Eating a crap load of vegetables every day doesn’t sound like much fun. I know.

However, this is an important habit when it comes to pursuing a lean, strong, healthy body.  The main point in doing this is to help ensure that we’re getting adequate fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients (which we’ll cover shortly) that keep our digestion, immune systems, and countless other bodily functions running smoothly.

Not only does eating vegetables help with these not-so-immediate (but still important) health benefits, but – like eating protein with every meal – eating a crap ton of vegetables will help keep your appetite at bay and reduce unnecessary cravings.

Along with protein, upping your veggies should lead to more easily eating the right amount.

Below we’ll talk about the following aspects of eating a crap load of vegetables:

1. What Foods “Count” as Vegetables?
2. Why Should I Eat Vegetables?
3. What Are The Best Vegetables?
4. How Much is “a Crap Load”?
5. Summary
6. What to Do Next

What Foods “Count” as Vegetables?

The primary purpose of this habit is to ensure that we’ve got adequate micronutrient intake to stay healthy and to normalize hunger signals.  This means we’re going to focus on nutrient-dense “non-starchy” vegetables.  That is, we’re going to look for vegetables that are low in carbohydrates (starches and sugars) but high in beneficial and essential nutrients.

Don’t get me wrong, carbohydrates play a role in a healthy diet but for the purpose of this habit we’re focusing elsewhere.

Non-starchy vegetables are typically leafy, colorful, and crunchy (e.g.) broccoli, peppers, spinach).  They are low in carbs (starches and sugars) and high in fiber,   Starchy vegetables are those like peas, acorn squash, yams, parsnips, potatoes, butternut squash, and pumpkin.

For clarification, corn (a grain) and beans (legumes) are not vegetables.  Again, these can play a role in a healthy diet, but we’ll be covering them in a later blog post.

Why Should I Eat Vegetables?

As mentioned above, we’re looking for fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

First of all, dietary fiber helps us feel full, which is always a big help when trying to naturally get and stay lean.  Fiber’s also critical for gut health.  While the “regularity” benefits attributed to high-fiber diets may be more the result of the exclusion of refined carbohydrates, fiber does act as “food” for the trillions of bacteria that live in our guts.  These bacteria affect our digestion, immune system, energy levels, and even mood and cognition.

I’m not going to be delve in detail into a bunch of benefits of various vitamins and minerals.  That would be boring and I’d probably screw it up anyway.  Instead I’ll provide a brief list of some of the nutrients we can get from vegetables, how they benefit us, and in which veggies they are found:

• Vitamin C – helps repair and regenerate tissue, boost the immune system (red peppers, kale)
• Folate (not folic acid) – important part of DNA and RNA creation (brussels sprouts, asparagus)
• Potassium – supports cardiovascular health and electrolyte balance (spinach)
• Carotenoids – orange, yellow, and red pigments (phytonutrients) that protect against cellular damage, aging, and some chronic diseases (carrots, tomatoes, other veggies of these colors)
• Isothiocyanates – antioxidants that protect cells from damage (broccoli, cauliflower, other cruciferous veggies)

But Can’t I Take a Multi-vitamin Instead?

Truthfully, I don’t know.

I’ve heard compelling arguments both ways but it’s my understanding that multi-vitamins do not provide the same health benefits as whole food vegetables.  I think it has something to do with the fact that mutli-vitamins only contain a handful of nutrients we know about that represents only a small fraction of the thousands of nutrients, chemicals, and cofactors that are found in whole foods that interact with one another when we eat them.

That said, some people like the peace of mind that comes from taking a multi.  If that floats your boat, go ahead.  I really am not sure about this one.  Sorry!

What Are The Best Vegetables?

When seeking to maximize nutrient density, think back to the guidelines of “leafy, colorful, and crunchy”, but the ultimate goal is to find veggies that you enjoy.  Some examples to get you started are broccoli, peppers, spinach, carrots, kale, eggplant, cauliflower, mushrooms, arugula, romaine, cucumber, summer squash, zucchini, chard, watercress, celery, and collards.

If you’re having trouble finding vegetables that sound appealing to you, that’s totally cool.  For many, vegetables are like wine, beer, or coffee (which all kick ass) in that they are an acquired taste. While figuring this out, you may experiment with different cooking methods also – raw, sautéed, steamed, roasted, grilled.  For example, steaming usually creates a softer, sweeter veggies, whereas roasting or grilling creates a stronger, crunchier veggies.  Complementing your greens up with salt, herbs, spices, or healthy fats (which we’ll also cover in a later blog post) can also really set off their flavor.

Again, the end goal here is to find a variety of vegetables that you enjoy and will eat consistently.

How Much is “a Crap Load”?

“Crap load” hasn’t yet been defined by the U.S. or SI systems, so I’ll help you out a bit here.

As you may already be aware, I’m a big fan of Precision Nutrition’s method of using our hands as a reference for serving sizes.  For vegetables, a good rule-of-thumb to aim for at least 5 fist-sized servings of vegetables each day, preferably coming from vegetables of a variety of colors (e.g. green, red, yellow, orange, purple, white).  The color variety should help ensure that we’re getting a wide variety of different nutrients.

As far as an upper limit is concerned, there really isn’t one.  If you love veggies, go ahead and eat them to your little heart’s content.  You can also choose to eat them at whatever frequency you prefer.  Some people enjoy eating one huge serving of veggies with a single meal, whereas others prefer to eat a couple of fistfuls with every meal.

