t let nutrition be confusing. It really made simpl(er). EAT FOOD refers to eating more whole foods and limiting/avoiding the many highly processed foods that make up the majority of a typical Western Diet. So much of our modern food is made using questionable ingredients to extend shelf-life and increase profits. Other foods are made in a variety of unhealthy ways using ingredients that were never meant to be consumed on a regular basis. No one is ever gonna be perfect 100% of the time. The point is not perfection here. The point is for us to evolve our habits and expand our knowledge so that we are more informed about where our food comes from, how it is made and manipulated, what ingredients are used, what impacts all this might have beyond the intended purpose and why/how various food are marketed. This does not happen overnight. This happens over time. Start slowly, build stronger. NOT TOO MUCH is exactly what it sounds like. Most of us consume far more calories than we actually need. The better the quality the food we eat and drink is, the better everything will be. Starvation is not the goal here. The goal is controlled moderation. Another key concept is balancing calories with varying activity levels. MOSTLY PLANTS refers to all things that aren’t animals or animal by-products, which is the majority of what food actually is. I’m not against eating animals. I’m also not completely against eating known unhealthy food on occasion. I myself eat pretty much everything. That choice is mine. That choice is your own as well. Guilt, shame, hate, fear, etc is NOT my message. The message is this: regardless of what foods you do or do not choose to include in your regular diet, consuming more Vegetables, Fruits (and all the many other plant foods that are available) will ALWAYS be a really good option, quite possible the best option. We actually know this already. Most 5 year olds already know this. We just forget sometimes? Well here’s a friendly reminder. #bssbbooks #michaelpollanfoodrules #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #nutrition #healthyfood #drgregerhownottodie #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Dec 5, 2019 at 10:26am PST

My Attempts to Make Nutrition Simpler

 

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Nutrition should be Simple. Of course, this is seldom the case. Not knowing what to eat or worse, being scared to eat food, can be a serious problem. Nutrition is about balance NOT imbalance. When someone asks me about anything nutrition related I do everything I can to give very simple advice. Everyone’s in a different place. It’s important to start where you’re at. You may have a health, fitness or cosmetic goal. It may be all three. It’s very important to identify what it is you want and need. Personally, learning to understand the difference between Whole Food and Processed Food is a great place to start. Remember that “Food” is not only limited to what we eat but also anything we drink. We all know what Junk Food is but it doesn’t hurt to refresh. Learn to read Food Labels, not just count calories. Have a working knowledge of all 3 major Macro-Nutrients: Protein, Fat and Carbs. Understand that certain food is more like Medicine and some food is more like Poison. All Diets work because they require paying closer attention to what we consume. Any Diet will fail if we stop doing it. There is no perfect Diet for everyone. We each must find our own way live. Sleep, Stress Reduction and Exercise are important concepts that help with everything when applied appropriately. Don’t be scared to take a small step in a healthier direction. Work on educating yourself. Work to improve one main area at a time. In fact, with regards to Diet, try improving only one meal at a time (ex: breakfast, lunch or dinner). It’s ok if it’s not always perfect. No one is ever perfect all the time. Here’s a short list of my preferred references. 1) Dr Greger’s Daily Dozen list-and phone app 2) Dr Greger’s book, How Not to Die-and NutritionFacts website 3) Michael Pollan’s book, Food Rules 4) Netflix Explained series entitled, “Why Diet’s Fail” 5) Precision Nutrition website. I would highly suggest watching the 14 minute Netflix episode first. It’s a great summary of important information that is often misinterpreted in the media and pop-culture. #bssbbooks #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #drgregor #drgregordailydozen #michaelpollanfoodrules #whydietsfail #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Nov 14, 2019 at 10:15am PST

Dr. Andrew Weil’s 4/7/8 Breathing Method

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Dr Andrew Weil’ 4/7/8 breathing method. Read this. Zoom in. In fact, do a screen grab THEN zoom in on your phone. This page gives the details straight from the source. Use it. I hope it helps. I use it regularly. #bssbbooks #drandrewweil #478breathing #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #stressmanagement #relaxationtechniques #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Sep 30, 2019 at 11:52am PDT

