Are vegetable and seed oils “toxic”?!

From TikTok to bestseller lists, vegetable oils—a.k.a. “seed oils”—are a big topic right now.

To be fair, folks have debated the merits of vegetable oils dating back to when they first entered the marketplace.

More recently, however, with the advent of the carnivore diet, vegetable oil hate has roared back into the socials. Maybe you’ve come across posts that refer to these cooking oils as “toxic sludge,” “motor oil,” “the hateful eight,” and “the biggest cause of chronic disease that nobody knows about.”

The anti-vegetable oil logic goes something like this…

Animal fats have been with humans for thousands of years. Vegetable fats, on the other hand, were invented during the last century when profit-seeking companies wanted to find a way to sell cheap-to-grow foods to unsuspecting consumers.

Another argument: Like margarine, vegetable oils were marketed as healthier alternatives for butter, and yet, people argue, these oils are worse than butter, raising your risk for obesity, anxiety, depression, ulcerative colitis, and more.

In contrast to the above line of thought, other experts will tell you that vegetable oils are harmless, potentially even health-promoting—and absolutely better than butter.

So, who’s right?

Like so many nutrition topics, the truth is too nuanced to fit on a meme.

In this story, we’ll help you sort the science from the pseudoscience so you can make informed decisions about the oils you choose to include in your diet.

What are vegetable oils?

Sometimes called “seed oils,” vegetable oils start, as you might suspect, from the seed of a plant. The most common ones you’ll find in a typical grocery aisle include:

• Canola oil
• Corn oil
• Safflower oil
• Sesame oil
• Sunflower oil
• Soybean oil
• Grapeseed oil

By the way, if you feel like there’s a bunch of oils missing from that list, it’s probably because those oils come from non-seed plants (such as olive, avocado, palm, or coconut oil, which all come from fruits, and aren’t considered vegetable or seed oils).

How are vegetable oils processed?

Non-vegetable oils—such as olive and avocado oil—are derived from naturally fatty foods. In fact, olives are so oily that you could theoretically make your own olive oil at home. (Just Google “how to make olive oil from scratch,” and you’ll find a number of videos walking you through the steps.)

The same can’t be said of most vegetable oils, which mostly come from foods with a relatively tiny fat content to begin with.

Case in point: A cup of green olives contains about 20 grams of fat,¹ whereas a cup of corn has 2 grams.²

As a result, manufacturers must use an extensive multi-step process to extract this small amount of oil from these non-oily foods. These steps include:

• Crushing: A machine uses high pressure to press oil from the seeds.
• Refining: The seeds are heated with a solvent, such as hexane, to extract more oil.
• Deodorizing: To create a neutral taste and remove unwanted compounds, the extracted oil is then cooked at 400 F (204 C) for several hours.

During this process, health-promoting polyphenols and other stabilizing nutrients are lost, and small amounts of unsaturated fats are transformed into trans fatty acids (also called partially hydrogenated fat).

(Interesting fact: This also happens during deep frying. When vegetable oils sizzle in a restaurant’s deep fryer for hours, the trans fat content of the oil increases.)

To call these processed oils “toxic” might be an exaggeration. However, nutrition scientists generally agree that people should avoid trans fats in the diet, and in 2018, the Food and Drug Administration banned manufacturers from adding trans fats to processed foods.^{3 4}

What cooking oils should you eat?

At PN, we’ve created several visual guides people can use to make informed decisions about what to eat.

(We’ve also created a shopping list, which you or your clients can print out and take to the grocery store. Check it out: Healthy Fats Shopping List)

In these guides, we’ve placed a few vegetable oils—expeller-pressed canola oil, high-oleic sunflower, and safflower oils—in the “Eat Some” section. For us, “eat some” is another way of saying that these foods will neither improve health nor harm health—when consumed in reasonable amounts. In some cases, like in the example of dark chocolate, when consumed in small amounts, they might even improve health.

The rest of the vegetable oils, along with butter and other saturated fats, fall into the “Eat Less” category, as the image below shows. You’ll find vegetable oils in bold.