Summary

1. Vegetables are nutrient dense, non-starchy, colorful, leafy plants that we eat.
2. Eating veggies helps ensure adequate intake of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.
3. Focus on finding vegetables that you enjoy and don’t be afraid to experiment.
4. Aim for at least 5 “fist-sized” servings of vegetables per day, preferably from a variety of colors.

What to Do Next

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Over the past several posts I’ve shared with you a bit about who I am; some thoughts on weight, food, health, and fitness; a brief overview of the four pillars of getting lean, strong, and healthy; and the benefits of taking a habits-based approach to nutrition rather than the popular diet-based approach to nutrition.

By now, you’re probably thinking, “ROB!  Get to the point. Tell me something I can DO.”

Well, today is your lucky day, my friend.

Make Protein the Foundation of Every Meal

A fundamental step in building killer eating habits is making protein the foundation every meal. Every single meal, the first thing we consider should be, “where’s my protein?” This nutrient is the bomb, and in this post I’m going to tell you why. I’ll also share with you some strategies to make sure you’re getting the most protein bang for your buck.

Here’s an outline of the path we’re going to take:

1. What is Protein?
2. Why do I Need Protein?
3. What are the Best Sources of Protein?
4. How much Protein Do I Need?
5. Common Concerns With Animal Protein (Health / Environmental / Ethical)
6. Summary
7. What to Do Next

Let’s do this.

What is Protein?

Protein, found in foods like chicken, fish, beef, pork, and eggs, is made up of chains of amino acids that our bodies break down and then reassemble to serve various purposes.  Our bodies use roughly twenty unique amino acids – some of which we’re able to produce on our own (endogenously), others we must obtain from outside sources (protein in food).  The amino acids we must obtain from outside sources are referred to as the “essential” amino acids.

That’s all I’ve got.

Shortest subsection ever.

Why Do I Need Protein?

As you may already be aware, adequate protein is key to building and maintaining muscle mass (you will NOT get bulky without a crap ton of dedicated, specific effort), especially when losing weight.  However, protein also serves a variety of other vital functions:

• Growth and repair of organs, including the heart, liver, skin, hair, fingernails, and bones.
• Use for creation of enzymes, which facilitate thousands of reactions including healthy digestion and metabolism.
• Acts as a precursor to neurotransmitters, critical to maintaining a stable mood and clear thinking.

Protein also has a significant impact on our appetites.  Compared to other energy-providing macronutrients – carbs, fat, and alcohol – protein is the most satiating. That is, calorie-per-calorie, protein keeps you full longer, especially when transitioning from a low-protein diet to a high- or even moderate-protein diet.

What Are the Best Sources of Protein?

Nearly all foods contain at least some protein, but not all protein sources are created equal in terms of the amino acids they provide us. This is where amino acids (which, if you’ll recall, protein comprises) come into play.

Some plants like soy, beans, and peanut butter are reported to provide high amounts of protein, but lack one or more essential amino acids or the protein they provide is not very bioavailable – meaning our bodies can’t utilize it as well as other proteins. This is why we may hear about vegetarians and vegans combining different food types to get adequate protein – they are making up for the different amino acid profiles of different plant foods.

Animal sources like meat, fowl, fish, and eggs, on the other hand, have much more complete ratio of the amino acids you need, higher protein per serving, and the protein is more bioavailable.   Not only are the amino acid profiles of plant proteins typically less favorable than that of animal sources, but plant sources also typically provide much less protein-per-calorie than animal sources.

Below is a list of protein content per 100 kcal for a variety of foods (inspired by a graphic I saw from a coach named Sohee Lee):

• Turkey breast, skinless, 22 grams
• Tuna, light, 22 grams
• Greek yogurt, 0% fat, 18 grams
• Sirloin steak, lean, 17 grams
• Tofu, 11 grams
• Whole Egg, 9 grams
• Black beans, 7 grams
• Quinoa, 4 grams
• Peanut butter, 4 grams of protein per 100 kcal
• Almonds, 4 grams of protein per 100 kcal

See what I’m getting at here?  Don’t go crushing peanut butter under the guise of “muh protein”.

Don’t get me wrong; plenty of vegans and vegetarians are able to get adequate protein. However, there’s a big difference between adequate and optimal. In my opinion it’s tough to get optimal protein intake on a vegan or vegetarian diet. If you’re concerned about the health, ethical, or environmental impact of a diet that emphasizes animal proteins, I’ll touch on each of these concerns briefly below but you can email me at rob@arthurhealth.com for resources from people much more well-versed in these subjects than I am.

If you’re in the store and are trying to determine whether something serves as a quality source of protein or not, ask yourself, a good rule of thumb is to look for foods that provide at least 20 grams per standard serving. There’s a lot of marketing hype out there encouraging us to believe that bars, snacks, and other food products with as low as 6-10 grams of protein per serving are “good sources”. Don’t buy into it. You deserve more than that.

Experiment, seek out quality protein sources that you enjoy, and that you are confident you’ll eat consistently.

How Much Protein Do I Need?

Sooooooo we’re going to briefly touch on some technicalities (grams, pounds, etc.) and then move into some more easy-to-follow guidelines that don’t require neurotic weighting, measuring, or counting.

The US government recommends 0.3 grams per pound of body mass per day for most people. However, this is only the amount determined to prevent deficiency.  Other popular recommendations for active individuals and those with body composition goals fall in the ballpark of 0.5 – 1.0 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. If you’re looked to lean up a bit or particularly enjoy protein, you might even go as high as 1.5 or 2.0 grams per pound of body weight. This would be mainly for the appetite effect, though, and not necessarily for any effect on your physique.

