Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 354 of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast! I was sitting outside today while I was considering this episode and the birds were so active. We have crows that have taken up residency in the woods behind our house, which is about 15 feet away from our deck. Not sure if you guys are around crows much but they make a lot of noise! The reason why I bring it up, is that I love the noises they make because it reminds me so much of camping at Fall Creek Falls when I was growing up, there were always crows in the morning when we would be sitting outside eating breakfast or mom and dad having their coffee. Now, my husband on the other hand does not have that same memory so the crows are not endearing to him they break up his peace a little bit, he has to work to not be annoyed. Ironically we were sitting outside with my parents one evening recently and their were crows at their place too and my dad said the crows always remind me of Fall creek falls so I love them, that was a neat moment. It’s often your experience of a certain thing that creates the emotion around it. That’s just something to notice. Your experience with something doesn’t equate with someone else’s. And this does apply to our topic I promise.
So, how many of you are overwhelmed by the amount of information at our fingertips on any given subject? Now nutrition and exercise is something I love to talk about and it seems Im not alone because there are a gazillion podcasts, videos, courses, tv shows about nutrition and fitness. And a lot of the information completely contradicts the other information. It can be maddening to try to decide what’s right and what’s not.
I have recently been keeping track of my macros/ and nutrition by putting everything I eat into the my fitness pal app. It’s so keep you honest about what you’re eating. So Eric and I were talking about this and he said I just don’t feel like I need to do it, he said and to back up his reasoning on it he was quoting a podcast he listened to recently of a super fit, super healthy guy who said he doesn’t track what he eats at all. And as he was telling me this, I said wait wait wait, he doesn’t track it now, but he probably did when he was first starting out, to which Eric said, yes that’s true, he did say that he used to track everything he ate. So I said, see that’s what gets people confused is listening to that guy and thinking ok see he says I don’t have to track what I eat, thank goodness. But, that just simply isn’t the case. You see that guy, he doesn’t have to track anymore because he can eyeball what 20 grams of protein is or how much fat is in a tablespoon of almond butter, but he can do that because when he first was starting to get serious, he tracked it all. So if you aren’t in that phase of your life where you know what exactly you’re eating, it is going to be helpful if you track, eventually you won’t have to track because you will know.
I also heard this last week a really super extreme fitness guru who said that he didn’t think yoga was really beneficial, which is a first, you don’t hear people usually say that, but you have to listen to the context. He was talking about keeping you super agile and quick and which sports were the best for that. Well that’s not what you do yoga for, so in the context, you realize he’s not saying yoga isn’t good in general, it just isn’t good if you are trying to use it train for an extreme sport, but I noticed myself questioning whether doing yoga was even worth it because I had heard him say that. This is where we have to come in and use our own reasoning and common sense. How do I feel doing yoga? How do I feel after yoga? Do I feel like it’s beneficial to me? I feel great during and after and Yes, I feel like it’s super beneficial to me. So I can just disregard his idea of yoga because it feels great to me.
I was doing a nutrition seminar years ago and this guy was talking about oatmeal and how so many said it wasn’t good for us to eat it and he wondered if he should stop eating it. The instructor asked him how he felt when he ate oatmeal, and the guy said, really good, and she said, “me too” so I eat it. Our bodies will let us know when something is good for us and when it’s not. Outside information can be so very helpful. But it can also be so very confusing. That’s why it is beneficial to be in tune to your body but also be in tune to the context of the information you’re taking in. The nutrition instructor didn’t say oatmeal is healthy for everyone, she asked how he felt when he ate it. But also, if you are currently eating fruit loops for breakfast, oatmeal would be a big improvement. I don’t feel good when I eat grains, so I don’t oatmeal it but it’s obviously ok for some so context matters here and self awareness matters even more. A good friend of mine at one point was training with a 25 year old young man in great shape. She was around 50 at the time and in great shape but was wanting to kick it up a notch, he was telling her he eats an entire avocado every day and she should too, so she did. She quickly realized that her ability to metabolize that much fat and his ability were totally different. She wasn’t in that phase and he was. Your age does play a factor in what you can eat and still be super fit. I know that every 5 years I have to make a change to my nutrition to account for age and metabolism.
So just because some extreme sportsman says yoga isn’t beneficial for what he’s trying to do, it doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial to what you’re trying to do. Take note how you feel when you do it. And take note of what’s different about the outcomes the person giving the advice wants vs what you’re goals are. My goal is not to become an extreme sport chaser, I want to be super fit and healthy so we can travel and I want my mental state to be clear and focused until I die. That’s how my grandparents on my dad’s side were, they both died over the age of 90 with their mental faculties in really good shape.
I don’t have to do extreme skiing to accomplish that. Here’s the thing. We all are at different phases in our health goals. The people giving advice are in their own phase too. I had a trainer tell me I didn’t have to do cardio to be fit, just lift weights. I actually believe that but I know my heart feels better when I elevate it through cardio, it also challenges me in ways I like to be challenged so even though I would like to use what she said about cardio as an excuse not to do it, I don’t because I know for me, cardio is very satisfying and will always be a part of my regimen as long as it can be which I hope is well into my 80’s.
My point of this episode is that knowing the phase you’re in in life helps you take all of the information out there and apply it in a very customized specific way for you. If you have no idea what you’re eating throughout the day, you would definitely benefit from tracking your food, even though that super fit guy says he doesn’t. If you’re not trying to beat the best time in extreme downhill skiing, yoga is probably a good thing to have in your fitness plan even though that sports guru says it isn’t helpful to him. And just because someone tells you running doesn’t have to be part of your plan, but you feel good and love doing it, you don’t have to give it up. Self improvement and growth is one of the most attractive things you can do for yourself so I believe we should never stop learning. But knowing which advice to take and which not to take comes from being perfectly comfortable with who you are and exactly what phase of health you’re body is in. I like to narrow down the advice I take about nutrition so I listen to my functional nutritionist for his thoughts but that still comes second to what I feel in my gut is right for me.
My challenge to you today is to not take advice just because someone smart is giving it. You have to temper that advice with the phase you’re in in life and health. Which means you have to trust your gut more often than not. But also remember if something sounds like a good idea to you and you’re driven to try it, go for it, just because you try it once, doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it if it doesn’t feel right. Share this with 3 people who love self improvement! I love you guys, I’ll talk to you in a few days!
