Life By Design with Dr. Jamie Richards

What happens when your perfect fitness & lifestyle routine gets completely abolished and you're instantly stuck trying to figure out how to keep your results while never leaving the house and having an endless supply of food within arms reach? In terms of fitness, what is bound to happen is very little positive momentum unless you are able to overcome the inertia, the lack of clarity and disappearance of motivation that is the cornerstone of losing your exercise support system. On today's episode of Life By Design we speak with Kyle Torrance, Head Coach and Co-Owner of CrossFit 613 in Ottawa. 613 is a Life By Design Certified Location and Kyle himself has had a big impact in developing The Move By Design Training System™. What we covered:

• Why getting clear on the WHY behind your exercise routine is required for long term sustainability. You'll lean on this when your motivation dips and rest assured, it will.
• The importance of scheduling 'self care' time into your day and how to carve it out consistently while sustaining a high level of productivity.
• What works better? The all or nothing approach or being adaptable to the changes in life. We find the more adaptable you are, the easier it is to stay consistent, aka get results.
• Free online workout programming vs hiring a coach. What are the pros and cons? Which approach will be best for you?

One of the most powerful scenes in the Shawshank Redemption is when Andy (the main character) locks out the prison guards from their office and plays an operetta from Figaro for all the prisoners in the yard to hear. The prisoners all stop what they're doing and listen to the beautiful music as it reminds them that yes, even though they've committed horrible crimes, they are still human. When asked later why he did it, Andy answered "To remind myself there are parts of me they (the system or society) can never get to." You cease to be a human and become an animal when you lose that part of yourself. That message is about having parts of you that are safe and protected. It could not come at a more important time as it seems like our world is losing its mind. So how do you do that? In a world that's trying it's best to show you that everything is lost and there is no hope left, how do you maintain that part of you that makes you a human being? What we cover

• The most important thing you need to do upon which all other choices depend. The problem is you'll have to make this choice many times over and over before it becomes a piece of your identity.
• How to proceed after you've made that choice.
• A practical strategy for limiting your time on social media, without missing out on any updates.

This week we found a fascinating study from the Irish Journal of Medical Science examining spinal manipulation (we would like to see one looking at specific chiropractic care), brain chemistry, and comparing pre and post groups. The randomized control trial involved 25 patients diagnosed with generalized, nonspecific low back pain. The group was divided into an active group (which received the manipulations) and the sham group (which received a fake manipulation). The evaluations occurred before the study began and after the study concluded. Measurement included: Numerical Rating Scale, Oswestry Disability Index and Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. It's important to remember that the latest data and model surrounding pain involve a Central Nerve System centered theme. That means that antiquated pain models used to believe that the level of pain someone felt was directly proportional to the damage that occurred on the tissues. Now we understand that pain is a personal response stemming from the Central Nerve System's interpretation of a multitude of factors. What we covered

• A general overview of the study, how it was performed, and the results.
• An interpretation of the results including a review of the current model used to explain the sensation of pain and the most up to date data and the current model of chiropractic.
• The difference between a manipulation and a chiropractic adjustment/correction.
• How these results translate into chiropractors saying crazy things.
• Why pain is much more complicated than we previously thought.
• Why chiropractic might be more applicable to more areas than originally thought.

Without a doubt, the most polarizing episodes we record are the random topic generator episodes. Some of you love that you get to know us better, others are horrified that we'd think that way about a certain topic. So why do it and should you listen? Because, either way, it's good entertainment value. Have you ever heard of the Incredible Hulk? It has one of the most loyal readerships in comic book history. When Jack Kirby, the writer, decided to kill off the Green Hulk and replace him with the Grey Hulk (a smarter and more civilized Hulk), the audience was agitated to say it kindly. As people grew to love the new version of the Hulk, Kirby decided it was time to bring back the savage green monster, again the audience was furious. The point - whether happy or furious, the more they knew they wanted to know. In this day and age of virtue signaling and social media posturing, we want you to know that we are who we say we are, and we believe the more you know about us (both good and bad), the more you'll want to know even if we are incredibly lame and boring. What we cover

• Some of the random questions asked... what's the craziest thing you've ever done, your favourite drink, your least favourite time of the day and many more.

Our days go to heck in a hand basket when we don't execute a daily routine. Things have the vibe of that time between Christmas and New Years with one major difference...there is no end in sight. If we were to gauge the current tone of society, we would say the dominant emotions are fear, apathy, and dread. This is not a judgement on those emotions or on you if you're feeling this way... this is a statement of fact that one day this will be all over and those emotions do not serve you in fulfilling your values, dreams or goals. With all that being said, here are some of the things we found helpful to keep our days as productive and normal as possible during these crazy times. What we covered

• Plan to succeed. The day starts a strong mental focus followed by reviewing goals and tasks that need accomplishing. Despair and apathy loom with the cure for those two emotions being clarity and action. Creating a plan and a direction for yourself and your family is vital, especially right now.
• Your kid's schedule. We all know that consistency and frequency are vital for kids. Dr. K's son Ari meets with his class at 9:45 and 2:15 Monday to Friday with an assignment to do after class, and a call scheduled with his friends to follow. Having a routine has calmed his mind and made him a happier child.
• Stick to a rhythm. Monday - Friday, we wake up at the same time, enact the same routine... exercise, go to work, etc. It's been great at keeping us productive, happier, and ensuring we keep moving towards our goals and dreams even during this stressful time.

