CONSISTENT by Primal Potential

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

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

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

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

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

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

I know you think they are.

They aren't.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'd end up confused, conflicted & frustrated.

You know what wouldn't happen?

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

The only place that answer can from from is me.

The only place your answer can come from is you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Individuals will have higher protein needs when they are:

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

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

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

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

Any stress eaters out there? I know I was! Today I want to share with you not just 5 reasons to stop stress eating but also practical strategies to help you get from your current stress response to a healthier, more productive stress response.

I used to put my goals & my health on hold in response to stress all the time. Unfortunately, while most stressors themselves aren't permanent fixtures in our lives, stress is. Our ability to reach our goals and maintain our results depends largely on our ability to respond to stress in a productive way.

That's what today is all about. Definitely tune into the episode to hear these 5 reasons to stop stress eating but also to learn practical strategies for doing the work.

http://primalpotential.com/185-stop-stress-eating/

1. In response to stress, you need to choose something that makes you feel better, not worse. When we overeat in response to stress, we often end up feeling worse and less in control than we felt prior to overeating.
2. You don't want to compound a negative hormonal effect
3. You have a unique opportunity to create positive emotion (or even joy!)
4. You need to choose a response that restores or generates energy instead of one that depletes energy
5. How you always respond is how you'll always respond.

Ok guys, let me shoot straight for a second: if you feel like fat loss is miserable and you're missing out, you're not doing it right. Seriously. I get it, because I've lived it and coached hundreds through it. You're not alone, but we've gotta square this away for you. If fat loss is hard, something needs to change.

Either your perspective needs work or your strategy has to change. Or both. Probably both.

In today's episode I'm bringing forth an uncomfortable truth: fat loss shouldn't be hard. That doesn't mean it's easy, but if it's miserable and you hate it and you are always focused on deprivation, you're just not doing it right.

Let's launch into the episode and talk about how to make fat loss easy.

http://primalpotential.com/184-fat-loss-is-hard/

If you feel like fat loss is hard, it's very likely that you're messing up 2 things.

You'll definitely want to listen to the full episode to understand the way I identify these common mistakes that make fat loss way harder than it needs to be, if not impossible.

I spot it quickly when I get emails that say things like,

I made great choices Monday through Friday, but when the weekends come, I totally blow it every time and undo my progress from the week.

If I eat really clean, I feel like I'm missing out and end up binging.

Here's the reality:

If the foods you're eating make you feel deprived and like you're missing out, you're not eating the right foods for you.

We're not going to do things we don't want to do or don't enjoy, not over the long haul, anyway.

My primary food rule is to eat foods you love that love you back. No one can define these foods for you with a meal plan or food list. You have to identify what you enjoy, look forward to eating and feel great about during and afterwards.

Some of the fat loss friendly foods I love and look forward to eating are bunless burgers (especially with bacon!), sashimi, Brussels sprouts and avocado. There are more but that's not the point. You have to find what these are.

For a sustainable lifestyle change, you have not just like the food you eat, but enjoy & look forward to it.

The second issue is perspective.

Describing is prescribing, my friends, and when you argue for your limitations, guess what? You get to keep them. You're making a case for them so they're there to stay.

If you decide & prescribe that you make great choices all week & blow it on the weekend, guess what? You're right! You've decided for it. You've argued for it. You're defending that behavior with your words and your thoughts and your choices.

Same thing if you argue that you can't eat too clean or you'll rebel and go off the rails.

Oh yeah? Ok. If you say so.

That's a choice. You could change your perspective. You could decide that the cleaner you eat and the more consistent you are, the better you feel and the better you look. It increases your energy and your motivation and creates a cycle of accelerated returns. You know what? That's probably more true than the limiting belief you've been arguing for but you haven't taken the time to prove yourself wrong!

Your perspective is a choice. It's not always easy to change but it is always worth it.

