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Imagine if your lifestyle was healthy, active and sustainable till the day you perish. How would you feel if on a whim you could do any physical activity you choose. No “getting in shape” for… 

The good news is that with proper awareness, foundation and habits, you can be in control of your health and always be physically ready for whatever life brings your way.  Living a healthy, active lifestyle sustainably requires a strong foundation. I’d like to share 5 of the areas we work on daily with our clients and ourselves to grow and maintain that foundation. 

1. Sleep

Sleep is the #1 performance enhancing activity a person can do. Yet very few folks get enough sleep or honor its importance. At a minimum 7 hours per night in a completely dark room with zero electronics is accepted by sleep experts. Optimum is 7-9 hours, but there are individual and seasonal differences. 

Sleep Environment

• Cool and dark: 65-68 degrees F. and you can’t see your hand held out in front of your face
• Dim lights (blue blocker glasses) and stop electronic activity 30-60 min before bedtime
• Bedroom free of electronics, wifi, bluetooth, LED lighting, TV. The bedroom is reserved for sleeping and procreating only.

Daily Habits for better sleep

• A relaxing practice: mediation, massage, mobility work, easy reading, breathing
• No caffeine after noon
• Limit alcohol and keep working that direction “less is best”
• Sunshine exposure directly on your skin and eyes 
• Bedtime before 10 PM
• Have a routine and stick to it most of the time

2. Hydration

Water is essential to our existence and we will die without it. Drink clean, clear water. Water is the main ingredient of your blood transporting nutrients throughout your cells and keeps tissues moist and lubricated.

• Aim to drink about ½ you body weight in ounces daily
• Add a pinch of salt to room temperature water first thing in the morning
• Consume between meals rather than at mealtime

3. Stress Management

Everything is stress. Either good for us (eustress) or harmful for us (distress). Some stress is physical, some stress is emotional, some stress is psychological. And none of any of these are the same for any two people. The goal is to keep a positive balance of eustress vs distress. 

• Practice an enjoyable hobby 
• Smile and laugh 
• Sunshine (again)
• Human touch
• Time with enjoyable people
• Appropriate exercise practice
• Avoid social media

4. Nutrient Dense Food

The much debated, oft dreaded food chatter. Vegan this, veggie that, macro tit, carnivore tat, keto bliss, paleo blah blah blah. Humans are omnivores. You are a human. Eat whole-unprocessed foods. Protein and Fat are essential for life. Carbohydrates are not.

• Choose Nutrient dense foods
• Quality over quantity
• Bioavailable nutrients
• Honor digestion: Chew your food, sit down, disconnect and eat
• Prioritize protein and vegetables at every meal
• Vary types and colors of foods 
• Completely avoid industrial seed oils 
• Learn about anti-nutrient properties and food aversions 

5. Movement

Exercise is important and just plain old fashioned human movement is the best. We now live in a world where our survival is not hinged upon our ability to be physical. This is convenient for things like our education, career, or diabetes development. Our modern environment wreaks havoc on our biology and is not conducive to health.

The objective is to move blood, oxygen and lymph; raise temperature and expose your joints to full healthy ranges of motion. Loading the skeleton, muscles and connective tissue keeps bones strong and builds muscle. Lean muscle mass is the fountain of youth and the foundation of our immune system.

• Resistance training 2-5 times per week
• Aerobic development to support cardiovascular and  musculo-skeletal system 
• Walk your dog
• Take the stairs
• Park across the parking lot
• Wash your car by hand
• Yardwork

Continue to be mindful of these areas and work towards improvement and you will find how easy it is to live a sustainable healthy, active lifestyle. If you’d like guidance along your health and fitness journey reach out to us and one of our coaches will be happy to assist you. 

At some time in your life you’ve probably heard that protein is important to eat. But most times the advice ends there. To ensure adequate protein consumption it might help to understand a few reasons why and possibly what type of protein is best.