All of that being said, counting and tracking pounds and grams can be a real pain in the butt, so we’ll instead look at a different way of gauging our protein intake. Rather than bust out a scale and measuring cups, you can use your palms to gauge what a “serving” of protein looks like. Basically, you look at your palm (not including your fingers and thumb) and aim for a serving of protein that matches it in size.

I picked up this strategy from Precision Nutrition a couple of years ago, and have been using it personally and suggesting it to my clients ever since. The beauty of this approach is that it automatically scales to account for differences in body size. Larger person? You’ll have larger palms to go along with your increased protein requirements. Smaller person? You’ll have smaller palms to go along with your lower protein requirements.

One to two palms of protein per meal, or 4-8 palms per day is a general range that will work well for most of us. If you’re just getting started, then you might feel better at one palm per meal (or 4 per day). However, if you’re training heavily, would like to manage hunger while losing weight, or just like protein (which is totally cool, I certainly do), you might prefer to eat two palms per meal (or 8 per day).

Experiment, find an amount that works for you, and that you feel confident you can eat consistently.

Common Concerns With Animal Protein (Health / Environmental / Ethical)

I intend to eventually put together a resource page answering questions controversial topics such as these. There are people out there MUCH more knowledgeable on these subjects than I am, who explain things infinitely more clearly than I ever could.  If you’d like for me to share with you some of the resources that led me to the conclusions below, I’d love for you to email me at rob@arthurhealth.com.

Is Animal Protein Unhealthy?

It depends.

As a general statement, much of the science that originally implicated animal products (I’m talking about The China Study) has been brought to light as questionable at best.  It’s my understanding that so long as our protein is largely unprocessed and comes from healthy animals, we don’t really have much to worry about. I’m no dietitian or nutritionist but, as far as cancer is concerned, it’s my understanding that the main effects are seen with primarily with processed meat, and that the effects are still not quite that strong. As far as kidney disease is concerned, it’s my understanding that so long as we don’t have an existing kidney problem we’re good to go.

That said, I’m not a dietitian, nutritionist, doctor, or omniscient nutrition guru.  All I can do is share with you what I understand in the context of what I’ve learned from folks much smarter than I am.

Is Animal Protein Unsustainable?

Again, it depends.

This is an EXTREMELY complex subject, one that basically comes down to the fact that our current model of industrial food production and distribution – even plant-based – is absolutely unsustainable. Mono-crop farming and concentrated animal feedlot operations (CAFO) are rapidly depleting resources and there’s a good chance there are just too damn many people on planet Earth (sorry to be the bearer of bad news).  However, there are steps we can take to minimize the impact that our choices have on the environment and on the wellbeing of animals.

Is Animal Protein Unethical?

Guess what?

That’s right. It depends.

Was the animal raised on a local farm with rotating crops and regenerative agriculture practices, or in a CAFO? What about the plant foods that would replace the animal food?  How many animals’ habitats were destroyed to allow for those soybeans that would be replacing the meat to be grown? How many field mice were killed by combines during harvesting? Is a field mouse’s life worth less than a cow or a pig’s?

Not so black and white, huh?

Again, if you’d like more information about these questions and how I arrived at these conclusion, feel free to email me at rob@arthurhealth.com.

Of course, if you’re just over animal products, I’d be glad to direct you to some good vegan and vegetarian resources as well.

In Summary

• Protein is the bomb.
• The highest quality sources of protein come from animals.
• Aim for one to two palm-sized servings of protein per meal.
• The health/environmental/ethical implications of animal protein are more complicated than we most often assume.
• Email me with any questions at rob@arthurhealth.com

What to Do Next

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How many times have you looked yourself in the mirror and thought, “Crap.  I’ve got to go on a diet!”?

I know that this is where my thoughts would always go when I first started prioritizing my health and fitness.  I had the idea of dieting so ingrained in my head that I spent a few years doing it – bouncing from one thing to the next – but couldn’t find any way of eating that worked for me to sustainably lose a little fat, build a little muscle, and feel a little better.

While it’s true that food plays a tremendous role in how we look and feel, this doesn’t necessarily meant that going on a diet – what we’ll refer to as “the diet mentality” – is the best strategy to start facilitating the physical changes we want to see.  When it comes to making adjustments to what and how we eat, I’m a big advocate for what’s called “habits-based nutrition“, a concept I picked up from the good folks over at the Precision Nutrition.

The intent of this article is to talk about some of the more common problems that typically arise with “the diet mentality”, how habits-based nutrition addresses addresses these problems, and how you can start implementing habits-based nutrition to start moving towards the lean, strong, healthy body you want.

The Diet Mentality

Before we start, let me be clear – there are many people out there who have successfully reached their body composition goals by “going on a diet”.  For me to ignore this fact would be ridiculous.  However, many of us are still struggling to figure out how to get food to work with us and not against us.  It’s my opinion that “the diet mentality” carries much of the blame here.  Below are some of the problematic characteristics of the diet mentality.

The diet mentality typically involves some form of restriction.

Some of us restrict by counting calories, carbs, or points; others of us restrict by making lists of “good” or “bad” foods, while others of us do this just forcing ourselves to eat as little as possible.  However we go about it, there is usually restriction or elimination involved with the diet mentality.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve decided to completely eliminate something from my diet, very rigidly.  It was nearly never based on what effects that food actually did or did not have on my body, but primarily based on what I read on some blog or article.  The diet mentality almost always involves restriction in some way, shape, or form.

The diet mentality often works only in the short term.

