| With all that we have discussed in the previous 4 emails, what we're going to do today is positively impact all of the areas that we've went over with 2 easy tasks. 1) Build Your Ideal Plate Protein source first (increase the thermic effect of food): Most people don't consume enough protein on a daily basis for what their goals are. So, you're going to nip that right in the butt. Each meal that you eat, will be centered around a protein source. Go with anywhere from 1 palm sized portion to 2.5 palm sized portions per meal. For the rest of your plate, build veggies and a handful of healthy carbs around the protein (i.e. potato, rice, quinoa). Don't dress up your dish with calorie laden sauces or additives that contain a billion milligrams of sodium, etc. For example, if you make a stir-fry opt for coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Once your plate is built, then eat until your 80% full. This is going to require you slowing down to eat. So, within this one "easy tasks" we have three behaviors that we're potentially modifying; food choices, not eating to the point of discomfort, and slowing down your eating. The latter two go hand-in-hand, but you can still achieve one without the other, but getting one without the other will be more difficult to accomplish. 2) Increase your frequency of physical activity Draw a circle smack dab in the middle of a piece of paper and label it "physical activity". Set a timer for 5 minutes For the next 5 minutes you're going to draw branches off that bubble and label them with whatever form of physical activity that you can think of (aka "mind mapping"). You might write down "5k" even though running a 5k is the last thing that you want to do, but you might branch off that "5k" and write down "run a mile" which sounds much more appealing and doable. With this new list of activities that you have, outside of training at the gym, pick 1-2 things that you would enjoy AND would have an easy time implementing into your weekly routine. Then pick 1-2 things that you would like to eventually do, but that are very difficult to implement right now and you can use those potentially down the road as new forms of physical activity that you implement into your weekly life. Now, plan out your week. For example, if it were me it would look like: M: Lift / Plyometrics Tu: 1 to 1.5 hours of basketball skill work W: Lift/Plyometrics Th: Whatever form of cardio I like for 30-45 minutes with a heart rate ~130 bpm F: Lift/Plyometrics Sat: Lift Sun: Pick-up basketball By simply focusing on these two tasks we have successfully increased our TDEE (totally daily energy expenditure) via influencing our TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) via an increase in protein intake, NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) via more cooking in the kitchen and walking to and from our places that we engage in our physical activity, and through exercising more frequently. Now, keep in mind that our BMR will be influenced by all of these factors and if we lose weight, then it will drop and food intake and activity levels (or intensity of said activities) will need to be adjusted…BUT remember…..it's not always as simple as "calories in vs calories out" or "eat less, move more" 🙂 |