If you feel like you need help with the "how" of changing perspective, I'd recommend you check out Breaking Barriers. You can watch a presentation about it or get your questions answered. Your choice, just wanted you to know that there's a resource for you if you're serious about change.

On today's episode I'm taking you inside my mind and sharing some of my own personal success & mental toughness mantras. I'm not even remotely a "woo woo" kind of girl, but I find that without these mantras & affirmations, I'm much more likely to get distracted, emotional or frustrated and then lose my momentum & motivation. No bueno. Been there, done that.

I want to set myself up for success, limit ebbs & flows of motivation and continuously be focused on my goals. These mental toughness mantras are a huge part of how I do that. So, I'm sharing a few of my most-high impact mantras and how they keep me focused, redirect my attention and help me crush my goals.

I'd love for you to share some of your mental toughness mantras with me!

http://primalpotential.com/183-mental-toughness-mantras/

Resist the temptation of your comfort zone

Little hinges swing big doors

Rule over yourself

Self-control & resistance to distractions

I can do hard things

Do it anyway

There are so many awesome questions out there about animal products, fat loss and health. Questions about whether or not eating animal products is healthy, how important it is to make organic choices and if we'd be better off without the animal fats and proteins.

We're going to tackle those questions today and I'm providing you with a free meat buying guide. Well, it's a little more than that. It's a general guide to buying animal products - fish, poultry, meat and dairy.

In today's episode we'll be talking about what has been omitted from most conversations about animal products and that is quality.

Studies looking at health profiles and animal product consumption avoid looking at the quality of the animals consumed.

We won't make that mistake. We are what we eat, but we're also what we eat eats, therefore, quality absolutely matters.

http://primalpotential.com/182-meat-buying-guide/

We absolutely must consider what what we're eating is eating.

Are the animal products you're consuming coming from grain fed animals?

These animals will be much higher in pro-inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids and much lower in anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids.

Grain fed animals also have higher levels of insulin, cortisol, herbicides, pesticides and other toxins.

These toxins are stored in the fat tissue of the animal and they intoxicate us when we consume them. Toxic accumulation in our fat tissue impairs fat burning.

Conventionally raised animals are also polluted with antibiotics & growth hormones. These antibiotics and growth hormones are present when we consume meat and other products from these animals.

Be ware of marketing catch phrases that mean nothing including:

• Natural
• Grass-finished

When buying fish, look for wild-caught fish.

When buying beef, pork or poultry, look for:

• Organic
• Grass-fed
• Pasture raised
• Hormone free
• Not treated with antibiotics

If you're consuming products from conventionally raised animals,

• Buy lower fat cuts of meat
• Trim any excess fat
• Discard any fat that cooks off the animal
• Avoid eating dairy products from conventionally raised animals

We aren't getting enough sleep. We wear our fatigue (and talk about it) like it is a badge of honor. It's not. You're not tough. You're not hardcore. You're damaging your long-term health and dramatically impeding your fat loss.

If you haven't guessed, we're talking about sleep, hormones and fat loss on today's episode.

The average American is only getting 5-7 hours of sleep each night. That doesn't make a warrior, it makes a hormonally imbalanced, hungry person prone to fat storage, muscle loss and disease.

I hope that late-night TV is worth it!

Seriously though - this is really important stuff. Sleep deprivation, even moderate sleep deprivation over just a few short days impacts your hormones, impairs your metabolism, increases your appetite and changes the way the food you eat is metabolized.

In today's episode I'll be talking about 3 of the significant fat loss related changes initiated by mild sleep deprivation.

http://primalpotential.com/181-sleep-hormones-fat-loss

Today we're diving into the nitty gritty of how sleep deprivation impacts your hormones and fat loss.

