CONSISTENT by Primal Potential

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191: Success Stories Part 1 Jun 16, 2016

Show notes

Today's episode is full of inspiration and real life transformations! You are going to hear some of my Fat Loss Fast Track clients share their stories of progress, obstacles and success.

If you are a regular podcast listener, you know I share a lot about my story but, I know not all of you can relate to my story.

I want to give you the opportunity to hear some other perspectives.

My hope is that one of them is the voice that makes you feel like, "Hey - I can do this!"

My summer Fat Loss Fast Track launches in just a couple weeks. I want to give you an inside look at the kinds of experiences people are having. To learn more and grab a space in the free webinar training, click here.

So, for today I don't want you to listen to me - listen to them. Are you ready to get inspired?

http://primalpotential.com/192-success-stories/

Success Stories

In this episode, four of my clients will share details from their own personal journeys and what has been most impactful in helping them transform.

Meet Client "Anonymous 1"

She was victim to the negative stories she was telling herself. But, by changing her mindset she has seen results that have improved all areas of her life.

The biggest changes she's experienced include:

Owning her thoughts and language
Shifting her attitude/perspective
Accepting total accountability for her choices
No longer making excuses

Meet Thulz

Thulz used to view the her life through obesity tinted glasses. She felt like a victim of herself and got stuck in the 0n-again-off-again diet cycle.

The biggest game-changers for her include:

Keeping track of her food and emotions
Focusing on her goals and what she can do today
Doing the actual work instead of spending countless hours thinking and planning for it

Meet Client "Anonymous 2"

She is a mom who initially joined to lose fat and get into smaller jeans. She was hesitant to join at first because of the financial investment. She wasn't sure it would be worth it .

As you listen to her story, you will see her transformation goes way beyond her waist line and includes:

Feeling more confident
Believing in herself
Making more time for herself and her goals (despite being super busy)
Understanding the "why" behind her choices
More positive outlook
Increased productivity
Going beyond her comfort zone

Meet Nancy

Nancy is not a woman that has had a life long struggle with her weight. She started to gain weight once she got a job and more responsibilities. She was struggling with her life in general and wasn't happy.

In addition to her physical transformation here are some of her emotional changes:

Wakes up happy and more positive
More productive and increased energy
Not obsessed with food anymore
More patience and trusts the process
Total control and accountability over her life

Listen to the full episode to hear these women give more in depth details about how they are losing more than weight and inches.

Just a reminder that my 12 week Summer Fat Loss Fast Track is beginning soon. There is a simple (free) pre-requisite and that's that you attend a webinar. To sign up please click here.

191: How To Get Unstuck Jun 14, 2016

Show notes

I got an email the other day that I want to share with you guys. I think this email could have been written by any one of us and it represents one of the most significant issues keeping us from reaching our goals: the on-again-off-again cycle.

The beautiful woman who emailed me wants to change. She wants to be healthy. She wants to be a better example for her kids. She wants to feel better about herself.

She doesn't kinda want it. She really wants it.

But...

She consistently makes food choices that aren't doing her any favors. She overeats. She overindulges. She doubts her ability to change. She doubts that health is really achievable for her. She wants so badly to learn how to get unstuck!

Man, I completely understand these struggles and frustrations.....been there... and it's a hard place to be!

In today's podcast, we will explore a new mindset and some simple strategies that will help you break this ebb and flow cycle.

Are you ready to find out how to get unstuck and put your doubts and frustrations behind you?

http://primalpotential.com/191-how-to-get-unstuck/

How To Get Unstuck I've faced the on-again-off-again cycle many times. It's exhausting, pure and simple!

I'll share with you parts of her email:

I found your podcast about a month ago on Spotify. I was randomly scrolling though looking for something to listen to and I found primal potential. I cant remember exactly what episode it was but I remember you were talking about not arguing for our limitations. I was hooked.

I have always been a heavy girl. I really ballooned up when I had my children. right now I am sitting at 270 I am 5'3″.

I have always tried to lose weight I will start off strong and then I will mess up and I'm like f*@k it.

I will be all gung ho to get it together and then have a bad day or week and reach for the convenience of ordering something or picking up something quick. I have to break that habit for our heath and our finances. I want to change our lifestyle before it negatively effects our children any more than it already has.

Anyway all of this rambling is basically to ask where you think I should start. I'm tired of being fat. I'm tired of hating my body. I'm just so over it and I'm so lost on what to do. I'm convinced that I will never be healthy because I haven't my whole life.

I'm stuck in that toxic place that is telling me it doesn't matter how much I try I will never be able to do it and I'm over it. I want to get out of there. I want to believe in myself. I want to change my quality of life so I can enjoy it with my children!