Typically, we set out “on a diet” with an end goal – be that a specific weight, clothing size, or look.  If we DO reach that end goal, we either say “f*ck it” and end up right back where we started, or we keep moving our goal lower and lower.  Many of us get frustrated and quit before we even reach our goal, or (worse) end up in a cycle of restriction and bingeing.  No bueno.  Rarely do we ever just reach and maintain our goal – at least not without much effort – when stuck in the diet mentality.  The diet mentality often works only in the short term.

The diet mentality relies heavily on discipline, willpower, and motivation.

When embarking “on a diet”, every day we have to make the conscious decision NOT to eat things that don’t align with “our diet”.  We skip grabbing something fast (or simply appealing) and instead choose something that’s “good for us”.  We check our tracking app to see how many calories or carbs we have left for the day and work to fit those numbers.  Every one of these decisions drains from our finite pool willpower, which is also depleted by decisions at work, with friends and family, or even trivial things like what to wear (although I don’t typically struggle too much with what to wear).  The diet mentality relies heavily on discipline, willpower, and motivation – all of which are limited resources.

The diet mentality leads to feeling like a victim and, often, a failure.

The entire dieting process sets us up to think about all the things we “can’t” or “aren’t allowed” to do or eat.  When we eventually break, and indulge in something that falls under one of these categories, or satisfies a craving (or even just plain hunger), it’s easy to then experience feelings of resignation, frustration, and failure.  We spend our time focusing on all the things we can’t do, which is a bummer, and then when we break down and go off course or off plan, we feel like a failure, which is an even bigger bummer.  The diet mentality leads to feeling like a victim and, often, a failure.

Habits-based Nutrition

Now that we’ve talked about how much dieting sucks, let’s talk about an alternative – habits-based nutrition.  This is an approach the emphasizes building long-term, sustainable eating habits, rather than deliberately going on a set diet plan of some sort.  Below are some advantages of habits-based nutrition when compared to the diet mentality.

Habits-based nutrition prioritizes what we do eat over what we don’t eat.

A habits-based approach to nutrition is one that, rather than being based on some form of blanket restriction, is based on shifting our focus from what we don’t eat, to what we do eat.  We practice finding what eating habits help us look, feel, and perform awesome, and prioritizing practicing those habits consistently.  We no longer see foods as “good” or “bad” but instead as lying on a continuum of “moving me closer to my goals” and “not moving me closer to my goals”.  Rather than ignore our hunger, we satisfy it.  Habits-based nutrition prioritizes what we do eat over what we don’t eat.

Habits-based nutrition trades short-term outcomes for long-term progress.

Since we’re building and practicing habits that become automatic, and not “going on a diet”, sticking to eating in a way that keeps us lean, strong, and healthy becomes much more sustainable and requires much less effort than constantly dieting.  Even we occasionally eat something that we know doesn’t necessarily contribute to peak physical health – as mentioned before, I love me some barbecue cheese fries – we know that these occasions amount to pretty much nothing in the context of the rest of our eating habits.  Habits-based nutrition trades short-term outcomes for long-term progress.

Habits-based nutrition eliminates discipline, willpower, and motivation from the equation.

Building habits, by definition, makes the actions that move us closer to our goals automatic, and much easier to consistently practice day in and day out.  There is no more mental struggle about what to eat, or whether to go to the gym.  We’re no longer wasting our precious mental resources on deciding because we’re too busy doing.  Obviously, there will be some effort required to form the habit but, once the habits are established, they become nearly effortless.  Habits-based nutrition eliminates discipline, willpower, and motivation from the equation.

Habits-based nutrition allows us to celebrate regular, small victories.

Shifting our focus from the “negative” things that we’re not supposed to do, which we inevitably WILL do, to the “positive” things that we proactively do, sets us up for celebrating small victories every time we practice our habit.  Rather than beating ourselves up for eating something that doesn’t align with our goals, we’re instead patting ourselves on the back for all the things we ate that aligned with our goals.  We’re no longer getting hung up on the steps backward, but instead appreciating all of the steps forward.  Habits-based nutrition allows us to celebrate regular, small victories.

Implementing Habits-based Nutrition

Now you’re probable thinking to yourself, “Damn, Rob.  This whole habits thing sounds like the bee’s knees.  How do I start?”

You’re in luck.  Below we’re going to break down how to implement habits-based nutrition into three steps.

Identify the behaviors that lead to the outcomes you want.

We can’t necessarily wake up one day, say, “I’m going to be lean, strong, and healthy today”, and then just have that magically occur.  These are outcomes that are – often – subject to factors out of our control.  Instead, we start with identifying the behaviors that we understand to move us towards these outcomes.  We can’t always control outcomes, but we can always control actions.  We’ll cover these behaviors in upcoming posts, but the key thing to remember here is to focus on behaviors (which we can control), not outcomes (which we can’t control).  Identify the behaviors that lead to the outcomes yant.

Practice one new behavior until it becomes habit.

Changing everything at once works in some circumstances does can be an effective approach in some circumstance.  However, most of the time this is overwhelming and short-lived.  Most of us will have much better success choosing just one thing – something that seems super easy – and practicing that one thing until it becomes habit.  Eating healthily is a skill, and it should be treated as such – break the large, general skill of “eating healthily” into smaller, more manageable skills, and practice each of those skills until they are effortless.  Practice one new behavior until it becomes habit.

Choose another behavior, rinse, and repeat.

Once you’re consistently practicing your new habit with minimal effort, identify the next behavior you want to become habit and repeat the process.  Over time, you’ll develop a broad set of habits, all of which help you build momentum moving you towards your goals.  Choose another behavior, rinse, and repeat.