More accurately it’s about the amino acids…

All cellular and tissue repair in your body is dependant on proteins derived from amino acid synthesis. Amino acids are found in food and synthesized from within your body. We know of 20 amino acids all playing various roles in protein synthesis, 9 of these amino acids are considered essential amino acids (EAAs) and are only available from food, while the other known 11 are non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) that your body sort of scavenges around and creates. Although when certain diseases or health states are present, many NEAAs become essential. And since you actually never know or schedule those events, non-essential is a bit of a misnomer. 

The amount and type of each amino acid requirement vary greatly. Certain types have a 10x greater demand than others. The amount and type of amino acids occurring in different foods also vary. And since all lifestyle factors play a role in each individuals requirements, it’s important to vary your protein sources and consume adequate amounts to ensure a good supply across the range of amino acids.

The focus is on protein consumption but only because protein gives the body the amino acids that it really needs. Amino acids do not occur in isolation. When you travel into nature to look for amino acids, the best source of EAAs all have either a mother or a face of their own. All plant based proteins are missing EAA for humans. This is not a slight on plant protein, just a natural occurring condition. Animal protein wins in quality, density, bio-availability and ability to sustain life without supplementation. 

Greater Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) Characteristics

TEF represents the energy demand from the food eaten to be digested. A specific effort is required of your body to digest, absorb and metabolize food. That effort isn’t the same for all foods. Of the three macronutrients Fat, Carbohydrates and Protein, protein has the greatest TEF. 

• Fat: 0-3% TEF
• Carbohydrates: 5-10% TEF
• Protein: 20-30% TEF (winner! winner!)

Average TEF for a healthy adult eating a standard omnivorous meal is around 10% of caloric intake.  But many variables play a factor in this; lean body mass, meal size and composition, temperature, mood, quality of chewing, digestive enzyme state, etc.

A larger meal takes longer to digest, therefore has a greater TEF. The more lean mass you carry, the more your body spends time processing food to extract nutrients. And the meal composition matters as macronutrients have different TEFs. 

There are many variables determining the TEF, and trying to calculate it exactly isn’t the point. The  point is protein leverages the laws of thermodynamics in your favor when it comes to positive contribution to health, wellness and appetite control.

Greater Satiety

Protein is the most satiating macronutrient. The reason why isn’t exactly clear, but we do know that hormonal activity elicited from eating protein has huge impacts on our health. 

Far beyond caloric intake, food sends chemical messages to your cells about the state of the environment. Messages like; is there sufficient nourishment to support life? Is there sufficient nourishment to thrive? Is this place safe and secure. Are threats around trying to harm me. What season is it? And many other signals we don’t fully understand. 

When our meals contain high quality, bioavailable protein (animal protein) our EAA requirements are more likely to be met. Additionally, the vast majority of our vitamin and mineral requirements are met when we consume animal proteins. These factors plus many others contribute to healthy hormonal production, produce signals that reduce your hunger cravings and leave you feeling satisfied that you’ve eaten enough, and informs your brain sufficient nourishment is available. You eat less often and avoid “hangry” feelings. 

Recycle, Reuse and Reduce Waste

Within your DNA are blueprints to over 25,000 protein-based compounds that are essential to functional life. Proteins’ importance is paramount, said simply, if you don’t eat protein, you die. If you eat too little protein for an extended period of time, you will show signs of weakness, impaired immune system function, lethargy, bone loss, hormonal imbalances and a host of other less-than-desirable things.

You want to fill your amino acid pool or “protein bank account” to the brim and keep it maintained. It doesn’t need to be full to the brim constantly, but a positive balance is the goal. A nice ebb and flow seems to be the way to go. Fill it up by maximizing lean muscle mass and eating proper amounts. And run it down a bit by overnight fasting or periodically skipping a few meals. 

As your body uses amino acids, it withdraws from it’s account to cover the bill so to speak. The account gets replenished by both the protein you eat (feeding) and recycling and restructuring existing proteins in the body (during fasting). Your body is constantly breaking down damaged and old cells, recycling and rebuilding the structures as needed. It’s a constant protein turnover. This is an amazingly efficient system that keeps the body regenerated with new healthy cells. Out with the old and in with the new! 

It’s the Only ESSENTIAL Macronutrient

I’m talking about fats, carbohydrates and protein. 

