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

EAT & DRINK FEWER CALORIES EVERY DAY FOR FAT LOSS

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EAT & DRINK FEWER CALORIES EVERY DAY FOR FAT LOSS. (This is a repost from last year). The message is still important. Don’t overthink fat-loss. Do realize it’s mostly about consuming too many calories. There are other factors but this point is critical. The majority of Americans are overweight or obese. This now includes children. Most adults admit they want to lose body fat. If this is you, listen carefully. The simplest way to lose body fat is to consume FEWER calories each day than you do now. Don’t go too low. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF. Too few calories may be as bad as too many. Be reasonable. How much less? I’d say between 250-500 calories less each day. If you don’t want to count calories, then don’t. Just eat less at each meal by around a 1/4 (or half). If you drink calories, that would be the easiest place to trim back. Of course, the long term goal is to eat and drink BETTER food (less processed, more plants) but for now just try eating (AND DRINKING) less calories each day. You should probably consult with a medical professional if you have any serious issues or concerns. Yes, exercise matters… but much less than you might think. Eventually, a great goal is 1-3 weekly Strength Training sessions and ample Daily Walking. Both are important but will never be more important than NOT OVER-CONSUMING calories on a regular basis. It makes very little sense to over-consume calories then try to burn it off with exercise. The smart thing to do is not consume the excess calories in the first place. Most Americans are considered “sedentary”, even if they exercise an hour each day. Sedentary people do lot need a lot calories. End of story. #healthyfatloss #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Nov 18, 2019 at 8:36am 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

Essential Priorities for Busy People

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ESSENTIAL PRIORITIES FOR BUSY PEOPLE. Being busy is not unique. In fact, it’s commonplace these days. I would argue that much of our business is due to poor time management, especially with smart phone usage. Of course pointing this out doesn’t really help anything. But with that said, it is crucial to realize that the only person that will help you find more time is YOU. It’s not a crime to be good to yourself. And being good to yourself doesn’t necessarily require more free time. However, it does require quality time with attention to detail, especially with regards to the management of time and energy. Prioritize SLEEP first. After AIR & WATER, sleep is the foundation for everything. DIET is the next big area of concern. The most realistic approach that I’ve found is to aim for at least one meal a day that is close to perfect. Something simple, convenient and repeatable. Think oatmeal w berries, a smoothie, salad, healthy sandwich, etc. The last major priority of health is daily MOVEMENT. You can’t NOT move. Seriously. It’s about way more than just calories and vanity. This is about survival. My best recommendation is to build more WALKING in to each day. When possible, do it while at work so you get paid for it. If that’s not possible, aim for 10-30min of dedicated walking sometime before bedtime. Also, try your best to get at least one STRENGTH workout in each week. You could do this with only 2 exercises in less than 15 minutes. It helps keep muscles from withering away, which does help with metabolism and many other vital functions within the body. Don’t let everything go to sh*t because you’re busy. You’ll regret it later. Be mindful and manage your time well. #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #timemanagement #timemanagementtips #limitsmartphoneuse #timemanagementskills #healthminimums #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Nov 4, 2019 at 8:43am PST

Counting Calories TIP

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IMPORTANT TIP: When it comes to counting calories, round UP when estimating food (and drinks)…but also round DOWN when estimating calories burned during exercise or daily movement. Rarely is there such a thing as an exact measurement. Even the “calorie” itself varies in measurement. For this reason, numbers are often NOT exact. Even in the wonderful age of digital technology, fancy phone apps, watches and other high tech wearables, etc can only “ESTIMATE” how many steps you walked, heart rate, calories from food, calories burned, etc. Truth is, most of us think we eat (and drink) LESS than we do. We also think we move MORE than we do. Today I rode an exercise bike for 30 minutes at a medium pace. The computer “estimated” that I burned 276 calories. If I were counting calories, I’d round that DOWN to 200 calories, which is only about a can of Coke. A pound of fat is said to be roughly 3,500 calories. Again, this is all an estimation. It should be obvious that using only exercise to lose body fat might not be the best strategy. It must be combined with improvements in nutrition and lifestyle as well! The math can become discouraging quickly. That’s why I don’t typically recommend counting calories and if I do, not for long. But don’t let this get you down. It’s about healthy habits, discipline and consistency. Start slow, build strong. Never stop learning. Never stop improving. Expect delays and obstacles but always keep your head up. Remember that the changes you make only stay that way if you continue to do what is working. In the end, it’s ultimately not about calories and measurements, it’s about health, happiness and quality of life. You want to lose body fat in a healthy way? Eat more vegetables & fruit. Walk a lot more each day. Regularly pick up heavy things (safely) and move really fast (safely). Get proper rest. Drink mostly water. Laugh and smile. Open your heart. Help others. (PS. Don’t let calories rule your life.) #bssbbooks #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #countingcalories #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Aug 29, 2019 at 8:43am 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 & Meal Frequency