1. Lack of sleep changes how the food you eat is metabolized Mild sleep deprivation exaggerates the post-prandial blood sugar response. This means that when sleep deprived, you'll see a more significant blood sugar increase than you would after eating the same meal when well rested. Lack of sleep also impairs pancreatic function, leading to insulin resistance. These effects are seen after just a few days of mild sleep deprivation.
2. Lack of sleep increases your appetite & decreases your feelings of satiety Lack of sleep disturbs the ratio of ghrelin to leptin, the hormones which manage hunger and satiety. This means that when you are even mildly sleep deprived, you experience more hunger and less satiety. Human studies show increases in appetite up to 40% after mild, short-term sleep deprivation.
3. Lack of sleep impairs your cellular fat burning machinery Human growth hormone is one of our night-shift hormones. It is primarily produced & secreted while we sleep and is responsible for growth, recovery and cellular repair. When we aren't getting enough sleep, we aren't allowing growth hormone to do it's job, resulting in lower muscle mass, higher fat mass and reduced fat burning abilities.

Guys: Every choice is a chance. You aren't stuck. You can't be stuck. Stop telling yourself that you're stuck or that you aren't motivated. Every single moment is a new chance, a new opportunity and a blank slate.

In today's motivational minisode, I'm providing you with an attitude adjustment and a powerful perspective shift.

Stop focusing on everything you've done "wrong" and on all the chances you've missed. Who cares? It's done. This next choice right in front of you is your next chance.

Let's snap ourselves out of the powerless funk and start getting results by taking control of each choice as it arises.

http://primalpotential.com/180-every-choice-is-a-chance/

If you've listened to much of the Primal Potential podcast, you understand that fat loss is very much about hormones. There are 3 hormones in particular that we can consider "the fat loss hormones". If we understand how they work and what specific choices we can make to make sure these fat loss hormones are working our favor, we're well on our way to our best health & the achievement of our goals.

We'll be talking a lot more about hormones in the next few weeks but for today I want to begin with an overview of these 3 powerhouse fat loss hormones: cortisol, leptin & insulin.

http://primalpotential.com/179-fat-loss-hormones/

Leptin - leptin is a hormone produced by your fat cells that acts as a messenger between your body fat and your brain. When working properly, leptin works with your brain to regulate your appetite. As your body fat increases, leptin production increases and tells your body to increase metabolism and decrease appetite. As body fat decreases, leptin secretion decreases so the brain triggers an increase in appetite and decrease in metabolism. Unfortunately, leptin can quickly become disregulated with both crash dieting and weight gain, causing leptin resistance and impairing the brain's ability to receive signals from leptin.

Cortisol - cortisol is a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands in response to physical, emotional or mental stress. Cortisol's job is to prepare your body for the fight-or-flight emergency response. One of the ways it prepares your body is by making sure there is plenty of sugar (glucose) in your blood stream so you're able to escape from the threat. Unfortunately, in this day & age, the threat is often a traffic jam, losing your keys or a fight with your spouse and no escape is necessary. Sure, you might see that as a good thing, but it means you're left with unneeded sugar in your blood stream that has to be stored. Many people get frustrated with lack of fat loss results despite eating clean & managing blood sugar. They tend to overlook the stress effect. Cortisol will break down muscle glycogen or muscle tissue to provide sugar for the blood, regardless of your diet. Because of this, stress management is a critical part of fat loss.

Insulin - I'll join the ranks of those who refer to insulin as the master fat loss hormone. It's critically important. You can listen to an episode all about insulin here. The point of today's episode is to show you that caring for your carb strategy isn't enough if you want to achieve your health & fat loss potential. You can mess with insulin if you aren't caring for cortisol, which is where most people pay little to no attention. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas in response to elevated blood sugar. Insulin's job is to usher the blood sugar out of the blood to either provide immediate fuel for cells or to be stored for later use. The presence of insulin puts the body in storage mode. Because cortisol can increase blood sugar independent of diet, managing insulin is about both diet & lifestyle.

Definitely listen to the full episode for a conversation about what we can do, from a diet & lifestyle perspective, to help these hormones work in our favor! There's a lot we can do!