My name is Tyler Wedel, and this Substack was once Thinking Fitness. Much of the thought behind it is still the same, but with an expanded scope to include topics of finance. Workouts, wallets, and wellness are three separate areas of discipline, but they are all distilled the same way:

20% Planning, 80% Execution

Consider two men:

The first man hires a financial advisor, meets multiple times, and creates a budget down to the penny, but he doesn’t track how he spends his money (or seek to spend less).

The second man doesn’t have a plan farther than his next meal, but he’s tighter with his money than bark on a tree.

Who do you presume has healthier finances?

You can stumble into success if you execute properly (even unintentionally) while even the best plan is useless without an engine to drive it home.

Much is the same of fitness and your mental health. If you seek to have a clearer mind, but you’re scrolling social media in bed at 11pm (spoken from experience), how can you expect your rest to restore your mind?

A person is known by their works, and their works are a result of who they are. Powerful works are grown - Fruit on a tree does not suddenly appear, but it grows slowly through pruning and the changing of the seasons.

What will you grow?

Midway through my set of pullups, I stopped to check on him after he dropped a squat on the safety rack in front of me. He was strong, 6’3, 235 by my best guess, and most of that was muscle. He’d failed a squat of ~200lbs on what I could only guess was his 30th rep (or more). Exhausted, he told me “I had to get to failure.”

“Yeah, that was impressive! What was that, 30 reps?”

“Honestly, I have no clue.”

“What a way to start off leg day.”

“Oh, it’s not even my leg day…”

He then told me a friend of his had challenged him to go to failure more often in the gym. He was supposed to start yesterday, but he backed out at the very end of his set. The goal was to squat until you can’t. Not until you THINK you can’t, but until the bar overcomes you, and you drop it on the safety racks below. The day before, he’d racked the bar after many reps instead of continuing to try.

“It bothered me so much that I lost sleep. It was all I could think about before bed. So I told myself, ‘I'm going back tomorrow, and I’m finishing it.’”

And he did.

In doing so, he inspired me to try the same.

Squat is a lift I’ve become comfortable with, and I trusted my form and practice enough to try. The next day, on my leg day, I built up to a heavy set of 3 to prime my body for full muscle recruitment. The plan was 20, then 20, then as many as possible.

The first set of 20 was easy. After cutting the weight almost in half from my final warmup set, my nervous system was overprepared to lift lighter weight. The second set of 20, not as much. I started to feel nauseous. My legs were tight, my back was tight, I was out of breath, and my mind was focused on one thing: how much my body was struggling. My focus was no longer on the work, but on the work’s effect on me. Despite my complaints, the bar would not move itself. I found inspiration in the work that man had done. So, ignoring my condition, I went.

I understand how easy it is to lose count in a set where you plan to fail. I don’t think I began counting in the first place. Was it 10? 30? I have no way to know. But as I kept going, the desire to stop only grew. Until that failed rep, until the bar hit the safeties, I wanted to stop.

As my vision stared to fade, I continued pushing until the weight overcame me, and clattered off my back and onto the safeties. It took me several minutes to catch my breath, but the moment I was done, my desire to quit turned immediately into satisfaction. I’d made it through. I had successfully failed.

Our minds tend to exaggerate risks. In a world more devoid of risk than at any point in human history, we invent new fears. Fear is a tool - a guide that cautions us and protected our ancestors from very real and present dangers. But in the relative safety net cast around many of us in developed countries, fear can quickly turn into irrationality. We fear failure. We fear pain. We fear setbacks. And often, our fear is far disproportionate to the true consequence of failure itself. The solution to this is simple, but far from easy.

The only way to defeat fear is to face it. The only path beyond is through. In a world which romanticizes comfortability, this can be all too easy to forget. Being comfortable for too long reduces our tolerance for pain. This is not to say we should always be in pain, but we should not always be in comfort either.

So ask yourself: What are you afraid of, and how will you face it?

Devise a plan, develop a strategy, then follow the steps. If your fears are keeping you from growing into a better version of yourself, prepare for battle, and face them. Once you’re on the other side, your capabilities will surprise you. Our greatest defeats are often psychological. Therefore, train the mind, and the rest will follow.

This isn’t a candid observation from a business influencer. It’s one of the greatest psychological findings ever. Kahneman was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for his work and contributions toward prospect theory, and his findings revolutionized human understanding, eventually creating the study of behavioral economics. So the next time you hear about a “growth mindset,” this may be the key to unlocking it.

Additionally, a common insult of the successful to the unsuccessful is that they are simply “lazy” or “didn’t want it bad enough.” I have news for you - If you put yourself down by saying “I'm just lazy,” you’re using the wrong word. Laziness comes from a lack of desire (and thereby a lack of action), but being “stuck” is a lack of doing. Having desire without doing mean’s you’re stuck in the middle - the “thinking” stage. And as Kahneman and Tversky found, humans struggle to think logically without conscious effort.

Our worldviews used to be far more localized than today, but the rise of social media and smart technology has connected us to all four corners of the globe. Sometimes, it’s for the better, but others, it’s for the worse. The human mind was not created to process information from 100s of sources and compile them into digestible beliefs or actionable ideas, but that’s the circus we run by spending hours scrolling social media.

So what does social media have to do with loss aversion? Recall this is part of the -Prospect- Theory. A prospect can also be considered a lead or an opportunity. A present decision with a future impact. If we spend all of our time watching (highlight) reels on social media, we are warping our perceptions of reality by further shrinking our perceived tolerance of failure. In other words, we have to "be in the right situation” before we even dare to be IN a situation at all.

This is an oxymoron. Finishing a race before it starts is impossible, just like success without obstacles. With rampant intake of information added to our baseline fear of losing, the mental battle for change grows evermore complex. So instead of focusing on the potential losses, we must shift our thinking to focus on the possibilities of success. First, we need to look deeper into the fears that weigh us down.

Fearing failure isn’t always a direct fear of losing. It also manifests as constant second-guessing nature or as a mindset of “waiting for the optimal moment.” These thoughts stem from fearing failure and thereby contradict growth. We may feel that we are “just lazy” or “can’t work hard enough.” Instead of this, we must replace these thoughts with “the best way to learn is to experience” and “moments are made, not happened upon.”

So, what if your self-prescribed “laziness” boils down to your fixation on the costs, effort, and risk rather than profit, growth, and reward? Without considering the reward, we will never surpass the counting of the cost. So, today, when you begin exploring new ideas, consider what would happen if you succeed. Obstacles will remain, but they are meant to be conquered. Failure is certain, but success lies beyond it.

Loss is inevitable. Total defeat is psychological.

“No, no. Don’t say that. We aren’t fast, we’re efficient.”

Of course, the Industrial Engineer in me absolutely loved this. Efficiency is the combination of swiftness, precision, and accuracy - minimizing time without sacrificing quality.

My mind drifts to a race. Of course, the goal is to be as fast as possible; to be the first to finish. But winning a race isn’t about sticking your foot on the gas without letting up - you would crash into the first turn. Rather, there’s a sweet spot. If you drive on a very specific line, you can reach a certain speed without spinning out of control. The closer you are to that speed, the better. Much like The Price is Right, you want to be as close as possible without going over.

