Any stress eaters out there? I know I was! Today I want to share with you not just 5 reasons to stop stress eating but also practical strategies to help you get from your current stress response to a healthier, more productive stress response.
I used to put my goals & my health on hold in response to stress all the time. Unfortunately, while most stressors themselves aren't permanent fixtures in our lives, stress is. Our ability to reach our goals and maintain our results depends largely on our ability to respond to stress in a productive way.
That's what today is all about. Definitely tune into the episode to hear these 5 reasons to stop stress eating but also to learn practical strategies for doing the work.
http://primalpotential.com/185-stop-stress-eating/
- In response to stress, you need to choose something that makes you feel better, not worse.
When we overeat in response to stress, we often end up feeling worse and less in control than we felt prior to overeating.- You don't want to compound a negative hormonal effect
- You have a unique opportunity to create positive emotion (or even joy!)
- You need to choose a response that restores or generates energy instead of one that depletes energy
- How you always respond is how you'll always respond.
Ok guys, let me shoot straight for a second: if you feel like fat loss is miserable and you’re missing out, you’re not doing it right. Seriously. I get it, because I’ve lived it and coached hundreds through it. You’re not alone, but we’ve gotta square this away for you. If fat loss is hard, something needs to change.
Either your perspective needs work or your strategy has to change. Or both. Probably both.
In today’s episode I’m bringing forth an uncomfortable truth: fat loss shouldn’t be hard. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but if it’s miserable and you hate it and you are always focused on deprivation, you’re just not doing it right.
Let’s launch into the episode and talk about how to make fat loss easy.
http://primalpotential.com/184-fat-loss-is-hard/
If you feel like fat loss is hard, it's very likely that you're messing up 2 things.
You’ll definitely want to listen to the full episode to understand the way I identify these common mistakes that make fat loss way harder than it needs to be, if not impossible.
I spot it quickly when I get emails that say things like,
I made great choices Monday through Friday, but when the weekends come, I totally blow it every time and undo my progress from the week.
If I eat really clean, I feel like I’m missing out and end up binging.
Here’s the reality:
If the foods you’re eating make you feel deprived and like you’re missing out, you’re not eating the right foods for you.
We’re not going to do things we don’t want to do or don’t enjoy, not over the long haul, anyway.
My primary food rule is to eat foods you love that love you back. No one can define these foods for you with a meal plan or food list. You have to identify what you enjoy, look forward to eating and feel great about during and afterwards.
Some of the fat loss friendly foods I love and look forward to eating are bunless burgers (especially with bacon!), sashimi, Brussels sprouts and avocado. There are more but that’s not the point. You have to find what these are.
For a sustainable lifestyle change, you have not just like the food you eat, but enjoy & look forward to it.
The second issue is perspective.
Describing is prescribing, my friends, and when you argue for your limitations, guess what? You get to keep them. You’re making a case for them so they’re there to stay.
If you decide & prescribe that you make great choices all week & blow it on the weekend, guess what? You’re right! You’ve decided for it. You’ve argued for it. You’re defending that behavior with your words and your thoughts and your choices.
Same thing if you argue that you can’t eat too clean or you’ll rebel and go off the rails.
Oh yeah? Ok. If you say so.
That’s a choice. You could change your perspective. You could decide that the cleaner you eat and the more consistent you are, the better you feel and the better you look. It increases your energy and your motivation and creates a cycle of accelerated returns. You know what? That’s probably more true than the limiting belief you’ve been arguing for but you haven’t taken the time to prove yourself wrong!
Your perspective is a choice. It’s not always easy to change but it is always worth it.
If you feel like you need help with the “how” of changing perspective, I’d recommend you check out Breaking Barriers. You can watch a presentation about it or get your questions answered. Your choice, just wanted you to know that there’s a resource for you if you’re serious about change.
On today's episode I'm taking you inside my mind and sharing some of my own personal success & mental toughness mantras. I'm not even remotely a "woo woo" kind of girl, but I find that without these mantras & affirmations, I'm much more likely to get distracted, emotional or frustrated and then lose my momentum & motivation. No bueno. Been there, done that.
I want to set myself up for success, limit ebbs & flows of motivation and continuously be focused on my goals. These mental toughness mantras are a huge part of how I do that. So, I'm sharing a few of my most-high impact mantras and how they keep me focused, redirect my attention and help me crush my goals.
I'd love for you to share some of your mental toughness mantras with me!
http://primalpotential.com/183-mental-toughness-mantras/
Resist the temptation of your comfort zone
Little hinges swing big doors
Rule over yourself
Self-control & resistance to distractions
I can do hard things
Do it anyway
There are so many awesome questions out there about animal products, fat loss and health. Questions about whether or not eating animal products is healthy, how important it is to make organic choices and if we'd be better off without the animal fats and proteins.
We're going to tackle those questions today and I'm providing you with a free meat buying guide. Well, it's a little more than that. It's a general guide to buying animal products - fish, poultry, meat and dairy.
In today's episode we'll be talking about what has been omitted from most conversations about animal products and that is quality.