Looking Ahead

Over the coming weeks, we’re going to identify and explore the eating habits that move us towards the having the bodies we want.  If you want to start practicing these habits as we go, that’s totally cool.  If not, that’s totally cool, too.  Once we’re done covering food, we’ll start talking about exercise, sleep, and stress management.

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“Eat Less, Move More” Took Me Only So Far

When I first set out on my pursuit of a lean, strong, healthy body, my main focus was to drop some extra pounds I’d accumulated by drinking a bit too much beer and eating a bit too much Jimmy John’s during my final year at Virginia Tech.  While being “healthy” was somewhat of a goal of mine, really I was just trying to make some adjustments to the “calories in calories out” concept I’d heard so much about to drop the extra weight.  At the time, the obvious solution was to start cleaning up my eating/drinking habits and start exercising.

The year was 2009 and I hadn’t quite learned about MyFitnessPal (if it even existed) or any other online tracking tools, so I was (NERD ALERT) keeping an Excel spreadsheet of my caloric intake and comparing it with my daily caloric need – which I calculated using an online tool that accounted for height, age, weight, and activity level. I ensured that there was a deficit between the two and my weight (which I was also tracking in a spreadsheet) started to drop.

This approach worked pretty well for a while.  However, my progress would eventually stall from time to time.  When this would happen, I would either start eating less or start moving more by cutting calories a bit here and there, and started making my runs a bit more often or more frequent.

The Plateau and Regain Trap

After a few iterations of stall, decrease food, increase running, I got pretty damned skinny.  Not lean.  Not fit.  Skinny.

By focusing only on “weight” (which I wrote about in an earlier post) and depending solely on eating less and moving more as a means of reducing body fat, I became in some ways a slave to food and exercise.  It seemed as though the moment I went off track with my eating habits, or the day I took a break from my exercise routine, the weight seemed to pile back on faster than ever.  I can’t tell you how many times I stressed over being in a situation where my food options aren’t 100% aligned with whatever my current “rules” happened to be at that time, or paniced because life got in the way of making it to the gym.

As mentioned before, I dealt with this for several years.  Since I started to gain body fat any time I wasn’t actively losing weight, I just continued pushing to be lighter and lighter.  Sure, I switched things up by trying different diets and different exercise routines, perhaps, but I could not break out of the cycle of weight loss and fat gain.  I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

My problem wasn’t lack of effort.  My problem wasn’t lack of willpower.  My problem wasn’t lack of motivation or disciple.  My problem was that I was only focusing on two factors – movement and food – involved in becoming and staying lean, strong, and healthy.  I was failing to achieve the body I wanted because I was only looking at a part of the equation.

Four Pillars of Getting Lean, Strong, and Healthy

To be successful for the long run in our efforts to look and feel amazing, we’re going to need to focus on four areas of our life– what we eat, how we move, how we sleep, and how we manage stress.  Below we’re define these four “Pillars”, and briefly discuss the general ideas associated with each one.  In future posts, we’ll dive a bit deeper with a more detailed exploration of where I went wrong, and what changes I learned I had to make to start seeing my body change how I wanted it to.

These four pillars can be defined as:

1. Food
2. Movement
3. Sleep
4. Stress management

1. Food

Eating is so much more than something we have to do every day that just so happens to make us bigger or smaller.

Do calories count in the context of bodyweight?  Absolutely.  As you’ve probably heard already, the laws of thermodynamics cannot be ignored.  However, thermodynamics is freaking COMPLICATED.  Our bodies process and utilize what we eat in completely different ways based on what nutrients those foods provide, our individual needs and tolerances, and our overall hormonal environment (a totally separate and complex subject in and of itself).

If we want to make long-term, sustainable changes to our bodies, we’re going to have to consider food quality.  We can make tremendous changes to our appetite, cravings, energy levels, mood, digestion, body composition, and overall health by making relatively simple changes to our food choices and eating habits.

2. Movement

Exercise, training, physical activity, or whatever we want to call our movement practice, is about so much more than trying to “earn” or “burn” the food we eat.  Movement is not solely a means for us to manipulate the “calories in, calories out” equation.

Our bodies are very much “use it or lose it” machines, and adapt to the movements and physical challenges to which we subject them on a consistent basis.  If all we do is sit on our asses and type on a computer, guess what we’ll be able to do in ten years?  Sit on our asses and type on a computer, and that’s about it.  Likewise, if we move often, through a variety of types of motion, and with varying loads and intensities, we’ll be able to continue to do so for years to come.

Sure, specific details (training modality, frequency, and intensity) may need to be sorted out based on our specific goals and preferences but, for the most part, we all need to move often and challenge our bodies beyond our day-to-day modern tasks to look, feel, and perform our best over the long term.

3. Sleep

Essentially every single change that takes place in our bodies, especially with respect to how we adapt to movement/training and how we utilize nutrients, is the result of our overall hormonal environment.  Poor sleep sets us up for insulin resistance (lower tolerance for carbs and more prone to store fat), reduced satiety, increased cravings, and a more reactive mindset that makes sticking to our healthy habits much more difficult than it would be if we were well rested.  We all have different needs when it comes to sleep but, as a general statement, if we neglect sleep, our other efforts will likely get us nowhere.

4. Stress management

How we respond to what occurs on a daily basis is another biggie when it comes to creating the hormonal environment that accommodates healthy body fat levels, physical ability, and enjoying our short time here on earth.