There are plenty of theories as to why people try to move too fast, but the one that resonates with me the most is feeling like I’m behind. (Cue the influencer who claims he’s 21 and a multimillionaire promoting his 5-step plan from a yacht…) We are fed so much nonsense of what or who we “should be” when instead we ought to focus on moving forward. Hustle culture says its about how fast you drive, but success culture says it’s about how well you drive fast.

Comparison is indeed the thief of joy. We benchmark ourselves to where we want to be and ask “why am I not there yet?” Worse yet, we justify our irrational self-deprecation by pointing at someone who is already there, completely ignoring that they started their journey years prior. (And, newsflash, that 21-year-old on Instagram is on his buddy’s dad’s yacht and is trying to scam you. Just saying… )

If a man is a beginner in the gym, would it be wise for me to drag him through an expert workout routine? No. It might kill him. Worse, it might kill his belief that he can grow at all. Instead, he ought to slow down.

Lets say we start him with benching 50 pounds for 3 sets of 10 reps. If he was able to complete all three sets, we would scale him up for the next workout. Depending on how easily he completed them, we might even skip a couple steps in his growth chart. Eventually, we’ll find that sweet spot weight that he can *barely* complete, and then the real growth starts. Had he started his journey trying to bench 300 pounds, he wouldn’t have lasted long. But by starting slow and accelerating into a speed he can *just* maintain, he’ll get there one day.

The smartest people in the world love to learn. The best athletes love the game they play. The best speakers love to teach and encourage others. They aren’t transfixed by the goal, but they are enamored with the process of getting there. They savor its aspects - the highs and the lows, the triumphs and the failures, the good days and the bad - all of them part of a path that leads to glory. Glory, however, was never the objective, but the path itself. And when you love the journey, you learn how to take it slow instead of rushing perfection. Success then isn’t just possible, it is inevitable.

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“I Lifted Heavy when I was young; now my whole body hurts”

There is a reason this one comes first. First, I need anyone who has a science background to point out the first major fallacy with me. Ahem…

Correlation does not equal causation

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s be more granular. First, the statement implies they “used to” lift weights. Now that they’ve stopped, their muscles have atrophied as their bodies become sedentary. A lack of muscle mass not only increases the prevalence of physical health problems but also decreases life expectancy.

Secondly, this statement could be made valid by changing the word “heavy” to “improperly.” Improper form or “ego lifting” (attempting more weight than your body is prepared for) will absolutely lead to injuries and chronic pain if taken too far.

Corrected statement: Lifting improperly will lead to injury, but lifting heavy and consistantly with proper form promotes health and lifespan in otherwise healthy individuals.

(Women) “Lifting will make me look too bulky.”

This would have been number one if it didn’t only apply to half of the population. It was still pretty close.

How many women have you met that you might call “too muscular?” How many men have you ever met that are this muscular? Aside from all of the biological factors that limit muscle growth in women (and there are several), the size of any person is dictated by their diet. Even then, it is much more difficult for women to achieve the lean and large physique that most people think of when they think “muscular.”

If you are a woman reading this and are concerned about putting on “too much size” with weightlifting, I’ll likely write a blog just on this in the future. But please, please don’t avoid weightlifting for fear of being “bulky.” Muscle mass isn’t just healthy, it’s necessary. And you won’t get much by only doing cardio.

Corrected statement: Lifting will make me toned and stronger without making me look “too bulky.”

“Don’t (ever) lift with your back”

This may be the most common statement on the list. There are many lifts where your back should not be moving, but over-emphasizing this has caused more harm than good.

The human musculature in the back isn’t just impressive. When it’s fully developed, it’s like armor. It is the foundation for your body. The better it is, the sturdier the entire body is. And this foundation will not get stronger if you avoid moving it. Implementing exercises where the back is meant to round, such as deficit RDLs, back extensions, various core exercises, etc., will help construct a bulletproof back.

The back is meant to be stiffened on exercises like the standard deadlift and squat because it decreases leverage on the spine. Heavy exercises such as these develop the strength to remain immobile, but only doing these for the back makes it akin to concrete. It is strong, but the moment it bends under stress, it shatters. Performing exercises where the back bends, especially when you develop the strength to move moderate weight in them, likens your back to titanium instead - a strong material that can bend without breaking.

Corrected statement: Do exercises where the back is meant to bend, and you will be stronger, sturdier, and perform better on exercises where the back is static.

…what?

I’d never heard so much negativity about getting married until I was about to get married. I had many thoughts about this “advice," but mainly, I thought, “What an awful and rude thing to say to someone.” And WHY would you only say that to someone who’s about to get mar… I digress.

Sometimes, I would hear comments like this from men who were WITH THEIR WIVES… I’m no therapist (or an attorney), so I’ll leave that to the professionals. But it made me think:

Why are so many people so quick to sew doubt and discontent among others?

Some things about this blog may strike you somewhere that doesn’t feel very good. If that is you, then I encourage you to read until the end, as well as hear these words:

Whatever you think is hopeless or impossible, I promise you, you are capable of overcoming. That doesn’t mean its perfectly solvable - not all problems are. It is a fork in the road, and the path of strength is always available to those brave enough to walk it.

Beware the Negative People

You may have heard the phrase, “Just wait until (blank) because you won’t be able to keep all of this up then.” Sometimes, this phrase is posed as a question, and it can be a cautionary tale that alerts you to prepare for significant changes in your life. It's not always bad advice. But many times, it's a prescription. “Kids will ruin your life,” they might say.

If you’re like me, you’ll want to say (to that last sentence), “What is your problem?” or something snarkier… but it’s better to understand that those who would speak ill against some of life's most beautiful things have likely failed at appreciating and nurturing them.

Human nature often keeps people stuck in their realities instead of considering what might be possible. If they have a poor marriage, then all marriages are poor (or it’s just their spouse’s fault). If they cannot lovingly manage their homes and care for their children, then all children are an unbearable burden.

This brings us to a conversation about two types of struggling people:

1. The one who prescribes their struggles to everyone else

2. The one who learns from their struggles and takes responsibility to do better

The first type of person should be the last you become closely acquainted with. These people need help and guidance; maybe you can provide that for them, but be careful that their darkness does not corrupt you. The second type of person, who has suffered greatly but sees meaning in it, should be one of your closest advisors, especially when they find future success pertaining to the things that hurt them.

Then, there is a third way to struggle. Likely the most common of all, it is when people contain their struggles to themselves but become convinced that there’s just no way to ‘make it happen.’

“There’s not enough time in the day,” says the person with 3+ hours of screen time on their phone daily.

“I just can’t do it,” says the person who tried it approximately twice—last year.

“It’s just impossible…” to which you might say - “you say that word… I do not think it means what you think it means.” (Princess Bride, anyone?)

We, especially those in America, live in a culture diluted with comfort and distraction. It’s easier than ever to be comfortable, making it more challenging than ever to find meaning. Many people miss this, and some will turn into people who do not believe growth is possible. Other times, someone may become weighed down by life to the point of inaction.

Take Back Control

Don’t let me get you too far dissuaded - The people saying marriage is horrible are a LOT more harmful to others than those who don't feel they have the time to exercise. But my cautionary tale to you is to make no excuse.