Studies looking at health profiles and animal product consumption avoid looking at the quality of the animals consumed.
We won't make that mistake. We are what we eat, but we're also what we eat eats, therefore, quality absolutely matters.
http://primalpotential.com/182-meat-buying-guide/
We absolutely must consider what what we're eating is eating.
Are the animal products you're consuming coming from grain fed animals?
These animals will be much higher in pro-inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids and much lower in anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids.
Grain fed animals also have higher levels of insulin, cortisol, herbicides, pesticides and other toxins.
These toxins are stored in the fat tissue of the animal and they intoxicate us when we consume them. Toxic accumulation in our fat tissue impairs fat burning.
Conventionally raised animals are also polluted with antibiotics & growth hormones. These antibiotics and growth hormones are present when we consume meat and other products from these animals.
Be ware of marketing catch phrases that mean nothing including:
When buying fish, look for wild-caught fish.
When buying beef, pork or poultry, look for:
If you're consuming products from conventionally raised animals,
We aren't getting enough sleep. We wear our fatigue (and talk about it) like it is a badge of honor. It's not. You're not tough. You're not hardcore. You're damaging your long-term health and dramatically impeding your fat loss.
If you haven't guessed, we're talking about sleep, hormones and fat loss on today's episode.
The average American is only getting 5-7 hours of sleep each night. That doesn't make a warrior, it makes a hormonally imbalanced, hungry person prone to fat storage, muscle loss and disease.
I hope that late-night TV is worth it!
Seriously though - this is really important stuff. Sleep deprivation, even moderate sleep deprivation over just a few short days impacts your hormones, impairs your metabolism, increases your appetite and changes the way the food you eat is metabolized.
In today's episode I'll be talking about 3 of the significant fat loss related changes initiated by mild sleep deprivation.
http://primalpotential.com/181-sleep-hormones-fat-loss
Today we're diving into the nitty gritty of how sleep deprivation impacts your hormones and fat loss.
Guys: Every choice is a chance. You aren't stuck. You can't be stuck. Stop telling yourself that you're stuck or that you aren't motivated. Every single moment is a new chance, a new opportunity and a blank slate.
In today's motivational minisode, I'm providing you with an attitude adjustment and a powerful perspective shift.
Stop focusing on everything you've done "wrong" and on all the chances you've missed. Who cares? It's done. This next choice right in front of you is your next chance.
Let's snap ourselves out of the powerless funk and start getting results by taking control of each choice as it arises.
If you've listened to much of the Primal Potential podcast, you understand that fat loss is very much about hormones. There are 3 hormones in particular that we can consider "the fat loss hormones". If we understand how they work and what specific choices we can make to make sure these fat loss hormones are working our favor, we're well on our way to our best health & the achievement of our goals.
We'll be talking a lot more about hormones in the next few weeks but for today I want to begin with an overview of these 3 powerhouse fat loss hormones: cortisol, leptin & insulin.
http://primalpotential.com/179-fat-loss-hormones/
Leptin - leptin is a hormone produced by your fat cells that acts as a messenger between your body fat and your brain. When working properly, leptin works with your brain to regulate your appetite. As your body fat increases, leptin production increases and tells your body to increase metabolism and decrease appetite. As body fat decreases, leptin secretion decreases so the brain triggers an increase in appetite and decrease in metabolism. Unfortunately, leptin can quickly become disregulated with both crash dieting and weight gain, causing leptin resistance and impairing the brain's ability to receive signals from leptin.
Cortisol - cortisol is a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands in response to physical, emotional or mental stress. Cortisol's job is to prepare your body for the fight-or-flight emergency response. One of the ways it prepares your body is by making sure there is plenty of sugar (glucose) in your blood stream so you're able to escape from the threat. Unfortunately, in this day & age, the threat is often a traffic jam, losing your keys or a fight with your spouse and no escape is necessary. Sure, you might see that as a good thing, but it means you're left with unneeded sugar in your blood stream that has to be stored. Many people get frustrated with lack of fat loss results despite eating clean & managing blood sugar. They tend to overlook the stress effect. Cortisol will break down muscle glycogen or muscle tissue to provide sugar for the blood, regardless of your diet. Because of this, stress management is a critical part of fat loss.
Insulin - I'll join the ranks of those who refer to insulin as the master fat loss hormone. It's critically important. You can listen to an episode all about insulin here. The point of today's episode is to show you that caring for your carb strategy isn't enough if you want to achieve your health & fat loss potential. You can mess with insulin if you aren't caring for cortisol, which is where most people pay little to no attention. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas in response to elevated blood sugar. Insulin's job is to usher the blood sugar out of the blood to either provide immediate fuel for cells or to be stored for later use. The presence of insulin puts the body in storage mode. Because cortisol can increase blood sugar independent of diet, managing insulin is about both diet & lifestyle.
Definitely listen to the full episode for a conversation about what we can do, from a diet & lifestyle perspective, to help these hormones work in our favor! There's a lot we can do!
Success in any endeavor, as Tony Robbins says, is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. Unfortunately, most of us spend the majority of our focus on the mechanics and very little on mindset.