The #1 New Year's Resolution is, no surprise, fat loss.

Why does fat loss also continue to be the #1 resolution?

If it were easy, everyone would be fit and the top new year's resolution would be a new relationship or new job.

On today's episode of Life By Design I simplify the process and review the best ways to burn fat.

What I covered

• Get this body part on straight first or risk wasting time, energy and money.
• The minimum time frame you need to commit to making fat burning your focus.
• Could an underlying structural problem could be the missing link in your fat loss project?
• Strength training is king. Are barbells and a gym necessary?
• What type of conditioning is best for fat loss? HIIT or aerobic?
• This macronutrient needs to be dialed in first for efficient fat loss.
• Does intermittent fasting work?

Protein is a macronutrient that plays an essential role in thousands of functions within the human body. The building blocks that protein delivers, known as amino acids, are a requirement for normal and healthy development.

This means because amino acids are located in muscle, bone, ligaments, skin, hair, blood...effectively every tissue, kids need protein to thrive.

Of the 20 amino acids the body needs, it can produce 11 but the other nine must come from food. These are known as "essential" amino acids.

If your child is not getting enough protein, it can lead to more serious effects down the road. Without enough protein in their diet, a child may experience fatigue, lack of concentration, slowed growth, lowered immunity and more.

On today's episode of Life By Design I share some of the "how to's" for adding more protein into your child's diet.

• Where do I start?
• Why real food first?
• To eat meat vs. meatless?
• Should I avoid eggs?
• How to make snacks that are not sugar bombs!

Wednesday, February 26th, was Pink shirt day in Canada. If you're not familiar with what this represents, as the story goes... In 2007 two high school students in Nova Scotia witnessed other classmates bullying a grade 9 for wearing a pink shirt. In response to this, the two who witnessed the bullying, went to a nearby discount store and purchased fifty pink shirts to distribute to their friends in order to take a stand with the child being bullied. As it turns out, the next day, so many other children got behind this idea that literally, most of the school came dressed in head to toe pink standing in solidarity with the bullied child. An amazing story and touching story, yes... but, what about the underlying issues surrounding bullying? To truly overcome a challenge, you must understand the causes, the proper course of action, and the result. As far as we can tell, and from our own personal experience, bullying comes in many forms - of course, the easiest and most popular example is a child taunting or terrorizing another child, usually for some arbitrary reason. But what about other kinds of bullying in our culture? Could it be considered bullying when a parent humiliates or threatens to hit their child? Is it bullying when you are endlessly humiliated or mocked when you have a different opinion than someone online? Is retaliation OK? Does it make you a bad person? As you can easily see, not simple questions to answer, yet necessary (and rarely discussed) when "awareness" is brought to a subject. What we covered

• The definition of bullying and how it applies to all aspects of modern life.
• How, we believe, to start putting an end to bullying.
• The correct use of force in this situation.

Kids get a bad rap when it comes to their brains.

Everything and anything seems to be bad for brain development... cell phones, screen time, sitting, inactivity and sugar.

All are true and their effects are varying but instead of focusing on what NOT to do, we thought in true Life By Design fashion we would talk about what TO DO in order to positively influence brain health.

For this episode, I bring on the most special of guests (to me), my wife Dana.

What We Covered

• What important fat is required for brain development (and other stuff), as well as how to best meet your child's needs for this nutrient.
• We all know how important exercise is for a child...here's some novel ways to make fitness part of the culture for your family.
• What type of games are best to keep a child engaged, developing their creativity and stimulating their brain?
• Is there a health care practitioner whose primary purpose is to find and correct problems with the spine and protect the function of the nervous system?

Seeing that last week was Valentine's, or as our children say it, Valentime's Day, we thought it would be fitting to visit a core concept that is integral to living an extraordinary life - love. Although much importance, rightfully so, is placed on love, the definitions surrounding it and, how to achieve it are, in our humble opinions, incorrect and harmful to those who try to practice them. Love is not a sacrifice, all you need, a duty, above reality, superior to logic (or different from it for that matter), unconditional, or any other poor philosophical construct. Love is defined as the emotional response of one person to the virtues of another, the spiritual payment given in exchange for the personal, selfish pleasure which one person derives from the virtues of another person's character. Love is something that you must earn and you earn it by becoming the type of person worthy of someone else's love. It is given freely and without question to those who deserve it. The purpose of this podcast is to discuss the common misconceptions of love that may be holding us back. What We Cover

• Why love is important to living a great life and why knowing how love works and how to achieve is vital for you own self-esteem, happiness and life on this earth.
• Why unconditional love is impossible to practice and why you probably wouldn't want to be involved with someone who did.
• How loving someone else depends on your level of self-confidence and self-esteem.