Life is a choice, not by its events, but by our response. We choose each day to get up and go to work because providing for ourselves and our families is very important to us. We choose to seek love because we want to be known and loved by another. We choose to distract ourselves on social media, games, or many other modalities. This could be for many reasons, but oftentimes it’s because we can’t stand being bored… We feel burdened by time and wish to forget altogether its passage rather than sit uncomfortably, if even for a single moment.

If that last sentence stings with a bit of conviction, you aren’t alone. Some of the things I write in these blogs aren’t just advice to others but also reminders to myself. It’s all too easy to blame others for our predicament… Blame the social media companies for making addictive algorithms that manipulate us. Blame big food companies for packing additives, sugars, and carcinogens into our diets. Blame work culture for taking up so much of our lives meant to be spent with families and friends…

Those are a few of my least favorite things in the world. I wish I could snap my fingers and change it all, but that’s not feasible. It’s not necessarily our fault that greed takes over the minds of men and women with power, but it becomes our responsibility to take control of our lives. And if you take nothing else from this blog, take this single sentence with you:

Others can help you, and seeking help is strongly encouraged, but the ultimate point of progress, the responsibility to move forward, falls on you. Your life is your ship. You cannot control the tides, but you can guide your ship. Others may help you build your ship and even man your crew, but it is still your ship.

And beware, once you grab that wheel, it will fight back with ferocity. Your instinct will be to let go and be steered by the waters. Your passion and desire to steer through those treacherous waters must be stronger than the will of the sea. It is no small task, so holding on will not be easy. But it is never impossible. The sea cannot storm on you forever, just as the dark of the night cannot last beyond the sunrise.

Anyone can steer a ship through smooth waters, but it is the one who fears no storm who will cross the seas.

Finally, let’s revisit some of my least favorite things, all of which are powered by greed. “Wow, very encouraging, Tyler; you’re leaving us with a proclamation of man’s brokenness…” Yes, I am. Bear with me:

We often feel that these big ideas and the greed of the wealthy control us, and it’s easy to think that. But here’s the funny thing about greed: it makes men predictable. What happens if many people control their diet and eat healthier? What happens if many people delete social media because of exploitative algorithms? What happens if many people learn to live with less and take back their time?

Don’t blame the consumerist companies for the state of the world. They have given it exactly what it has asked for. Instead, grab your wheel and oppose the seas - they can’t sell to those who don’t buy. One day, we just might see the winds change.

Change your life, and on the way, you might help change the world, too.

“You don’t rise to the level of your goals - you fall to the level of your systems.”

Paraphrased from “Atomic Habits” by James Clear

It’s somewhat surprising that I’ve rambled this long about fitness and life without mentioning one of this generation's most influential and widely read self-development books, but my streak ends today. It ends for two reasons: We are now in 2025, and those who understand and apply the aforementioned quote will progress. Period.

Setting S.M.A.R.T Goals

One of my first work mentors after college taught me the importance of defining success. This was especially important in a role where I started, defined, and managed my own projects. Ignoring this would be like driving to an unmarked destination you’ve never been to without any form of guidance system.

Let’s say I want a stronger upper body - here’s how the acronym might apply:

Specific - I want to increase my strength on bench press

Measurable - I want to increase my bench to 315 pounds

Attainable - I want to increase my bench press from 290 pounds to 315 pounds (a 25-pound increase with a starting max of 290 is a reasonable growth)

Relevant - I want to increase my upper body strength. To do this, I will raise my bench press from 290 pounds to 315 pounds. (This ties us back to our original desire)

Time-Bound - I want to increase my upper body strength. To do this, I will raise my bench press from 290 pounds to 315 pounds before the end of 2025.

I’m a wondering person - I enjoy considering how things could improve. I thrive on speculation. I’m the person who’s always excited for a new year and already two months behind by February. Making goals more specific and detailed, as the one that forms by the end of the acronym, is a great way to define success. Instead of simply wondering how strong I could get on bench press in a single year, I now have a defined finish line to reach.

This is where a great many people will stop with their “New Year New Me (TM)” journey. But there’s one thing everyone, from politicians to peasants, gets stuck on.

Doing it.

People often misunderstand the level of criticality associated with each facet of creating change. Goals, they believe, are the most important. In reality, it’s the opposite.

The Criticality of Systems

Let’s take a trucking company, for example - say the CEO steps down and isn’t backfilled. In fact, let's say the whole C-Level executive team steps down, and nobody takes their place. How long does the company last? A week? A month? Maybe two? It likely depends on the strength of the mid-level management, which would depend on how well the C-level team operated before their departure. There’s quite a bit of range, but it’s probably safe to say the company would make it at least a few days.

Now, let's say all truck drivers decide to jump ship (or truck, technically); how long does the company operate after that? It depends on the time of day. If they decide to leave at 8:00 a.m., that company will be frozen at 8:01 a.m. If half of them decide to stay, then congratulations. You now have half of your operating capacity.

Now, don’t get me wrong, any company needs a CEO. They’re like the steering wheel. There’s only one, but a good one will get you through any twist or turn that comes your way. Lose it, and you’re limited by how straight the road in front of you is. Losing your workers would be like running out of gas at a stop light. You’re dead in the water without room to coast.

”You fall to the level of your systems.”

A trucking company depends most on its truck drivers coming in for work.

Your bench press strength depends most on you going to the gym.

Your progress depends most on your doing.

So then, how do you… well, “do?”

You must first make the space for growth and then fill that space with your system. This concept isn’t some new feature either; it's Biblical and, therefore, has been taught for thousands of years.

In Mathew 12, 43-45, Jesus speaks about unclean spirits. When one leaves, it will wander for a time, and if it comes back and finds a clean (and empty) house, it returns with seven spirits more evil than itself. He is stressing the importance of His presence to those listening, for without it, they will end up even worse off than before. As this passage stresses, doing nothing is the worst thing one can do. It isn’t alone - click for some verses on idleness, and you’ll find quite a lot of reading material.

Your systems are your gas. A sound system can be a habit or a routine. It’s not just doing, but how you get there. For the gym, an accountability partner can work wonders. The same can be said for a good schedule and plan. Showing up is THE most critical step to progressing, so put systems in place that keep you showing up consistently. The most critical days on this path are not when you wake up fresh and excited to pursue your goal - they’re the days you don’t, but you find a way to make it work.

You won’t drive far without a steering wheel, but you won’t drive at all without fuel for your car. Be S.M.A.R.T. in where you steer, but make sure you have the proper fuel before planning your trip. Create the space for growth, and make sure that space is filled with the habits and systems to get you there.

“I’ll be fine, I don’t need ski lessons. I’ll figure it out.”

Eventually, I did, but it took more effort than I had bargained for. Thus began my college ski experience, held annually in Winter Park, Colorado. My methods were chaotic but very educational if you could get over failing quite often.

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A pattern I held for a few years was that my confidence was always just a *bit* higher than my skill. Not so much that I injured myself often, but just enough to land me in a few precarious situations (and sometimes an injury as well…)

Fast-forward two years to January 2021. The crew elected to ski at Steamboat Springs due to a pandemic you’ve probably heard about. My skill was a 5, my confidence a 6, and trees no longer scared me as much as they should.

