Last week we discussed the PPW formula for success.
Planning + Preparation = Winning
You had an opportunity to get a head start as we revealed the PPW Shopping List, Part 1 and Part 2
Having the food you actually want to feed your body with on hand at all times is the only way to make sure it happens, regardless of your nutrition strategy.
If you are on the “Donut Diet” you need donuts on hand – makes sense, right? 🙂
(P.S. – Don’t be on the Donut Diet)
This week we are getting down to brass tacks and revealing what “Eat Your Way Right Through The Holidays” is all about.
As with our S3 Team Transformation Contest earlier in the year, “Eat Your Way Right” is Habit Based.
Why?
Because diets don’t work – at least in the long term.
The very word itself lends itself to a temporary fix rather than a permanent change.
It’s one of the reasons we don’t just hand you a menu plan and say “eat that”. What happens when you reach the end of the plan, or the one we gave you doesn’t work for you? You go back to your default eating, which is what got you where you were in the first place. And that just doesn’t make sense.
Short term thinking rarely leads to long term success. When we focus on the “outcome” rather than the behaviors we set ourselves up for failure.
Let’s say you want to lose 10 pounds in the next 2 months. Your whole focus is on that 10 pounds, and at the end of the 8 weeks you weigh yourself and you lost 8 1/2 pounds. Your mind immediately focuses on the 1 1/2 pounds you didn’t lose. I have seen it over and over again. You were wildly successful, and yet somehow you still are disappointed.
So how do we stop that?
We create and track measurable behaviors (or habits) that are supportive of our long term goals. The habit is something I can control and measure. If the habit I am developing is to eat breakfast every day, I either did it or I didn’t. When I do it consistently I know it will positively affect my desired outcome.
So while our outcome based goal for “Eat Your Way Right” is to positively affect your body composition, we are going to focus on the habits it takes for long term success.
Here They Are:
Habit 1: Eat 4-5 times per day or every 3-4 hours
Habit 2: Eat complete, lean protein with each eating opportunity.
Habit 3: Eat vegetables with each eating opportunity.
Habit 4: Eat veggies/fruits with any meal. Eat “other carbs” only after exercise.
Habit 5: Eat healthy fats daily.
Habit 6: Don’t drink beverages (soda, beer, etc.) with more than 0 calories.
Habit 7: Eat whole foods whenever possible.
That’s where your shopping list comes in. Eating off that list gives you the least margin for error when it comes to being compliant with these habits.
Our goal is to be compliant 90% of the time. Anything less than that and you really aren’t making much of a habit of the habits, now are you?
Below is copy of the chart you will be provided with to track how well you are doing with the habits.
Filling out the chart is pretty simple.
An “x” means your meal was compliant to the 7 habits.
- You had a lean protein
- You had vegetable/fruit with the meal
- You only ate “other carbs” (rice, oatmeal, potatoes, etc.) if it was the meal directly after you trained.
- You drank only beverages with zero calories
- You ate within 3 to 4 hours of the last time you ate
- Additionally you need to make sure you get in your healthy fats at some point during the day, and you are focusing on whole food, not prepackaged junk.
An asterisk “*” means the meal was not compliant in some way. Could be you drank a beverage with more than zero calories, forgot your veggies, or decided to eat that donut after all.
A “0” means you missed a meal, plain and simple.
An “s” is a good thing. This denotes a “splurge”, which is defined as a planned non-compliant meal. Could be you are going to a party, or want to have pizza with the kids. The great thing is that you can have between 3 and 4 splurge meals a week and still be 90% compliant. Perfection is not necessary, warranted or even desirable.
At the end of every day and week you get to see how you did. Instant Feedback!
Take another look at the chart above.
It shows I was 74% compliant for the week – not terrible, but not what I need to do to make progress.
It also shows me that the 3rd meal of the day is a challenge spot for me. It shows that most of the time I am either missing that meal or non-compliant, and it gives me an opportunity to evaluate why. Is it a planning challenge? Am I just not taking the time to eat? Once I nail down the “why” I can figure out how to overcome that particular challenge.
This tool not only helps you, it helps your coaches help you. If you are consistently 90% compliant and making little progress then we need to refine your strategy.
“Eat Your Way Right” is pretty simple.
On October 15th you will step on the scale and your coach will record your weight.
You will pick up your first “Success Checklist” and start recording your compliance.
On October 29th we will collect your completed compliance checklist for the first 2 weeks. When you hand it in you will be given another checklist card for the next 2 weeks.
At the end of 4 weeks (November 9th) we will have you step on the scale again.
Simple.Straightforward.Accountability.
Look guys, we all need to take a look in the mirror once in awhile and ask ourselves if we are really doing what it takes to reach our goals.
This is not magic. It still involves taking action which is the key to everything we do. Reading this blog post isn’t going to make you drop a pant size or fit into that little black dress.
You gotta DO IT!
Shoot me your questions below.
Make It Happen!
Dean
This Saturday October 13th we will be having an open gym from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in both locations, as we prepare for the upcoming 
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