We’re designed to handle short-term, acute bouts of stress – like running from a tiger.  We either survive and chill TF out, or we die.  Either way, we don’t have to deal with that tiger for very long at once.  These days, however, with traffic, work deadlines, whining children, and nagging partners, we are being chased by tigers all the time.  We’re constantly under stress, which – even

If we’re not aware of and managing how we respond to the stressors we encounter each day, and then throw restrictive dieting and excessive exercise into the mix, we’re only adding stress on top of stress.  This does nothing but send the signals to our bodies that life on Earth sucks and that we need to focus on survival. Forget about building muscle, getting lean, and reproducing.  All our brains will want us to do is seek out food, store fat for the hard times, and put all of our resources towards making it to tomorrow.

Not only does stress set us up physiologically for being weak, sick, fat, and tired but – much like lack of sleep – also puts us in a reactive state that makes decisions like skipping our training and going apeshit on some moose tracks much easier than it would be otherwise.

What To Expect

I understand that what we’ve just covered is quite broad and not very deep. The intent of this post is to set the stage – to act as a compass, if you will – for what we’ll be doing over the coming months.  Now that we’ve provided a bit of context for what to expect, we can move forward with some more detailed posts and specific strategies.

Stay tuned!

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One area where I certainly missed the mark in my pursuit to be lean, strong, and healthy – and an area in which I see so many others missing the mark – is the role that I allowed body weight to play in my efforts.

There are three key ideas to understand about weight before being free to enjoy the body and life of which you’re capable (and which you deserve):

1. Your weight does not determine how healthy you are.
2. Your weight does not determine how physically attractive you are.
3. Your weight does not determine how happy you are.

Improved health, physically attractiveness, and happiness are the outcomes that most of us who set out to “lose weight” are looking for.  There’s nothing wrong wanting to live a long time, look good naked (or clothed, of course, but that’s a bit simpler), and enjoy your short time here on this rock.  After all, when it comes down to it, we’re all wired to enjoy life, seek out mates, get it on, and then rear offspring to do the same.  However, too many people start this process with the thought, “time to lose some weight”.

Don’t get me wrong, there is often a correlation between weight – especially at the extremes – and health, attractiveness, and happiness. As a general statement, if you are obese or dangerously underweight (topics which are outside the scope of this specific post), there’s a good chance that you are suffering health issues, you are (or at least feel) less physically attractive than you would otherwise be, and your quality of life is not as high as it could be.  However, you’d be much better served focusing on these three outcomes directly, and NOT solely on manipulating your gravitational pull to the earth.

If you focus on the specific outcomes you’re after, I assure you that the number on the scale will do what it needs to do; it will settle at a value at which it no longer is (and you no longer see it as) a problem whatsoever. There’s a strong chance for many of us that this means ending up at the exact same weight (or heavier) as we are now, but our clothes will be looser, we’ll look better, and we’ll be be a hell of a lot happier.  It’s not out of the question at all to make dramatic physical, emotional, and mental transformations while our weight stays nearly exactly the same or even increases.

As far as health outcomes are concerned, of course there’s a correlation between weight and health – especially at the extremes.  Being extremely overweight (in the context of fat) or underweight (in the context of lean body mass) are associated with countless diseases.  However, there are a plethora of other markers – blood pressure, resting heart rate, inflammation, digestion, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, blood lipids (NOT just serum cholesterol), to name a few – that provide a much more detailed, accurate picture of how healthy you are.

I assure you that if you are a generally unhealthy individual, the steps you’ll need to take to be healthier – involving food, sleep, movement, stress management, and community – will be the exact same steps you’ll need to take to reach a “healthy body weight”.

As far as physical attractiveness is concerned, it’s imperative to understand that it’s not necessarily a specific weight we’re after, but an appearance – usually lean, strong, and defined (commonly referred to as “toned”).

Since we can’t do much about our faces (at least not without serving our company plenty of booze), our efforts are best focused on our body composition – our levels lean mass relative to our levels of body fat.  By lean mass, we’re talking about muscle, organs, bone, and other connective tissue.  We’re going to want to lose fat while also building – or at least maintaining – as much lean mass as possible.

Taking soft, out-of-shape you, and then clicking and dragging to create a smaller, but still soft, out-of-shape you will not make you any more attractive.  Michelangelo didn’t just keep chipping away at David, saying, “nope, he’s not small enough yet.”  Your weight, while a useful tool in the context of other measurements (such as waist-to-hip ratio), does not paint a picture of your level of physical fitness or physically attractive you are to others.

Interestingly, the same thing can be said about body fat percentage.  Even if you get your body fat percentage down to a low number, you still might not look how you want to if you are a bean-pole, or (worse) skinny-fat.  Trust me.  I’ve been there (both bean pole and skinny-fat).

In October 2013, while I lived up in the hell-hole known as the Metropolitan DC area, I had a DEXA scan done at The George Washington University Department of Exercise Science.  At the time of that test, I had actually been deliberately gaining weight for a couple of months (up to 159 lbs. from a low of 144 lbs.) and the test indicated I was at 6.9% body fat, which is pretty eff-ing lean.

Want to know how I looked?  Like some weird alien (just sayin’).

Sure, everything may have looked acceptable when I was rocking a shirt, but when I was in the buff it was easy to see that I had a flabby waist, love handles, budding moobs, narrow shoulders, and long, stringy arms and legs.  Sure, I’d stripped off a lot of body fat, but I’d also lost a metric shit-ton of muscle.