The wind was visceral - a negative 16-degree wind chill at a baseline of 3 degrees Fahrenheit was enough to freeze bones. As the wind cut through me, I elected to seek shelter. My shelter, rather than the mountain's base, was the windbreak of trees… I was still moving. The worst part about it is I did that on purpose, and having never skied in-line before, and I quickly learned how narrow those paths can get.

Realizing my peril as I was moving at a foot sprint’s pace, the trees seemed to become bigger, denser, and sentient. I felt my control slipping and became increasingly aware of my many obstacles. Rather than feel nature with a Sports Center top 10 hit, I found a nice pile of snow to dive on - “How convenient there are no trees here?” I thought to myself. Upon landing, however, my ribs disagreed.

A stump, hidden like a wooden landmine, caught me between two ribs. I couldn’t breathe for about 9 seconds (which is quite a long time in this context) and had a dent in my cartilage for about 9 months.

Like a French roundabout, there are a lot of places to go from here. We could talk about overconfidence, risk assessment, etc. Instead, I want to turn back to one key mistake I made here. Could I have gone slower? Sure. Could I have avoided the tree line entirely? Sure. But for a solid 10 or 15 seconds, I was doing it. I was cutting through the trees.

Until I started looking at them.

Abigail Shrier, author of Bad Therapy: Why Kids Aren’t Growing Up, is bringing attention to a new theory about therapy: We talk about our problems too much. 

Imagine you’re driving on the highway, and the car in the left lane is driving erratically. If you stare at that car for too long, you’ll find yourself drifting into their lane! Instead, the safe thing to do would be to stay in your lane, slow down, and take personal action to resolve the issue. Your focus shouldn’t be on what might happen, but its antithesis. To keep it simple, focus on the positives, not the negatives.

Hear me out; this is not a positive affirmation practice but a call to focus on action rather than fear. Your mind has a difficult time setting a negative as an objective. By this, I mean “avoid this” or “don’t do that.” This brings us back to our title text: Quit Looking at the Trees. Your objective in that mission is still the trees. But when we change our perspective in a way that might seem redundant, we turn our focus to the path. When the thought turns to “stay on the path” then the path becomes the focal point of our thought.

As a society, we have overcompensated for previous generations’ lack of vulnerability. Instead of locking our problems away to fester, we have made them our identity - which is no better than the latter. Our conversations are filled with negatives and complaints, and we then wonder why so many people are depressed. Instead, we must find the middle ground. We must acknowledge our problems, but we must then address them with action. If you found your house on fire, would you call a physicist to better understand how flames work at a molecular level? You would probably be better served calling the fire department.

So, as you go about your life, think in action, not avoidance. It might not do much for you, but it might change your life. Perspective changes everything, but the choice to change it is yours.

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The disclaimer in the last blog still applies - chronic health conditions may affect how the following information applies to you

The Lipid Hypothesis currently states that higher levels of LDL cholesterol lead to an increased risk in heart disease. It was formulated in the late 1800s and studied as early as the 1910s, but its modern relevance came from the Seven Countries Study. Led by Ancel Keys, this study showed seven countries and a pronounced correlation between saturated fat consumption and heart disease. As a reminder from the last blog, sources of saturated fats are shown to elevate levels of LDL cholesterol.

There are a few issues with this study - Data existed for 22 countries. When all are analyzed, the correlation is much weaker than in the Seven Countries Study (albeit still present). Also, correlation does not equal causation. That’s one of the first things you learn if you take statistics… A strong correlation exists between saturated fat consumption and a country’s GDP. My personal favorite instance of this (referred to as a spurious correlation) is the strong, statistically significant correlation between ice cream sales and murder rates. (If you find silly stats as funny as I do and have time to waste, check this out.)

More information on the Ancel Keys studies and the country’s misinterpretation of them (as well as some interesting statistics from similar studies) can be found here.

Finally, I’ll show the great pink elephant that drives all of this conversation - American Obesity Rates:

Pay close attention to the left column. From 1960 to 1980, rates increased from roughly 13% to 15%. From 1980 to 2000, they increased from 15% to 31%… and from 2000 to 2018, they increased from 31% to 43%.

The explanation for this rise is most likely not singular—decreased activity and the rise of fast food chains would likely impact it. However, the lipid hypothesis became publicly accepted in 1984 - a key year (it would seem) in the rise of obesity. Now, I’m NOT saying that the lipid hypothesis is incorrect. But replacing fat in the American diet with *checks notes* MORE fat may not have been the most fantastic idea…

Teicholz questions the wisdom of replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats, as recommended by the Dietary Guidelines. Although polyunsaturated fats do lower LDL cholesterol and total:HDL cholesterol, their double bonds make them more prone to oxidation than saturated fats, especially when heated during food preparation. Aldehydes produced from polyunsaturated fats can react with DNA, proteins, and lipids in the body, possibly interfering with their functions (Grootveld, M., et al., Inform 25:614–624, 2014). Some studies suggest that omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, contained in many vegetable oils, increase inflammation and even promote diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes (reviewed in Lawrence, G. D., http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/an.113.003657, 2013). Teicholz calls the massive increase in vegetable oil consumption over the past century “the biggest change in the American diet”—a dietary experiment for which we may not yet appreciate the consequences.

Big fat controversy: changing opinions about saturated fats

As it would turn out, fat consumption is a notable driver for American obesity (who could have possibly imagined that…). However, the key difference I want us to fixate on is the additional nutrients contained in the sources of fats that we consume. While seed oils may increase “good” cholesterol, that’s about where their benefits end. Saturated fats are not created equal, either. Beef and eggs contain significant amounts of good nutrients (protein, most importantly), whereas ice cream and chocolate don’t provide the same benefits.

If you take a true, holistic approach (as I would encourage everyone to do), you have to consider the negatives AND benefits associated with consuming foods. Demonizing saturated fats might lead you to cut back on fried foods and desserts, but it may also lead you away from quality protein sources. In this vein, don’t write off any specific attribute of foods (seed oils included); instead, consider whether the food you eat has a NET positive or negative effect on your health. Ancel Keys wasn’t wrong, but his exaggeration of the correlation might be a real factor in the rise in American obesity due to the avoidance of quality nutrition sources.

Thank you for reading Thinking Fitness! For more content like this, please subscribe and tell others about it! Up next, we’ll go back to something more philosophical, featuring a valuable lesson I learned (the hard way) on a ski slope.

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There are a lot of directions to go with this - But I want to start with this: the root cause of obesity is the rise of net calories in Americans, that being, a higher number of calories coming in than going out. The modalities for that can differ from person to person, but many people are overindulging in similar ways.

On seed oils - I’m defining seed oil as vegetable oil or other food products extracted from seeds or foods via heavy processing methods. These oils are often used in cooking to enhance foods. Seed oils have taken center stage in the realm of controversy, as they are believed to cause obesity. Firstly, the only cause of obesity is net positive calories beyond a certain maintenance level. Now, about one million and five factors influence net calories, so the discussion is - Are seed oils influencing this?

On a nutritional level, one tablespoon of Canola Oil contains 124 calories from 14 grams of fat. It is nearly devoid of nutrients other than trace amounts of Vitamin E and K. Advocates for seed oils point to their high levels of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are associated with good health factors, including lowering “bad” (LDL) cholesterol by increasing “good” (HDL) cholesterol. The buildup of LDL in the arteries can create clogs, restrict blood flow, and lead to heart attacks, heart disease, and other chronic health issues. — This leads directly to the conclusion against saturated fats, which is that they raise the LDL cholesterol levels. Saturated fats are commonly found in animal products such as butter, meat, and eggs. All of these conclusions have been heavily researched and proven, and this would indicate that seed oil enthusiasts are right.