Books that help with Posture

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I own a lot books. I find value in each of them. With Posture being this week’s theme, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites books on the subject. Any one of these would be a great read. Each book has ample stretches and exercises to improve posture and flexibility for beginners and beyond. Two of the four books above were written by Katy Bowman. I love her writing. She has a number of books in print, as well as two other eBooks about foot health. If you sit most of the day every day, you do NEED to do some things to help counteract all the inactivity. It doesn’t take too much time or effort. But it does need to happen and happen consistently… Why not do something now instead of waiting till things get really bad? #bssbbooks #posture #posturecorrector #posturecorrection #heathandwellbeing #healthandwellness #healthandfitness #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on May 16, 2019 at 6:59am PDT

Mike Boyle book(s) recommendation…

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This week’s book recommendation(s) is Mike Boyle’s NEW FUNCTIONAL TRAINING FOR SPORT. This is a must have for any trainer or coach that works with an athletic population. Mike has been a huge influence for me and I’m lucky enough to call him a friend. He has worked in the realm of Strength & Conditioning for almost 40 years and was in fact one of the first official Strength & Conditioning coaches (which was an unpaid position when he first started). His experience and insight is next to none. He has learned from some of the very best. A big reason I respect and value Mike’s positions on various subjects is because he never stops asking why, thrives to acquire the best knowledge and is never afraid to change his mind. He reads, watches and listens to everything. He’s worked with countless athletes of all ages, including Championship Seasons with both the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins as well as countless other Professional and Olympic athletes. I own most of his vast collection of work but I must say that NEW FUNCTIONAL TRAINING FOR SPORTS is my personal favorite. Although I don’t train many athletes, the knowledge can easily be translated across all populations in the hands of a competent, caring health & fitness professional. The “big rocks” as Mike says do not change. Thanks Mike for your contribution. FAVORITE QUOTES/IDEAS: “No one cares how much you know till they know how much you care”. “When in doubt, think Strength & Conditioning”. “Keep it simple stupid (KISS Rule)”. “Remember the big stones”. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jan 9, 2019 at 6:20am PST

Great book for leaning SELF-MASSAGE.

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Since it’s a brand new year, starting this month I plan to do regular posts of my favorite and most referenced books. Many of these books will be geared more toward Fitness Professionals but would be great editions to any health-fitness nerd’s library. THIS WEEK: The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies. Not a day goes by working with clients professionally as a Personal Trainer do I not use this book. If I lost all my books tomorrow, this would be one of a few that I would replace immediately. It’s only about $15 on Amazon. It is basically a book about how us normal folk can decrease and/or eliminate most of our aches & pains by learning and using the basics of self-massage. In my experience, most of the pain that we all will experience throughout our lives will be due to overuse injuries to our soft-tissues. Soft-tissue is nothing more than all the stuff in the body that is NOT bone, organs or fluid. Think muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, etc. Because we are creatures of habit, many of us tend to repeat movement patterns and postures over and over again which tend to cause “issues with the tissues”. This book can help. I recommend finding the area of the body that has pain or discomfort and reading about that particular areas as needed rather than attempting to read the whole thing in one full sweep. Think of this book as a reference, an index. The author, Clair Davies, was a piano restoration specialist in his younger years and later went on to become a licensed Massage Therapist, not for the money but because he genuinely wanted to help others eliminate pain as he did years before. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jan 4, 2019 at 10:24am PST

The best book for BACK PAIN

 

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If you have any serious issues with your neck, back or spine, I recommend that you get this book. It’s written by Dr Stuart McGill, Canadian back doctor for over 30 years and considered one of the world’s leading experts on all things spine related. He knows his stuff. The book is very easy to read and answers many common questions and concerns. It also outlines the do’s and dont’s for the long term health (and short term) of your spine. At least once a year, I typically manage to strain my back. This book has helped a lot in recent years. To put it mildly, back issues can be debilitating and scary. Knowing how to take better care of it is worth its weight in gold. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Dec 19, 2018 at 3:10pm PST