She says she starts out all gung-ho but then falls back into old habits. Don't get me wrong- it's great to have motivation and enthusiasm but, you can be setting yourself up for failure with the pedal to the medal 0-60 approach.

You know what I mean, starting out, right out of the gate and deciding, "I'm going to eat more vegetables, drink more water, eat less sugar, workout more, sleep more, stress less, find healthy recipes, stop eating out" -- get my point?

You are likely trying to do too much, too fast and setting yourself up to feel overwhelmed and like you haven't cleared the high bar you set.

Here are the recommendations I made to this listener to help her figure out how to get unstuck.

Step 1: Don't change anything at all. For 7-14 days, just track. Write down what you eat and how it makes you feel. You need to establish your baseline. What you're doing, how it impacts your energy, where you're starting from. No pressure, just paying attention.

Step 2: Simplify. Make ONE change. Don't add more until your initial change feels effortless. In my Fat Loss Fast Track groups, we typically start with breakfast. To learn more about how to make breakfast a fat burning meal, listen to this podcast or this one.

Step 3: Change your mind. Stop arguing for your limitations and disqualifying yourself from change or growth. Remember, the past doesn't define the present or the future unless you choose to make the same choices. Each new day brings the opportunity to make a different choice.

You don't want to miss this full episode to hear about what you can do RIGHT NOW to stop the cycle and start feeling AMAZING!

190: This Can Change Your Life Jun 11, 2016

Show notes

I think this episode & the paradigms we'll discuss can change your life. I really do, if you'll choose to let them.

Here's the thing: life is hard. Hard things happen. Many of us choose to let these tough circumstances influence our choices. It doesn't have to be that way. In fact, if you want to live your best life, if you have to be your healthiest, happiest self, you need to change that patterned response.

In today's episode I'm going to be sharing some theories about hard things, about the challenges of life and the opportunity we have to allow those hard things to help us grow, improve and excel instead of cower, complain and withdraw.

These are choices. Welcome to the human experience - sometimes it's really challenging. How will you respond to those challenges? Will you become soft? Will you become hard? Will you develop, grow and improve?

http://primalpotential.com/190-this-can-change-your-life

Resources

In today's episode I talk about stories & situations that I believe can change your life. I believe they can help you go to the next level. I believe they can turn you from your victim & excuse mentality to your warrior and conquerer mentality.

I share a commencement address by David Foster Wallace called "This is Water" You can read the entire speech here.

I also share a fairly cliche anecdote about enduring hardships. You can read the story of the carrot, the egg and the coffee beans here.

Wait list for the Summer Fat Loss Fast Track

Do It Anyway Podcast Episode

189: Facts About Fitness Trackers & Heart Rate Zones Jun 09, 2016

Show notes

I've been getting a lot of questions about calorie burn during workouts (as reported by cardio machines), wearable fitness trackers and the validity of target heart rate zones for fat burnings. So, of course, we're diving into those topics today.

In today's episode I'll be diving into the myths & facts about fitness trackers, heart rate zones and the accuracy of calorie counters on your workout equipment.

While folks who are working out have awesome intentions, they're often misguided based on inaccurate or incomplete information. If you are something who uses a fitness wearable, pays attention to the calorie burn on your workout equipment or monitors your heart rate, you do not want to miss this episode!

http://primalpotential.com/189-fitness-trackers-heart-rate-zones/

Myths & Facts About Fitness Trackers, Heart Rate Zones and Calorie Burn During Workouts

Lots of people use the amount of calories they think they burned during a workout to help them determine how many calories they should consume that day. In most cases, that is highly inaccurate information.

First of all, that approach assumes that the calorie in/calorie out model is the most effective or accurate model for fat loss. It's not. If you aren't sure why it's not, please go no further until you've listened to episode 062 of the Primal Potential podcast on why calorie counting is misleading.

Second of all, these calorie counting devices do not collect much of the relevant information that would allow for an accurate determination of calorie burn.

By knowing your pace on the machine and age/weight, you know a little, but not nearly enough to determine calories burned with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Among other things, they overlook:

fitness level
exertion
body composition
nutrition status
muscle glycogen availability

Even the fitness trackers which obtain more information than the random machine at the gym (these trackers tend to know your gender, age, weight, height, etc) have a high degree of inaccuracy, anywhere from 10-25% . While that might not seem like a lot, if you're using these burn estimations to determine how much you should eat, being off by 10-25% can absolutely be the difference between significant fat loss and significant fat gain.

Another area of misunderstanding is around target heart rate zones. Don't miss today's episode for a full explanation of where these heart rate zones come from and how accurate they are.

In short, here's the primary issue. These heart rate charts that suggest a particular range so that you'll burn a higher percentage of fat, they're based on percentages, not absolute numbers.