In today's episode I want to introduce you to the triple threat of success: right strategy, right mindset and right effort.
I know, that begs the question: what in the world is the right strategy? There's so much conflicting information out there! We're going to get into how you can identify YOUR right strategy - not mine, not anyone else's, just yours.
http://primalpotential.com/178-triple-threat-right-strategy-right-mindset-right-effort/
Let's talk travel and weight loss today, okay? It's a busy season of travel for me and on today's show I want to share with you some of my most effective strategies for traveling without disregarding my goals. In fact, these travel strategies help me make progress towards my goals no matter where I am!
If you have travel coming up and you're feeling anxious about it, I totally understand and I hope you'll listen to this episode in full!
http://primalpotential.com/177-travel-and-weight-loss/
In today's episode I'm diving deep into several strategies that will help you transform your experience of travel and boost your confidence that you can lose weight no matter where you are or what is going on around you.
CREATE STRUCTURE
Yes, there's a lot you can't control when you're on the road and away from your normal surroundings. However, that doesn't mean you need to surrender all your control. What elements of your normal routine can you maintain?
Personally, I maintain my morning routine whenever I can. I get up early, I work for a few hours, workout and have a fat loss friendly breakfast. This helps me begin the day feeling energized, positive, focused and productive.
Maybe it's important for you to maintain your bedtime, or to ensure you always drink enough water or get in a leisure walk.
Either way, look for ways to create structure regardless of where you are and what is going on.
REFRAME INDULGENCES
To me, indulgences were always things like cookies, ice cream, cupcakes and alcohol. But, I want to challenge you to think about what it means to indulge. I think it means to have something special that represents a rare treat. With that definition, it doesn't have to be something misaligned with my goals.
An indulgence can be something that is special & rare but doesn't have to be something that makes you feel full, heavy, or guilty afterwards.
I seek out indulgences that feel really special but make me feel amazing both while I eat it and after. On this particular trip, those were things like octopus carpaccio, snapper ceviche and table side guacamole.
THINK ABOUT VOLUME
Food does not taste better the more of it you eat. In fact, it's kind of the opposite. The first few bites are always the best, and we pay less attention as we continue to eat. For that reason, more isn't better. More is usually less satisfying.
Pay attention as you eat. Are you savoring every bite or are you just going through the motions.
Is the current bite as good as the first? If not, let it go. Move on.
NO EXCUSES NECESSARY
Sure, there are lots of excuses you could make when you're traveling, but you don't have to make them or accept them. You don't have a kitchen. You don't have your normal gym. Your preferred food choices aren't available. Great. Who cares?
What CAN you do? What is within your power? What will you do?
I just returned from speaking on Jimmy Moore's Low Carb Cruise about overcoming emotional eating & self-limiting beliefs. I shared with his audience that all the strategies in the world won't help if you don't get out of your own way & do the work consistently.
Though I think strategy matters, most people fail to implement because of their mindset & beliefs, not because of the nuts & bolts of "how" to lose weight.
In today's podcast, I'm going to share with you the presentation I gave on the Low Carb Cruise about strategies to help you avoid self-sabotage & accelerate progress towards your goals.
http://primalpotential.com/176-avoid-self-sabotage
There are 3 primary barriers to progress that I talk about in today's episode:
To overcome these barriers and avoid self-sabotage, you need to make sure to:
I share specific mantras, perspectives and mindset shifts to help you implement these strategies and stay out of your own way! Don't miss the full episode!
In today's episode we're breaking down some recent research about rebound weight gain & the impact of rapid weight loss on hormones & metabolism, courtesy of the popular television show, The Biggest Loser.
This article has spread like wildfire, summarizing a study that followed 14 former Biggest Loser contestants over 6 years, documenting their weight gain & metabolic/hormonal challenges.
Many people read this article and panicked, which is why I'm doing this episode. They feel like the article suggests that weight loss is hopeless and your body will fight back to get to it's original weight.
They feel like the article suggests you can't lose weight without wrecking your metabolism. That's just not true. Take a listen to the full episode to get the facts without the media hype!
Let's talk hunger, shall we? It's one of those things that for some unknown reason, we kinda fear. Not anymore. Not after today. Today is all about hacking hunger and improving your response to hunger to increase your peace of mind and accelerate your results.
Have you ever felt like you need to keep snacks around "just in case" you get hungry?
Have you ever told yourself that you can't get too hungry or you'll go off the rails?
I know I have!
In today's episode we're talking about improving our response to hunger so we can understand it & embrace it without panicking or reactive decision making.
http://primalpotential.com/174-hacking-hunger-5-ways-to-improve-your-response/
Today I've got another motivational minisode for you! It's time to take it to the next level. We need to get out of our way, we need to stop making excuses, stop looking for exceptions, stop focusing on all the mistakes and missed opportunities in the past.
What would happen if you brought your level 10 effort to each day for the next 30 days?
Where would be? What would you achieve? How much momentum would you create?
It's a great thought, right?
So do it. Start now. There's no need for more waiting or wishing.
Need a kick in the pants? Listen to today's episode!