It would, that is, if you did your research by ignoring every other factor about seed oils and meats.

Poly/Monounsaturated fats are great for raising HDL cholesterol, which is great for health. First problem: They’re still fats. Consuming them in excess will lead to weight gain, and higher fat mass is directly associated with higher LDL cholesterol levels. Second problem: Protein. (and I’m going to camp on this one for a bit)

If anyone tries to tell you that protein is bad, beg them to do more research. Proteins contain amino acids which are critical to… (inhales)

Muscle function, muscle building, sleep, hormone regulation, joint health, mood regulation, collagen production (joint health again), injury repair, fat metabolism, and energy.

Many of these things reduce the risks of all-cause mortality. Proteins are necessary. The issue is that no food source on the planet compares to quality meats in the realm of protein. Firstly, because the protein-to-calorie ratio of most meats is higher than nearly any non-meat source. Secondly, plant protein sources don’t include all nine essential amino acids - making them an incomplete source. Meats, however, include all nine and are thus a complete source. It IS possible to find all nine with plant sources IF you supplement with missing amino acids.

So, the verdict on seed oils: Are they bad? It depends. The dose always makes the poison; controlled amounts of seed oils (under your caloric maintenance) would not be harmful. However, seed oils are everywhere, and their prevalence is likely one of many contributing factors to the obesity epidemic.

The verdict is the same on saturated fats but with another caveat: the benefits of quality protein intake cannot be overstated, thus making the exclusion of meat (for purely nutritional purposes in a healthy person) objectively misguided. However, LDL cholesterol must be managed. Luckily, there are many ways to reduce it. HDL cholesterol can also be obtained from avocados, nuts, and legumes - not just seeds. LDL can also be lowered by managing weight, aerobic exercise, and stress management.

**A note on the above - I’m not advocating against Veganism alone, but for any elimination diet (Carnivore most definitely included). It is possible to live with an elimination diet IF you supplement with the micronutrients and other nutritional factors that elimination diets inevitably omit (such as necessary amino acids). If you choose an elimination diet for religious or personal reasons, then I would recommend you also research proper supplementation in accordance with that diet.

Takeaways

Nothing beats controlling caloric intake, consuming quality protein, and exercising. Seed oils and saturated fats are not inherent enemies. Still, the former provides a single health benefit when it is attainable in many other ways that aren’t made entirely of fat. Saturated fats should be moderated, but avoiding meat because of saturated fats would be like not eating food for fear of choking.

Thank you for reading Thinking Fitness! I have more to say on this topic, so be on the lookout for part two… Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss it, and share it with others!

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Coming soon - The Seven Countries Study, and the Rise in American Obesity

“All this time, I thought Firebending was destruction. But now I know what it really is; it’s energy and life.

-Prince Zuko, Avatar the Last Airbender, Episode “The Firebending Masters”

Week two of kicking my blogs off with a quote from ATLA makes me realize what a goldmine of wisdom can be found in a children’s show.

What does anger mean to you? If I had to guess, it’s likely not a positive reaction. You may think of someone loud, offensive, maybe even violent… You wouldn’t be alone or necessarily incorrect in your views. An angry person is often viewed as a hothead who cannot control their outbursts. But my argument is that anger is not our enemy. Instead, it is what we do with that anger. Today, I want us to shift our focus from emotion to the subject of control.

***

Fire has a peculiar dichotomy. It has been weaponized in various ways, has taken countless lives, and has destroyed many parts of the natural and constructed world. Given enough time, it burns through anything, and once it spreads, it becomes challenging to stop.

Fire is also the reason we are here today. It warms those who are cold at night, transforms raw nutrients into safer and tastier food, defends humans who learn to wield it from the beasts of nature, and serves as a light in the darkness. It may even provide a beacon back home.

Fire, left alone, will destroy everything it can touch. But if one learns to tame and control it, that person wields the most versatile tool man has ever known.

***

Have you ever met someone Passionate about their job? Not because they have a thick bankroll doing it, but someone who loves what they do so much they could do it for nothing in return? They seem to have near-infinite energy for what they do. They love it. Something familiar between these people is that their work is never about them but others. My wife is one of these people. She’s a pediatrician in her first year of residency, and she loves what she does. Her love for it is most apparent when her patients are in the most need, especially when a patient’s health has been mismanaged. She’s usually a very joyful and bubbly woman, but when she sees a child being neglected, she gets mad. Not because she’s a hateful person but because she cares greatly for her patients. That care ignites a fire in her, and she uses it to advocate for the patient's health. That is the second trait these people share. Deny help to those they wish to give it to, and they’re coming after you.

Anger is often our reaction to an abundance of emotion. This is why we become more angry with those we care about the most. This is why we can sometimes hate a job we love. These things aren’t contradictions. If anything, they prove what we care about. Now, don’t get me wrong; your husband or wife will not appreciate you constantly being angry at them as an “act of love.” Remember, fire that isn’t guided will burn the house down—But a well-controlled fireplace will keep the house warm.

As for your fuel, be careful to draw motivation from selfless desires. Doing so is like fueling your fireplace with choice timber, sustaining a healthy flame for a long time. To fuel it selfishly would be to pour gasoline into that fireplace. At such a point, your fireplace isn’t a furnace - it’s a bomb.

In closing, fire has burned down many things, literally and metaphorically. Angry outbursts are like fires leaping out of fireplaces, but that’s no reason to put out a contained fire. Emotion is human, and it’s a powerful tool. Anger is the spilling over of these emotions, but becoming too angry doesn’t mean we should stop being passionate. Don’t kill your anger — tame it. Give your fires proper fuel, keep them contained in their furnaces, and they will give you life.

“Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.”

-Uncle Iroh, from episode “Bitter Work” in “Avatar: The Last Airbender”

If you haven’t blessed yourself by watching the TV series from which this quote comes, please do yourself a great favor and go to Netflix. (The animated version is better)

To give context, Iroh is the uncle of a teenage prince named Zuko. Banished from his country and stripped of his honor by his father, he has chased a legendary figure called the Avatar across the globe to regain his worth and return home. Despite being a world-class warrior and war strategist at such a young age, he becomes exceptionally self-critical due to focusing on the one thing he cannot accomplish. Because of this, defeats often come by his own hand.

Pride is often thought of as bolstering one’s self-image, especially compared to others. This half-truth leads us to believe that humility is nothing more than self-depreciation. True humility is to be exceptionally self-aware - acknowledging who we are and what we are capable of at a given time.

In a past blog, I referred to my first push workout with my old college roommate. By the end of the 2-hour session, I couldn’t lift a 10-pound dumbbell over my head with both hands. I thought to myself, “This is so embarrasing. I look so weak.” My roommate, though, didn’t seem too concerned. He knew something I was beginning to learn: progress takes time, and there’s no shame in being weaker than you’d wish in the beginning. That very shame is what keeps many people out of the gym.

