Consistency…Continued…
Last month, we began looking at Consistency. Specifically the challenge we are currently hosting, why consistency is important, and 4 out of 8 areas we have asked our participants to be consistent with.
Today I’ll touch on the remaining 4 areas our participants are asked to be consistent with.
Why consistency you ask?
Studies have shown that the knowledge difference, between people who are very happy with their health, body composition and performance and those that are ambivalent or unhappy with their progress, is not very different. More often than not, it’s the difference in what these people do consistently that is far more important.
As a review, our first 4 areas of consistency were…
1. 50 minutes of activity
2. Eat every 2-4 hours
3. Eat lean protein at each eating opportunity
4. Eat a vegetable and/or fruit at each eating opportunity
And now, for the remaining 4.
5. Eat a heart healthy fat at each eating opportunity
a. Fat type is more important that total fat amount or fat percentage.
b. By balancing saturated fats (1/3), monounsaturated fats (1/3), and polyunsaturated fats (1/3), this will optimize health, body composition, and performance.
c. Just focus on adding the healthy fats (mono & poly) like extra virgin olive oil and avocados into your diet of fruits, veggies, proteins, and “smart carbs”, and your fat intake should balance itself right out.
6. Choose your carbs to reflect your goals at each eating opportunity
a. If you want to lose fat, have most of your carbs come from veggies and fruit, plus a small amount of additional carbs from sugary sources during exercise and a small amount of starchy carbs post-exercise.
b. If you want to gain muscle, you can incorporate grains more often throughout the day as long as your goals remain on track.
c. Both areas can be individualized even greater, but it’s a good place to start!
7. Drink 8 cups of water
a. Since your body is made up of 60% water and water is absolutely essential for a variety of physiological functions, your health, performance, and body composition will suffer if you don’t drink enough water.
b. Our body actually needs about 12 cups per day (non-exercising days) to function correctly. We typically get about 4 cups of water through our food (fruits and veggies are the best!); therefore we need to ingest the other 8 cups.
c. Although we only chose to focus on water for our challenge participants, focusing zero calorie beverages like green tea and water are ideal for those looking to lose weight. Kick those fruit juices, sodas, and other sugary/calorie loaded beverages to the curb!
8. Perform a 5 minute Mind-Body Scan
a. Ask yourself, “What am I feeling physically”, “What am I feeling emotionally”, and “What am I thinking”?
b. Our thoughts and emotions can drive a lot of how we feel and then even do because of how we feel. Take a minute to check in on yourself. Help keep yourself accountable!
So, with an additional 4 different areas to look at, ask yourself, “How consistent am I with these”?
A great quote I have come to love looks at consistency like this, “My name is consistency, I am related to Success. We should hang out more than…every once in a while.”
An awesome way to keep you accountable is journaling! There are many ways to journal what you are doing to determine your consistency. You can simply paper and pen it! You can hop on your various electronic devices and download a tracking app like “MyFitnessPal”. Or you could simply use Precision Nutrition’s “Biweekly adherence chart”. Feel free to email me for a copy of that chart!
Remember!
Healthy Habits, a class teaching a habit based approach to a healthy lifestyle, is beginning again soon! Tentative class will be Tuesday/Thursday 530p-630p. Please email me for more details!
Until next time!
Hayley Jones, BS, CSCS, PN1
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