Putting things together and viewing through a pragmatic prizm…your body needs

• Two (2) essential fatty acids (EFAs)
• Only ~ 130g of glucose for your brain
• A large amount of EAA’s
• Varying amounts of EAA’s
• Varying kinds of EAA’s

Only two fatty acids cannot be synthesized in the body making those two essential to consume (EFAs). You need fat for healthy hormonal activity and transportation of certain vitamins and minerals. The amount required of these fats is very low and the proliferation of them in our food sources very high. This makes it very difficult to create a deficiency of fatty acids. 

It’s true that your brain has a glucose requirement. This does not mean you need to consume glucose as is so commonly mis-interpreted. The daily requirement of about 130g is easily produced by a healthy functioning liver via gluconeogenesis. An additional benefit of protein!

And finally, with all of the body’s many functions dependant upon protein, it’s easy to make the case that protein is the only essential macronutrient. 

References available upon request.

High Definition Holiday Health Tips
9 Simple strategies to navigate the holiday party season while
maintaining health.

1.Be the Host
When you’re the host, you have control of the nourishment. You will be doing all your guests a favor by not contributing to the health hit they may be exposed to at their other parties.

Choose grain, dairy and legume free recipes and if you don’t mention it, nobody will likely notice. Build meals around a solid protein or two and have lots of fun veggie dishes to back fill folks’ plates.

2. Bring nourishment with you
Easy travel stuff:
● Deli meat tray
● Shrimp (wrapped in bacon)
● Bacon anything
● Olives (wrapped in bacon)
● Spiced (not sugared) nuts
● Stuffed mushrooms (with bacon?)
● Veggie platter

3. Fill up before you go
Showing up hungry is an easy way to overwhelm willpower when staring at a table of pies, cakes, cookies, candies and creams.

Eating beforehand may lower your stress levels, help curb some cravings and reduce the space inside your stomach. You’ll likely reduce your exposure to gluten and other anti-nutrients while still enjoying the company of your peers.

4. Politely say no thank you
Don’t be afraid to make up an awesome story about training for the World Championships of hot air balloon racing or something.

A little light hearted humor may help to defer your cousin’s insistence that you eat a piece of ments-meat pie or that strange holiday haystack candy stuff. WTH is that stuff?

5. Start your day like a boss  
Eat a high quality protein packed breakfast such as steak and eggs or bacon and some leafy green veggies to begin your day with good blood sugar management and satiating foods.

Also some good quality movement or exercise early in the day can assist with a positive mood and insulin sensitivity for the day.

6. Eat all the protein
When it’s time to eat, focus on protein first. I’m talking about the meat. Don’t short change yourself here. Get some!

Protein is the most satiating macronutrient and may decrease your desire to overeat the mysterious super-sweet cranberry slurry. (I’ve eaten real cranberries and they aren’t sweet. Just sayin…)

7. Adulting the beverages
It’s the holiday’s and family is around, taking the edge off may be necessary to enjoy Uncle
Tony. I get it.

So bring sparkling water and limes for your mixer to avoid syrups. Choose high quality beer or wine and really enjoy it so you don’t need to hammer down a 6 pack.

One or two will do just fine of the good stuff. Dry Farm Wines is the choice to have ready to open.

8. Go for a brisk walk
Go for an after meal walk. Known as passeggiata in Italy.

Encourage the kids to come with you and trek around the neighborhood to help control the after-meal blood glucose levels. Get outside for some midday sunshine as an extra bonus.

9. Enjoy the journey
Have a plan but be open to changing the plan along the way. It’s the holiday season and time for laughs, love and thanks. Enjoy your time as it is limited.

Be aware that our modern environment is not designed for health, happiness and optimization and most folks are unaware of this. Spread the positivity of health and fitnessas part of your lifestyle.

Your journey is unique, and that’s awesome!

Who Are You…At Your Center? 

We are systematically reprogrammed to expect more and more from ourselves. Bombarded by social media of “success” from “influencers.” We’re being brain washed into behavior that puts our eyes back on social media, notifications, and the “virtual world.” The unfortunate part of this psychological attack is that it’s working. It has affected all of our lives. 