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We have an obesity epidemic in America. It’s not talked about enough and sadly, very little is being done about it. The issues are obviously many and complex. Ultimately, each of has to take ownership of every decision we make. With that said, most of us are fully aware that as a nation we eat and drink more than we should. Our culture is built around over-indulgence. Add to that the fact that do much of our food is lacking in quality nutrition. I truly believe a major issue lies in how often we eat and drink each day. The body adapts to our habits, especially habits practiced daily, both good and bad. Eating too often may teach the body to crave food more often, much like a stray animal. Some may only eat 1 meal a day while others might feed as many as 6+ times. Neither scenario is wrong. Many options lie between the two. Any arrangement could prove successful but let’s be clear, eating and drinking too frequently begs for problems. Anytime we consume anything (that’s not plain water) we initiate our digestive process. The body responds to every little bite of food and every tiny sip from a drink. We worry so much about calories but a bigger issue might actually be the frequent hormonal response to our constant feeding. It makes sense to me that the more times we feed, the more we teach our bodies to crave food. For fat loss, this can be problematic. In the early 2ooo’s, it was common to recommend 5+ feedings a day. Some had success. Most of us didn’t. I think it was a bad recommendation. I still do. I think it leads to the development of food addiction and false hunger. I firmly believe most of us do better when we limit our meals (“feedings”) to 2-3 a day, avoid snacking altogether most days. It can take time to retrain the body and he mind (so think weeks and months, not hours or days). This is all my opinion and something I think worth considering. Obviously, this might not apply to anyone with serious medical issues. For that, consult with a qualified professional. #nutrition #personaltrainer #austinpersonaltrainer #austinpersonaltraining #fatloss #fatlosstips #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jul 1, 2019 at 2:43pm 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

Be present. Enjoy each moment. Enjoy the Holidays but also…start preparing now for the future (2019).

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Simple thoughts for the end of the year. Enjoy this time. Start preparing for the future. Don’t worry about what/how you “used to be” or even what you “hope” to be in the future. Take a kind inventory of who you are and where you are today. If you’d like things to be different, start working on a realistic plan to put in motion in the weeks to come. Starting in the new year, I plan to shine some strong mojo outward to help. Till then, get your mind right. I will do the same. Let’s tell ourselves these words: “don’t be afraid to be strong”. This starts in the mind and in our hearts. It’s about so much more than health or fitness. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Dec 17, 2018 at 7:47am PST

Priorities during Disruptions: Travel, Vacation, Holidays, Company in town…

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Vacation. Travel. The holidays. It’s important to enjoy some down time. It’s also important to spend time with family & friends. Maybe it’s just you? That’s great too. Alone time is also very important. But what are the priorities for someone who is trying to shed unwanted body fat during such disruptions? The most important thing is your total calories each day (aka “how much we eat and drink). Don’t worry so much about exact numbers. We are all aware of what “reasonable” and “obnoxious” looks like. Aim for more reasonableness, less obnoxiousness. Don’t worry so much about exercise either. By all means, if you can or want to, do so. Enjoy. Just know that your main secret weapon will be walking as much as possible. Every single day. All day long. Walk your ass off if possible. Of course, that’s not possible. Good thing too. Personally, I like to do short 5-10min workouts most mornings. Not because I may burn a few calories, which is probably less than 100 calories in this particular case (less than a can of soda). I exercise because it makes me feel better, gives me energy plus helps maintain my basic strength levels and lean muscle mass, which increases in importance as we age. I suppose I could do a longer workout but why?! At some point, exercising longer just to burn a few more calories becomes counterproductive, disruptive and unhealthy. It makes much more sense to consume fewer calories to begin with. I hope you see my point. I was just gone for 2 weeks. Each morning I did 10 deep squats, 10 pushups and 10 pullaparts with a old rubber tube that I typically travel with. I did 3 rounds of that, stretching between each exercise. That’s it. Nothing too complicated. (The details here are not really too important.) I have said this before and will say it again now: what we eat & drink (and how much) affects our body-fat levels much more than exercise ever will. Exercise is super important, for many other reasons besides being a tool to help burn calories. During such temporary disruptions, control what you eat and drink. That way there’s less to deal with later. Be reasonable. Reasonability, in most situations, is a very good friend. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Dec 3, 2018 at 12:59pm PST