Today, when I have bad days in the gym, I remind myself that progress is not a linear path. I remember that there is no shame in failure but in growth to be had. Failure is part of being human, and fearing it will always hold us back. (See My Blog on Risk for more on this topic.)

I won’t spoil the story of Zuko for you, but a great deal can be learned about what happens when we let go of shame and expectations while watching his story unfold. Additionally, Uncle Iroh has quite a story of evolving from past shame. (Watch the show. Please. I’m not paid to say this. It’s just that good)

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We’ve been conditioned to believe that failure is always bad, and that’s just not true. Even when failure costs us dearly, the shame of that failure is even more dangerous. While a single failure may set us back, the shame might keep us there indefinitely.

My father-in-law built this incredible terrarium named “Milly” in their backyard. Milly is magnificent, but she almost was not to be. The weight of the water and soil became too much for the back wheels to handle, and the structure crashed down and fell against the wall. The damage was hard to assess, but it wasn’t looking promising. Instead of throwing it away, he waited for reinforcements (my wife and I) to help the family with a recovery mission. After a few hours of labor, Milly was not only saved but structurally improved. Now, she sits on three great cedar blocks capable of holding significantly more than the 1300 pounds they currently bear.

In closing, failure is a crossroads. The loss of progress at this point is an illusion because the road to success is often much longer than we anticipate. One path in the fork is to return - never to finish the journey. The other route, however, is to continue progressing forward. The first step you take forward after failure is the farthest you’ve ever been to achieving your goal, regardless of where you appear to be on the surface. Knowledge is power, and it is gained from experience. Experience is rarely a gentle teacher, but it is always available to those who walk its path.

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• You gain by having more coming in than going out

• You lose by having more going out and coming in

• Small contributions either way add up over time

Why do I love my new mug so much? I cannot stand misinformation, especially in a world like fitness, where so many influencers make things up for views. If someone has ever told you, “Calories in vs. Calories out is old science and not true,” they probably say the same about gravity. If someone says, “Well, calories in vs. calories out didn’t work for me, so its fake,” then there are two possibilities:

1. This person is the first natural being to defy the first law of thermodynamics.

2. They didn’t count correctly.

If you’ve tried and failed, take heart! Math is hard (coming from an engineer). Additionally, just because something is simple doesn’t make it easy. That’s why I’m elaborating on how this energy is spent today, and hopefully, this knowledge empowers you to try again!

Our term of the day is Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). As a number, it is the total calories you burn daily. As a term, it represents four factors of energy expenditure, which I have listed below.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Comprising at least half of your total daily calories, BMR can be thought of as the “bare minimum” your body needs to do to live. Think organ function—breathing, blood pumping, brain function, etc.- contribute to your BMR. A known way to increase BMR is by carrying more muscle mass, which is a big enough topic to be its own blog post someday… But for now, it’s good to know that muscle tissue, even when inactive, burns calories.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

TEF is the energy your body spends when consuming food. This sounds great; only the burn is limited to 5-10% of total ingested calories. A quick fact about this is not all calories burn equally.

• Sugars burn like gasoline - quick to ignite and quick to go away, making them the easiest to overconsume

• Carbohydrates burn more like kindling—steady for a time but run out before too long. Simple carbs (White flour products) are closer to dry leaves, whereas Complex carbs (Whole grain products) are like good sticks and small branches.

• Protein is the giant log that will keep the fire going for an hour or better. Due to its complex structure of amino acids, which have to be broken down one by one, protein is the champion of long-lasting calories.

Physical Exercise (PE)

The most well-known method of calorie burn is also often the worst. Unless you train at a very high intensity, chances are this will amount to 10% or less of your daily burn (and that only includes training days; it’s a big ole goose egg on your off days)

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

(Someone really just wanted this acronym to say the word “neat,” but that’s okay.) NEAT refers to all activities not included in a workout routine. This includes walking around in the store, taking the stairs, moving grandma’s couch (contrary to popular opinion), and even things as small as fidgeting at your desk. Comprising a whopping 15-25% of your TDEE, this is another great way to burn additional calories.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading Thinking Fitness! If you enjoyed reading, please consider sharing this blog with a friend or family member. Until next time, remember that the path to success is repetitive and boring. Stay focused, and “churn that butter” on whatever path you walk!

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“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

-Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

Fear is an integral part of the human psyche. It helps us gauge the dangers of the world around us. Without fear, our ancestors likely wouldn't have survived in a world teeming with dangers. Fear is a powerful tool, but it doesn't always have a positive effect.

Fear can be defined as our emotional response to a situation that presents a certain level of risk. Risk calculates the magnitude of consequences related to a certain outcome. So, our fear is directly correlated to how much risk we perceive.

Take a moment to look at the following words and tell me what they represent to you:

What If?

Do these words evoke a sense of anxiety in you? Do you often think, "What if it doesn't work?" - "What if exercise gets me hurt?" - "What if my business idea fails?" If you're worried about failure, pain, or adverse consequences, I have some relieving words for you:

It might.

Yes, it might. Your fears might actually come true, and I won't lie to you from another screen and tell you it'll all be fine. We have no way to really know. But this is what we do know:

I can guarantee your business won't work if you never try. I can guarantee you will be fragile and unhealthy later in life if you avoid exercise altogether. I can guarantee failure if you never try. Make no mistake: "If you never try, then you never fail" is wildly untrue. In fact, the farthest thing from success isn't failure; it's idleness.

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This is where guidance from others comes in. God gave us an interesting dichotomy when it comes to situational awareness. It's often difficult for us to gauge risk in our own lives, but it's much easier with a trusted friend. My wife, the most likable person I've ever met, sometimes worries about how others will see her. (She recently completed med school and is in residency, so she works with lots of new people very often). As it turns out, those people end up liking her. While this sometimes surprises her, I expected it because I clearly understand who she is. Likewise, she sees me and my life through a much more transparent lens than I do.

In an age of comfort and security, our minds have created new fears for situations where they don't belong. Our sensitivity to fear increases, and we often worry ourselves into complacency and avoid taking action at all.

Fear can be a valuable caution flag or a mountain we must conquer. It is up to us (with the help of those closest to us) to discern them from one another.

Sure, there is a chance you won't make it up that mountain, and you'll be worse off than before you climbed it. But there is risk in some things, most things, nearly EVERYTHING we do. Life wouldn't be remarkable if it were finite, and the peak of our mountain is made beautiful by the climb needed to get there. It is not the achievement that carries value but the work it takes to get there. There is no reward without risk.

In conclusion, let's revisit risk as defined earlier in the blog. Risk is the magnitude of consequences associated with the outcomes of a given action. Consequences aren't inherently bad either—they're just results.

Fear is still integral. So, please note that this is not permission to do something you aren't ready for because risk is inherently good. Please be reasonable.

But, with the help of a good friend, we can begin to tackle risks at the proper pace and find good consequences in our actions. So, when the time is right, ask yourself *What if* once more. Only this time, not what if you fail, not what if your endeavor is fruitless, but instead…

What if it works?

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Sometimes I write these blogs to myself as a reminder of important principles. This is especially one of those times. Much of what I write applies to many things outside of a weight room, which is exactly why I consider the old house of iron to be the best classroom I ever bothered attending.

