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

Having a Plan is Essential

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HAVE A PLAN. To be successful with anything typically requires strategy. Don’t get me wrong, I love spontaneity as much as anyone but it’s not the recommended tool to use when we have serious goals in mind. We are 3 weeks away from Christmas and 4 weeks away from a brand new year. 2020. Now is a great time to figure out what you want from this new year. Try to examine the deeper WHY you want this. Devise a plan, a map. Write it down. Marinate on it. Summon your deeper self. Look forward to it. What are you waiting for?! There is no better time than now. #havingaplan #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Dec 2, 2019 at 7:34am 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

Whataburger and My Personal Weekly Movement Quota

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I love lists. Short or small. Big or tall. It’s a huge part of my strategy to maximize precious Time & Energy. Obviously, I highly recommend them. They need not be fancy or complicated. I often use my phone for list making but I also prefer the old fashioned way of writing things down. This is/was a quick list of movement (exercises) that I like to practice at least 1 time each week. It looks like a lot but spread out over seven days it’s not. Things become more clear when written down. I find things get done when I write them down. The one danger is developing an unhealthy addiction to “getting things done”, which is fine for those things that are truly necessary but maybe not for the rest. The trick is to be deliberate and efficient. Do only what needs to be done. Prioritize action. Save “the wants” for later. Enjoy them. The wants are sometimes more fun when left to spontaneity and improvisation. Anyway, I’ve already said too much. #bssbbooks #carltonlists #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #listofexercises #carltonsmixtapegumbo #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Nov 7, 2019 at 6:37am PST

Inspiration from Centenarians

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This inspires. 100+ years young. Look at them go. #seniorsprinters #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Aug 22, 2019 at 7:59am PDT

Nutrition, Start with these: A Dark Leafy Green, Blueberries & Flax Seed (ground up/milled)

 

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Fruits, vegetables and many other “plant” foods are important for overall health. They provide many nutrients not found in other foods. Think of them as earth’s natural medicine. It doesn’t mean that you can’t eat and enjoy other foods. Just remember that for optimal health, fat loss and longevity, plant-food is vital. The typical American diet is stocked full with sugar, salt, protein and fat, often entirely too much to be considered healthy. Too much regular exposure to salt and sugar in food tends to make many fruits and vegetables taste bitter and/or bland. Keep this in mind when trying to add more “plants” to the diet. It may take time for the taste buds to adjust. With that said, make no mistake, we were designed to eat plants. Lastly, this week’s recommendations were: 1)a dark-leafy green 2)blueberries, 3)ground-up flax seed (flax meal). Sure you could eat these on their own but it might be a bit awkward and harsh if they happen to be new to you. Google some different ways to incorporate each of them over time. Experiment. This may even require learning to make new meals that include them. Start with just one at a time. Don’t worry about being perfect. Just aim for consistency. Take care of your body, we only get one. Fruits and vegetables are essential for this. #bssbbooks #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #fruitsandveggies #nutritionasmedicine #HowNotToDie #darkleafygreens #blueberries #flaxseed @nutrition_facts_org @precisionnutrition #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Aug 15, 2019 at 5:29am PDT

Personal Growth

 

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PERSONAL GROWTH. Sounds about as fun as the first time I heard the phrase “Adult Contemporary Music”. But the idea of GROWTH is a good thing and something to be desired. It is essential. Sure we could all stay the same but then we also run the risk of losing that sacred fire, the magic fuel that keeps us going each day for a lifetime. When I was coming up we called this predicament “burnout”. We can do better than that. We should each want to do better than that. It starts with the desire. Making any improvement in any area of our lives will likely translate positively to other areas. Think of it as Enrichment or Nourishment. I also really like the concept of Cultivation. Trust me, I dislike the sound and seriousness of adult topics like “Personal Growth & Development” as much as anyone but once the cheesy catch phrase is removed the beauty of the IDEA will hopefully, in time, ring clear with inspiration. There could be a million reasons why any one of us might seek change. Just remember – any ONE reason will do. Why not get on that today? #blueskystrongbox #bssbbooks #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #personalgrowth #personslgrowthanddevelopment #makingchange #evolve

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jul 29, 2019 at 12:29pm PDT

Standards & Limitations

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STANDARDS & LIMITATIONS. We need both. In fact, I believe we need to include both Minimum AND Maximum standard limitations to help keep us in the “sweet-spot” of success. We see it all our lives. We either do too much or we do too little. The magic, the “good”stuff, lies somewhere in the pocket of the vast middle. We each have to find a perfect balance and vigilantly work to keep it there. This could apply to anything. The main idea is to make it easy. Make it repeatable. Keep it simple. That’s why I prefer both a High & Low threshold. Most of us are more familiar with what too little looks like. Too much might not be as common but it’s just as disastrous. Remember to be reasonable. Burn-out is very high when the flames burn too hot. My best advice is to seek balance and consistency. Find your greatness. Don’t wait forever. Tomorrow was never promised. What real reason could you have to not start today? #bssbbooks #motivation #healthandfitness #healthylifestyle #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jul 22, 2019 at 10:51am PDT

Simple Fat Loss Ideas

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SIMPLE FAT-LOSS IDEAS. Fat loss seems impossible for some, difficult for many. Often I meet people that tell me they’d like to lose some weight but then a year goes by and nothing happens and no changes are made to diet, activity or lifestyle. I understand things come up. They always will. If this resonates with you, listen up. The simplest thing you could do to begin losing some unwanted body fat is by controlling the portion size of every meal starting today. I’m not even telling you to change what you eat right now, just make each meal smaller in size. Eat less. Think ~25%. (By the way, this is not a quick method, in fact, the opposite. But it’s better than doing nothing. It may even work well for some.) The next thing I would recommend is to start walking more each day, in the form of more actual steps, more movement. You can do this anywhere. If you have a job, the best time is while at work getting paid. Do each of these every day for a year. Trust me, a year is not that long. Just by cutting back on portions and walking more, your health could most certainly be better with very little investment of time or energy. At the very least, things should not be worse. Something is typically always better than nothing. Why would you not start today? #bssbbooks #eatlessmovemore #portioncontrol #healthylifestyle #healthyfood #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jul 15, 2019 at 2:38pm PDT

Fat Loss Tips 2019

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Fat loss. Don’t over think it. I know that’s easier said than done. I also know that there’s a lot of information out there on the subject, some good, some bad, some misleading. Keep it as simple as possible. Understand, you must eventually learn to eat healthier foods in amounts (portions) that are also healthy. As Americans, we don’t do this well. We over-eat and over-drink much of the time. What’s worse is most of our food is highly processed with added sugar and salt. It might as well be poison. Add to that all the sitting we do. Add to that overworking and undersleeping. Add to that caffeine addiction. Add to that the stress of modern living. Add to that chronic dehydration. Add to that little or no exercise. It’s no wonder there are such serious health problems with obesity constantly on the rise. Its so bad now that children are being affected as early as grade school. The medical, insurance and pharmaceutical companies profit from it. Its unlikely that things will improve anytime soon. It’s up to each of us to take ownership over the things we can control, which is actually quite a lot. Above is just a quick list that I jotted down earlier to give examples of a few healthy habits that I believe work. What are you waiting for? Death & disease? Please don’t. Take back your health. #nutrition #healthylifestyle #bssbbooks #personaltrainer #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jun 26, 2019 at 10:55am PDT