Here's a brief example: let's say these heart rate charts indicate that in a lower heart rate zone, 60% of the energy you burn during the activity will be fat while in a higher heart rate zone only 40% of energy you burn will be fat.

People see that information and think, "Oh! I want to be burning 60% fat so I'm gonna hit that zone."

It begs the question: 60% of what??

Seriously. Let's say, using arbitrary numbers, that in a 20 minute workout in this lower "fat burning" zone you burn 100 calories. 60% of that is supposedly fat, which means you burned 60 calories from fat.

But, if you were working out in a higher heart rate zone you might burn 300 calories in that same 20 minutes. While only 40% of the calories burned were from fat, you still burned far more fat! In fact, you burned 120 calories from fat - twice as much fat burned in the same time, even though the percentage was lower!

Beyond that, these target heart rate zones don't take into account the "after burn", or calories burned after the workout. There is little to no after burn with lower intensity workouts. Higher intensity workouts create a significant after burn which adds to the total fat burned during the workout.

For the other major considerations related to heart rate zones and fitness tracking devices, listen to the entire episode!

Resources

035: Fitness For Fat Loss

074: CrossFit & Weight Loss

125: Fat Loss Basics Part 5

160: Fat To Fit Part 3 - Fitness

Fight For Your Life Jun 07, 2016

Show notes

On June 3rd, 2016, Muhammad Ali died. There's no question that Ali was a relentless fighter both in and out of the ring.

One of my favorite things to do is learn from people around me, dead or alive. When I heard that Ali had passed, I knew I wanted to see what lessons I could learn from his life. I knew there was something I could find that would make my journey more significant. I was right.

Today, I'm sharing those lessons from Muhammad Ali, through my life. I believe that his wisdom and his fights can help us in the fights of our lives, whether that's health, fitness, fat loss, finances, relationships, careers or anything in between!

In this episode I'll share what some of Ali's quotes mean to me & how they've influenced my perspective.

http://primalpotential.com/188-lessons-from-muhammad-ali/

187: Your Excuses Aren't Valid Jun 04, 2016

Show notes

Hi. It's me. I have to tell you something. Your excuses aren't valid.

I know you think they are.

They aren't.

I've heard them all, I've used them all and I understand them. But...

I want more for you. I know you want more for you, too. So, today I'm breaking down three of the most common excuses I hear related to why you can't do the work or why you can't get results and flipping the script.

I don't do this because I'm harsh or mean, I do this because the only way to change is to change.

If you change your mind, you can transform your life.

If you aren't willing to change your mind, you probably won't change anything.

So, your excuses aren't valid. I love you but they're not.

Take a listen to the full episode so I can explain why.

http://primalpotential.com/187-your-excuses-arent-valid/

186: How Much Protein Is Too Much Jun 02, 2016

Show notes

Do you ever find yourself Googling, "How much protein do I need?" or "How much protein should you eat for weight loss"?

I tried it. I got nearly 16 million results in about a half a second.

You know what would happen if I sifted through those "answers"?

I'd end up confused, conflicted & frustrated.

You know what wouldn't happen?

I wouldn't find the answer based on my body and my goals.

The only place that answer can from from is me.

The only place your answer can come from is you.

In today's episode, I'm going to help you understand how you can find your answer.

http://primalpotential.com/186-how-much-protein-do-you-need/

How Much Protein Do You Need?

Understand that there is no magic number or perfect formula that will tell you how much protein you need.

The way to find out if you're eating too much, not enough or the right amount is by listening to your body & monitoring your results.

A great way to tell that you're getting the right amount of protein is when:

You're making progress towards your goal (whatever your goal is)
You feel well (stable energy, stable mood, few cravings)

In almost all cases, you do not need to supplement to meet your protein needs. You can easily meet and even exceed your protein needs with whole foods.

Individuals will have higher protein needs when they are:

overweight
high level athletes
injured or ill
chronically stressed
suffering from adrenal fatigue

In general, you want to shoot to include protein at your meals and snacks. If you're consuming a traditional diet of 3 meals and 2 snacks, you want to incorporate a serving of protein with all your meals and at least one of your snacks.

If you're consuming fewer, larger meals, you can lean more towards a couple servings of protein with each meal. Remember, however, that these are guidelines for a starting point. Adjust based on your progress towards your goal and how you feel.

A serving of protein is 3-4 ounces of meat/fish, a couple of eggs or approximately 1 cup of greek yogurt.

185: 5 Reasons To Stop Stress Eating May 31, 2016

Show notes

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/

5 Reasons To Stop Stress Eating (And How To Do It)

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.

184: What To Do If Fat Loss Is Hard May 28, 2016

Show notes

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/

What To Do If 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.

183: Success & Mental Toughness Mantras May 26, 2016

Show notes

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/

Success & 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