Tim Duncan’s nicknames during his NBA career such as “The Big Fundamental” and “Groundhog Day” describe his playstyle perfectly. The movie Groundhog Day (for readers unaware) is a movie about a weatherman who becomes stuck in a time loop and continuously relives the same day. If the teams Tim Duncan played against wore the same jerseys, you would think you were watching the same game each time.

Tim Duncan was known for shooting basic bank shots and baby hooks. Tim Duncan won back-to-back MVPs.

Tim Duncan, despite being nearly 7 ft tall, rarely dunked a basketball. Tim Duncan was a 15-time NBA All Star.

Tim Duncan was notoriously quiet on the court. Tim Duncan won five NBA championships (and was Finals MVP three of those times)

Tim Duncan was boring. Tim Duncan is in the Hall of Fame, and is widely considered to be the best power forward to play the game of basketball.

Too many times, people want flashy, intricate workout plans to make them look like Chris Bumstead by next Tuesday (happy retirement to the aforementioned 6x Olympia champion). The worst part about this flashy advice is that it works occasionally, and its a lot like hanging a chandelier in a house without a roof.

This isn’t a Rocky movie where training is just a 2 minute montage with cool music and big gains. Progress happens slowly by doing the same things over, and over, and over, and… you get it.

Progress is slow, difficult, and a bane of the impatient. That’s why we have to learn to love it. We have to love being boring.

Prioritized sleep and stuck to your bedtime routine? Boring.

Hit your Macros and limited junk food? Boring.

Did the same 5 day workout routine you’ve done for months now? And you just added a tiny bit of weight each week? Boring

Sound like you? You’re a boring person, then.

GOOD!

Having more energy and getting sick less? That’s not boring.

Losing that stubborn fat? That’s not boring.

Adding 100 pounds to your lifts? That’s not boring.

Tim Duncan shot basic shots and played basic basketball, and he did it dang near perfectly. If you execute the basics of your routine and lock in to the essentials of your goals, then you will be boring and successful. So the next time you hear CEOs, superstar athletes, or other very successful people give boring answers to their “secrets for success,” believe them. They’re telling the truth.

On the first corner, we have a vegan advocate who hasn’t so much as looked at a steak in years. He’s fit, apparently healthy, and claims that meat is killing you by raising your cholesterol. (Also, if you say the word Saturated Fats, he screams)

On the second corner, we have an advocate for the carnivore diet. He’s strong, also very fit, and believes the only useful plants are flowers and aloe. He tells you that vegetables are riddled with defense chemicals, making them hard on your body. (He thinks Italian restaurants are inherently evil)

So, what do these two men have in common? (Because it appears that its absolutely nothing) — They both practice diets which limit their calories.

The body is a very complex and advanced machine with many different processes that use energy. Much of this energy is burned off just by going about a normal day - exercise not included. You even burn some of your calories by simply digesting food! But at the end of the day, there’s a certain number called Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) which is simply the calories you burn in a given day. Eat more calories than your TDEE on a consistent basis, and you’ll gain weight. Eat less, you’ll lose weight. As simple as it seems, it can be very difficult to find one’s TDEE, which is why most people who can accurately estimate it have found out through trail and error with their calorie intake.

As for the street-corner boys, saturated fats can raise cholesterol and risk levels for heart disease at higher levels, but you would have to eat a LOT of meat to achieve that. The ranch dressing, sodas, fast food, and other such snacks are hurting the average American substantially more than red meat. As for the plants and their defense chemicals, this is kind of like saying jumping into a pool is going to kill you because of the chlorine content. Yes, its there, but its no where near enough to affect a human.

Bottom line, don’t believe everything you read. Many people claim to have discovered new science when in reality, they’ve just rediscovered old science using a more complicated method of study. If you truly want to find the answer, you’ll have to take research into your own hands. While the formula always breaks down the same way, all of our bodies are different and will require slightly different solutions. Being a male of 230lbs and 6’6”, I don’t eat the same diet as my wife, who I’m well above in both of those categories. We’re both happy with our diets and maintain good health because of it.

So, do your due diligence in finding solutions. Just remember, if a social media influencer claims to know something that no one else knows yet, best to steer clear of them and stick to the basics. It takes time, but true success isn’t given in lump sum at the finish line - its earned along the grit-demanding path there.

Churn that butter this week!

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"Dude, I'm telling you I can't lift that."

"Its 10 pounds. I watched you lift more than that earlier."

"Yes, but my arms are so stiff that I can't."

"Well, can you raise your arms at all?"

"…no. No, I don't believe I can."

Humble pie is served stale and at room temperature. On my first day at the gym in college, I had to eat more than a few slices. "I can't even lift 10 pounds… this is so embarrassing," I thought to myself. My first challenging workout completely wrecked me, and we won't talk about how long I was sore after that.

The best part about that day? I'm the only one who remembers it. Other people in the gym were working on themselves; that makes my first point.

Lift your Weight

One of the most intimidating things about the gym is being around many other people who "know what they're doing." We often worry that we'll stand out for our ignorance.

1. Everyone around you was a beginner at one point. There was a time when even the strongest had no clue how to lift a weight.

2. Those who ARE advanced in lifting devote their focus to their craft, not to critiquing those around them.

3. Chances are, you aren't the only person in the gym worrying about others.

There's no downplaying the intimidation accompanying a first-time gym trip, but the way to success is beyond the obstacle. This brings me to my second point:

Learn to Love the Struggle

In unsurprising news, the gym will be difficult. You will be sore, some days will be hard, you will get tired, and you will be disappointed in yourself at some point. Great encouragement, right?

Cough syrup tastes horrible when you're a kid. "Take your Medicine," Mom might say, but that medicine tasted like poison! After we took it a few times after being sick, we learned that the cough syrup did its job. Later on, we felt better because of the cough syrup, and that nasty medicine became easier to take. So, did that nasty stuff magically taste better? No! But we learned it was good for us in the long term, so we didn't mind paying upfront.

The gym is the same. Lean into those difficulties, and you'll find great rewards on the other side. Those rewards of better health, increased strength, and more energy can encourage you to push through those hard days.

Track your Progress

Success can be tracked in various ways - it's much deeper than a number on a scale. (See my blog "The Scale is a Liar" for more on that)

The Scale is a Liar

When I first started lifting, I wrote down my measurements, weight, and lifting numbers and took a couple of progress pictures. It was one of the best decisions I made in my lifting journey. Especially after being at it for a few months, when progress stalls, success starts to look different.

Fuel your Success

This point could be a long series of blogs (and it might be eventually), but I'll keep it short for today.

Diet, Diet, Diet (did I say diet?)

Computer scientists, software developers, and others in the tech field use a popular acronym to describe the nature of code: GIGO. This acronym is the law of garbage in = garbage out. In other words, no matter how good your code or how refined the tool you've built, if your data is bad, your output will be bad. Just like a car, no matter how well you've built it or how expensive and advanced it is, it will be a bad ride if you put in bad fuel.

Your journey in fitness is EXACTLY like this. If you don't fuel your body well, it won't respond well to training. Here are a few quick things to keep in mind for that:

1. Eat whole foods (fewer preservatives, less processed)

2. Eat slower (better food digestion & less overeating)

3. Increase protein intake (building material for muscle & more filling)

I'll write many blogs about dieting in the future, but these few rules are a great place to start.