On a related note, at my lowest adult weight (144 lbs.) I had NIR infrared tests and body caliper tests indicating 3% body fat, and sometimes “error”.  While I’m not sure how accurate those tests were, I know for certain that I was carrying around less fat (objectively speaking) at that time than I was when I tested at 7% on the DEXA.  Similarly, I still didn’t look lean, strong, and defined.  I looked like a walking, talking willow tree.

Body fat percentage is just like weight – it’s just a number.  The same body fat percentage means completely different things on different individuals.  7% body fat on a 6’0″ 159 lb. man is MUCH different than 7% body fat on a 6’0″ 180 lb. man.

Since we’re on the subject of physical attractiveness, let’s pivot a bit and discuss attractiveness in general.

I can tell you (at least from the perspective of a dude checking out women) that confidence and happiness are ONE MILLION times more attractive than a lean, defined body, firm, shapely butt, and firm stomach.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many women who – from an object standpoint – would be considered “less attractive” by society’s physical standards but – because they carried themselves confidently, comfortably, and happily – were RIDICULOUSLY sexy.

I’ve seen this reflected in my own life as well.

Looking back, I can correlate how interested women have been in me (this does happen every once in a blue moon) with how confident, happy, and comfortable I was at any given time.  I’ve gone through periods of deliberate weight loss and weight gain and I’d even venture to say that I was rather successful in these efforts (for better or for worse).  Want to know what impact this had on my dating life?  None at all.  Truthfully, the times when I most interested in my weight appear to have been the times when women were the least interested in me.

Does your body matter as related to attracting a mate?  Certainly, but that’s a complex subject into which I’m not prepared to delve.  Much of what makes us physically attractive is it’s role in indicating our suitability to reproduce.  However, most people aren’t passing you by because you don’t have a six pack – a trait which isn’t necessarily “natural” for everybody.  That goes beyond suitability for procreation; that’s vanity.

Ladies, if a dude isn’t interested in you because you don’t look like a Cosmo cover girl, he’s an asshole.  Fellas, if a girl isn’t interested in you because you’re not Tyler Durden, you’ve dodged a bullet.  Don’t waste your time with people who just want you for your body (unless it’s mutual, which is totally cool if you’re both honest about it).

Okay.  I feel like I’ve beaten the “attractiveness” thing to death, so let’s move on to discussing quality of life.

Perhaps you have pictured in your head that once you reach your goal weight, you’ll go out and enjoy yourself with your friends, enjoy your meals without stressing over food, try on that two-piece, or walk around the beach without your shirt on.  While reaching your goal weight (which is usually an unobtainable, ever-moving target) may result in you feeling more confident doing these things – especially if you’ve been focusing on body composition – you might end up right at your goal and STILL not enjoy these aspects of life.

I have a newsflash for you – you can do all of these things right now!  The only thing preventing you from feeling confident doing these things right now is you.

Think you’ll be able to finally relax and enjoy yourself at get-togethers with family and friends once the scale reads a certain number?  You’re wrong.  No matter how much weight you lose or gain, or what you think of that vessel of blood, bones, and muscle carrying your brain around, nothing will make you enjoy your life if you haven’t gotten your head straight about who you are, what you’re worth, and how you value your short time here.

If you aren’t able to enjoy yourself on vacations, at parties, and eating out with your friends now, you won’t be able to when the scale reads what you think you want it to.

You – and your short, precious time here – are worth SO much more than the numbers and letters on your jeans, shirts, dresses, and suits.  Act like it.

Okay, so, all of that being said, getting into the specifics of how to pursue health, how to pursue fat loss while preserving lean body mass, and getting started enjoying life NOW will necessitate their own articles (as evident by the thousands of blogs, books, and articles already in existence about these specific subjects).

We’ll get to these things, I promise. Now, though, I need to wrap this thing up.

Here are the key points I want you to take away:

1. You can lose (or gain) a ton of weight and still not be healthy
2. You can lose(or gain) a ton of weight and still not be lean, strong, and fit
3. You can lose(or gain) a ton of weight and still not enjoy your life

Rather than focus on weight loss as an outcome, focus on the specific outcomes you want and the weight will fall where it needs to.

Get healthy.  Get lean, strong, and defined.  Enjoy your short time on earth.

But do these things NOW.

Your weight will do what it needs to do.

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Before we start, be aware that there are a few topics explored in this post that could (and most likely will) be their own posts individually.  While I intend to touch each of the points in more depth later, I just didn’t feel doing so was appropriate before addressing a different, more general message.

As mentioned in my most recent previous post, the process of figuring out how to get and stay lean, strong, and healthy has played (and still plays) a tremendous role in my life over the past several years.  This has been anything but an easy, straightforward process, and at times I’ve felt confused, frustrated, defeated, and considered giving up.

There were countless occasions when I’d find myself asking, “Is there something wrong with me?”

I remember at times feelings like an outcast – like I was the only one I knew who took nutrition, training, and practicing a healthy lifestyle so seriously.  While my friends, family, and coworkers were just going about their business, eating whatever was convenient or tasty, not stressing over their expanding waist lines, I felt like the odd ball choosing not to eat dessert, making time to go to the gym instead of happy hour, and going to bed early instead of watching CSI: Boogie Nights (or whatever the hell season they’re currently showing).  Often, those around me would even give me a hard time or make comments about what I was eating or how I was spending my time.

Interestingly, I also remember feeling like other people were able to get strong, lean, and healthy, but that these outcomes constantly eluded me.  I’d spend hours reading books, blogs, or articles about nutrition and physical activity.  I’d try some way of eating, and then either feel like crap or find that I couldn’t stick to it without binging or “cheating”.  I’d try different workout routines and movement practices, only to find that my body wasn’t changing in the way that I wanted it to.  I was attempting one thing after another (admittedly usually only for a matter of weeks or a few months) and felt like I was getting nowhere.