We see too many people who think they “should” live a certain way. When we ask them why they want to live that way, they often don’t know. They’ve gotten lost in the media stranglehold. They don’t know who THEY are. They haven’t developed the skills to filter influencers and learn your true reason for being. 

It’s time you take control of your life. You shouldn’t have to be something you’re not. You shouldn’t have to demand things you don’t care about. And, you shouldn’t have to live a life that doesn’t fulfill you. When you break the chains and get to the other side, life brightens forever. 

In the fitness world, this challenge gets exposed in how people train. Many people train with somebody else’s hopes and dreams attached to each workout. It’s not until they learn what drives them internally that they remove pressure from their fitness and start loving how fitness can improve their lives.  

Do you train to help guide your kids to enjoy their own dreams? Awesome – enjoy your journey for how it empowers you to guide your kids consistently. 

Do you train to achieve success at work? Excellent – enjoy your journey for what advantages it gives you in your career. 

Do you train because you love to progress your fitness? Wonderful, enjoy your journey of physical challenge day in and day out. 

Train for YOU. Live for what you value. Improve because it inspires you. That’s where life-long progress and happiness emerge. There is no amount of physical challenge that will overcome an inspired life!
 

 

 

To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top. – Robert Prusig 

For so many of us, we don’t necessarily love the start or the finish; we love the journey that life provides us. We love to progress and grow throughout our entire lives. It doesn’t matter what area of life we’re talking about, we love the hard work, the breakthroughs, the successes, and even the setbacks.  The world tries to “sell” us on quick fixes and band aids to bring us “pleasure” but we believe that it’s a life well-lived that leads to “happiness”. This is what leads to growth as a person, to becoming a better you. 

It’s reassuring to know we aren’t alone. We surround ourselves with people who love progressing as much as we do. The general exercise community has not connected the experience in the gym with experience outside of the gym. We recognize the power fitness has in how we experience progress forever. We allow ourselves to love the journey!  

It’s imperative for your time in the gym to connect to your priorities outside of the gym. It’s when you use fitness to enhance your Life that you’re able to live life more fully.   

If you’re ready to love the journey.  If you’re ready to be surrounded by others loving their journey.  If you’re ready for enduring fulfillment and progress towards a better you.  

High Definition Fitness has a coach ready for you. 

 

 

Nutrition:  A K.I.S.S approach (Keep It Super Simple ) 

Technology and social media seem to be speeding up the world, but this “mass connectivity” often causes considerable confusion as we are served more and more cheap information with less and less context.  All from so-called “experts.”  

Nutrition falls squarely into this category of confusion. Macros this, calories that, detox piss, juice cleanse fat, keto now, fasting later: what in the world are you supposed to do to get healthy, lean out, and have energy? If you just read internet articles (ironic, I know), you will be met with thousands of complex answers. DON’T FALL VICTIM TO COMPLEXITY FOR COMPLEXITY’S SAKE. 

Nutrition must start SIMPLE! 

You need to meet yourself where YOU are, today. Consider these simple fixes first and foremost before anything else: 

• Are you chewing each bite of food 32 times? It may sound ridiculous, but this will allow your body to absorb more of your food’s nutrients. 
• Are you eating vegetables multiple times per day? 
• Are you eating 10 varieties of vegetables throughout the week? 
• Are you drinking ½ of your bodyweight, in ounces, of clean, clear water each day (as a minimum)? 
• Are you consuming a consistent, quality amount of biologically available protein? 

• Are you mixing up your foods so that you don’t eat exactly the same thing each day? 

If you are missing one of these things, put that in place today and your health will move in an improving direction. Once you’ve got that dialed in, add another from the list. Nutrition isn’t a “figure out the fastest option” game. It’s a game of consistency, cleanliness, quality and above all – simplicity. 

Take a few moments and ask yourself, “Where am I, today?” We are confident that a few simple tweaks will benefit you and make a large difference in the medium and long-term journey towards improved health and fitness.  

And, if you’re still in doubt, remember these practices have a zero risk of negative side effects.   

Try them out, you only risk improvement!