Go to Bed!

I know, I know. The great cliche of "sleep makes everything better."

Well, it does.

Lives are busy, and our schedules are tight. All of us will go through seasons where 8 hours of sleep simply isn't feasible, and I understand that. However, the importance of good sleep cannot be understated when referring to overall health. This subject will also be expanded upon in later blogs, but for now, I'll keep it brief:

• Take at least an hour to wind down before bed

• Limit caffeine intake later in the day

• Lower the temperature in your home during sleeping hours

Through my six years of weightlifting, I've found these topics to be foundational. While they are the basics, they are crucial for success in fitness, especially diet and sleep. Whether this is new or a reminder to you, I hope it aids you along your journey.

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Some people die 50 years before they are buried. They spend the rest of their lives sleepwalking, nearly unconscious of their own truest desires or direction. They live on autopilot without having set a destination. Tragically, awareness to grab the controls when they’ve found the plane has run out of fuel.

It starts one day at a time - a few minutes on social media here, a TV show there, and we begin to lose our days.

I was a somewhat distracted kid, and still have issues paying attention today. Much of my time was spent playing video games or scrolling social media, provided I wasn’t at some school-sanctioned event. I developed the need to constantly occupy my mind, never truly resting. Many others share such a story as I’ve found, particularly those in my generation. Now, I could blame the electronics around me and their addictive natures to be my own downfall, and I may feel justified in doing so. But is a rug inherently dangerous? No, but place it over a broken cellar door, and that answer changes.

Entertainment is an interesting thing - it can inspire us, teach us, and bring people together. These are good things! Yet, we also seem to become captive of the stories and lives that we witness digitally, compare our lives to fiction and limited truths, or, worse yet, draw our satisfaction from them. We spend so much time digesting the stories of fiction and social media that we often forget to write a story of our own.

So the rug falls and waits - a trap set only for its setter because he liked it better than his cellar door. Distraction takes the place of reality, and when our plane finally goes down, we find our story was written by somebody else.

A good friend of mine used to say this, and I want it to be the positive hook of this blog. Distraction and comfort are often siblings, and comfort is not paid for upfront.

I’ve never met a man, woman, or child who enjoys being plunged into cold water. It’s a shock to our body - something that immediately tells us, “get out, you fool! We’re going to freeze!” The body can only be informed by the present, so that is how it makes decisions. When we allow our bodies to be our decision-makers, we end up with a rug on the broken cellar door - getting something now and paying for it later.

However, the mind is different. It can see beyond present conditions when it is properly trained. It can ascertain that the present suffering from submersion in icy waters can produce benefits in the future. (Read more about that by clicking Here). These are the things we pay for now and get later - things that the near-sighted body misses.

Paying for something upfront also creates a sense of achievement, which only comes from having struggled. Think of your mentality after your first workout: “Wow, I did that!” “I feel so much better!” And think about your thoughts after binging a TV show: “What should I do now?” “What time is it?” I am by no means saying to throw your TVs and games out the window. As stated before, they can be very beneficial. However, I am bidding for you to put them in their place.

So, one of the next times you have the option of comfort, try something uncomfortable. Turn the shower from warm to cold. Go on a run instead of a binge. Clean out that closet that’s been dirty for months. Do that project you’ve been dreading. It’s likely to provide tangible benefits afterward, but even if it doesn’t, you’ve done something difficult. No protagonist in your favorite story lived a cushy life - they wouldn’t be inspiring that way. They struggled, fought, and won.

So don’t seek the end of the story with present comforts and distractions; instead, embrace difficulties as they come your way. Regardless of where you are, if you’re reading this, your plane is still in flight. And that means there is still time left.

Turn off autopilot, and write your story.

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"None of my clothes fit, but I still weigh the same! Why am I not losing weight?"

"My form is improving on my lifts, but my numbers aren't going up. Am I getting weaker?"

If you've asked these questions or know someone who has (and needed to figure out how to respond), then you are my target audience.

"Losing weight" is likely the most common reason that many people begin an exercise regimen. When they say "losing weight," they are almost certainly referring to excess body fat. Many people become dismayed when, after a month or more of working out, the scale has barely moved. Does that mean they are doing something wrong? Not necessarily.

So, let's take a step back and ask a question—How should we define success? Many would tell you their scale dictates their progress, and while it does tell you 'something' about your body, it's far from everything.

Let's examine: Say you have two men in front of you, and you can view the balance in their bank account. The first man has $10,000, and the second has $75,000. Knowing this information, can you tell me which man is wealthier? Let's look at net worth instead:

Man, two has some retirement and other assets, bringing his total to $150,000.

Man One, however, owns major stocks and real estate and keeps most of his money in high-interest savings accounts. His net worth is $1.7M.

By only using one metric, we cannot see the whole story. Man One was far wealthier, even though their bank's cash account told a different story. This is similar to a scale—it doesn't tell you the whole story!

When you start lifting, your muscles will retain more water and eventually grow. The scale won't capture that detail… instead, throw in a couple of extra measurements (Lifting numbers, waist circumference, etc.).

Success shows up in a variety of ways, and we shouldn't limit ourselves to measuring it with a single modality. If you only measured wealth by the money in your bank, you would never buy assets - thereby missing out on vast financial opportunity.

And like financial assets, your body will take time to develop. With that time, you will see growth. Wealth is more than your bank account, and fitness is more than a number on a scale.

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Change: A word that can be exciting, terrifying, or both often falls at the center of any big improvement. Change is not about shifting the world to meet your preferences. Rather, it is shifting your behavior to address the challenges the world throws at you. Changing the self ties closely to discipline, which I covered in some of my recent posts. Check those out below if you haven’t already.

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If we want to change ourselves, it means we want to be different. To be something, you must first become something. To become something, you must first do something. Finally, to do something, you must first think something.

So, with that blurb out of the way, ask yourself what you want to be. What change do you want to make in your life? Where do you want to improve? It could be being a better husband or wife, a better friend to others, having more faith, or being more fit. Next, imagine how you would think and act if you were that way.

“I was mentored by C.S. Lewis, John, Maxwell… and you might say ‘there’s no way you met all those people, and Lewis has been gone for decades’ and you’re right. But each of them wrote their thoughts and guidance into a lot of books - most of which, I have read.”

If we need models for how to change, we want to look for a good mentor. Before you make any assumptions what mentors are supposed to look like, I want to show it as a much broader term: A Mentor is *Anyone* (Older or younger) who can guide you to learn new things and grow in a direction that you are seeking to grow in. Keep in mind - you don't have to physically meet someone to be mentored by them. Many great mentors wrote books, have YouTube videos, record podcasts, etc.

So, this distills us to the root of change. You must first want to change. From there:

Want→ Seek→ Learn→ Think→ Do → Become

Let the following be a template:

"I want to become ______, so I'm going to seek guidance from trusted sources. I will find a mentor and learn what they do to be better at this, and how they think about what they do. Once I learn from them, I will think more about what my life would look like if I was a _____ and what I would do in my day-to-day life. I will begin to do those things, and slowly, I will become a _____."

So, I hope this sheds some light on perhaps the most difficult part of the fitness journey. If nothing else, it might bring some light to the old philosophic quote:

"I think, therefore I am."

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