If you’re struggling with similar thoughts and feelings, my first piece of advice actually has nothing to do with specific food choices or exercise pointers.

Rather, I’d ask you to first understand that there is nothing wrong with you.

Below are five thoughts I’d like you to consider.

1) You don’t really know what other people ‘s situations are.

I assure you that, the more I’ve been open and approachable about my own efforts, the more I’ve learned just how many other people share the same values and it’s a much higher proportion than I’d previously thought.  The next time you start thinking the people around you don’t care about their weight, health, or body composition, keep in mind these possibilities:

1. Perhaps they’re just at a different point than you are in the process.
2. Perhaps the steps they’re taking (however misguided) are different from the steps you’re taking.
3. Perhaps they’ve tried in the past but have given up for one reason or another.
4. Perhaps they just have different priorities and responsibilities than you do (which is totally within their right).

We’ve all got different stories and situations.  Some of us are open about what’s going on in our lives, others of us aren’t.

2) The comments people make about your lifestyle may be out of genuine well-intended concern

There was a time – spanning a couple of years – during which I was small, weak, and frail; and I was letting fitness efforts affect my personality and relationships.  This was a red flag for my friends and family.  They weren’t being dicks when they’d suggest that what I was doing wasn’t a positive thing; they were simply expressing concern for my extreme weight loss and the effect that my lifestyle was having on my personality.

Be open to this possibility.  Believe me, admitting that you have a problem sucks, but it’s the first step towards solving it.

3) Not everybody understands or shares your personal motivations and goals, and that’s totally cool.

I mentioned before that there were times when others’ opinions of my lifestyle mattered.  That said, there were also times when others just didn’t understand WHY I was doing what I was doing.

They didn’t understand the pride I took in lifting weights and looking fit.  They didn’t understand just how much better I felt after making changes to my eating habits.  They didn’t understand that we don’t have to resign to lives of getting older, sicker, fatter, and more medicated, and that’s totally cool.

Other people are not you.  They don’t have your goals and they don’t have the same life experiences as you. Likewise, you’re not other people.  You don’t have their goals and you don’t have the same life experiences as them.

All you know is you.  You want to be your best self, so do it. You do you.

4) Doing the things it takes to get lean, strong, and healthy is NOT easy.

The things you need to do to lose fat, get strong, and be healthy run completely counter to how you are wired and how our current society is constructed.  We’re wired to seek out the most nutrient (and calorie) dense foods while expending as little effort as possible, and then store those nutrients until we score our next meal (which might not have been for days).

We use our senses to assess the nutrient content of food (this is why we go ape shit for colorful foods rich in sugar, salt, and fat) and seek out those that promise the most value to our bodies.  However, modern food producers know this and have created products that completely blow natural foods out of the water.

Doritos? Ice cream? Trail mix? Nachos? These are designed to hit our tastebuds (and brains) in ways that urge us to continue eating.  My personal kryptonite is BBQ cheese fries.  I may go get some right now.

We also live in a world in which – for many of us – there’s absolutely no necessity to move to satisfy our basic needs as living organisms.  We can easily get out of bed, sit on the commute to the office, sit at our desks, sit during lunch, sit on the way back home, sit while we eat dinner, sit watching tv, go to bed, and then repeat the process.  We don’t even need to grow, kill, harvest, or even cook our meals.

For our brains, making the effort to avoid hyper-palatable foods and instead choose LESS calorically dense options, and then go OUT OF OUR WAY to challenge ourselves physically, goes against pretty much everything they’re wired to do.

If you think this process is difficult, congratulations! You’re doing exactly what you’re designed to do!

5)  Most health and fitness advice out there is too simple for such complex issues as optimal health and body composition, and lots of it is just wrong (or not right for you).

For starters, our official nutritional guidelines are, for the most part, crap.  It’s beyond the scope of this post to explain how and why they’ve gotten things so wrong, but there was a lot of bad science and a not-insignificant amount of corrupt politics involved in demonizing cholesterol, dietary fat, animal foods (e.g. protein), and salt.  Many of us are trying our hardest to stick to these guidelines but are frustrated because we continue to get fat and sick.  Many of us just don’t even try to follow these guidelines because we think that complying to these guidelines is going to blow (which it does).

On the other hand, there are hundreds or thousands of alternative dietary approaches like low carb, vegan, vegetarian, ketogenic, paleo, primal, pescatarian, Weight Watchers, and the likes aren’t magic bullets either.  Some of these ways of eating work GREAT for some people but are an absolute disaster for others.  Some people will do great as vegans, whereas others will lose all their hair.  Some people feel wonderful eating a ketogenic diet, others suffer from insomnia and low libido.  Some people love the control that comes with flexible dieting (counting macros), whereas others feel it’s too tedious.

We’re all different, and what works for one person may not work for another.

Eating habits aside, other factors like sleep, stress, gut bacteria, illness, genetics, and dietary history complicate things further. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to being healthy.  There arguably isn’t even a one-size-fits-all definition of what “healthy” even is!

The next time you’re considering calling it quits, or you’re beating yourself up over not seeing the progress you’re working so hard to achieve, keep these things in mind.

You’re not the only one, but you’re the only one that matters.

You’re not a failure, you just haven’t found what works for you yet.

There is nothing wrong with you.

Keep moving forward.  Keep trying new things.

Keep working towards the body and life you know you’re capable of.

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