We’ve gotten hate mail from folks who say certain vegetable oils—especially cold-pressed canola oil—should appear alongside olive oil in the “eat more” category. Plenty of others say all vegetable oils belong in the “eat less” column, and that butter belongs in “eat some” or even “eat more.”

To understand the scientific reasoning behind our recommendations, let’s explore some head-to-head matchups.

Extra-virgin olive oil vs. expeller-pressed canola oil

These oils are the least refined of their kind.

To make extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), manufacturers grind and mechanically press olives, without using any heat. Similarly, expeller-pressed canola oil is made by mechanically pressing rapeseed, without the use of heat or chemical solvents.

The case for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Olive oil is richer in heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) than almost any other cooking oil.

In addition, unlike the more refined “light” olive oil, EVOO maintains most of the olive fruit’s original polyphenols. These plant-based substances help to combat inflammation and protect cells from damage.

Perhaps most importantly…

More studies vouch for EVOO’s health-promoting qualities than for any other cooking fat.

For example, researchers asked 22,892 adults from Southern Italy to self-report their olive oil consumption. People who consumed the most olive oil (more than two tablespoons a day) were 20 percent less likely to die over the 13-year study than people who consumed the least olive oil (less than one tablespoon a day).⁵

Other research has linked the consumption of olive oil with a reduced risk of:

• High blood pressure⁶
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes⁷
• Dementia⁸
• Cancer⁹

Consumption of olive oil is also associated with reductions in LDL cholesterol, especially when used to replace saturated fats like butter and coconut oil.¹⁰

The case for expeller-pressed canola oil

One of the more affordable cooking oils on the shelf, canola oil, is made from a Canadian-made hybrid of the rapeseed plant.

(The word “canola” refers to the first three letters of “Canada” with a fun “ola” added to the end for marketing purposes.)¹²

Among vegetable oils, canola is the richest in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (though several non-vegetable oils have it beat) as well as alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid.

In addition, canola oil contains plant substances called phytosterols that help influence blood cholesterol for the better, especially when used as a substitute for butter, research has found.^{13 14 15}

The winner

Extra virgin olive oil is the clear winner.

The body of research in support of EVOO dwarfs the body of research in support of expeller-pressed canola.

In addition, EVOO has a more favorable fatty acid profile. By the way, so does avocado oil, which is why you’ll also find it in the “eat more” column.

However, you can buy roughly twice as much expeller-pressed canola oil for half as much money as EVOO. Because of this, expeller-pressed canola can be a good budget-friendly choice. In addition, because of expeller-pressed canola’s more neutral flavor, many people prefer it over EVOO for baking.

When used in moderation, expeller-pressed canola can be part of a healthy diet. It is likely to be at least health neutral, if not somewhat health beneficial.

Expeller-pressed canola oil vs. refined canola oil

This match-up comes down to how processing methods affect the end product.

Expeller-pressed canola oil

An expeller press is a machine that squeezes oil out of seeds.

It’s able to do this without the use of solvents or heat, which helps preserve beneficial compounds such as alpha-linolenic acid and phytosterols.

Refined canola oil

Refining removes some protective alpha-linoleic acid while adding small amounts of unhealthy trans fatty acids. This results in a product that is proportionally lower in omega-3 fatty acids and higher in omega-6 fatty acids.

The winner

Expeller-pressed canola oil wins, but only by a small margin.

That’s because canola oil starts with a less controversial fatty acid profile than many other vegetable oils, as the chart below shows. Soybean oil, for example, has less heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and much more theoretically inflammation-contributing omega-6 fat.

Refined vegetable oil oil vs. butter

This is the match-up that triggers the most arguing on the interwebs.

Let’s cover the major claims from both sides—plus what the research says.

The case for butter

Butter proponents argue that saturated fats have been unnecessarily vilified. They point to nutrition recommendations during the 1980s and 1990s that recommended people replace butter with trans-fat rich margarine.

(We all know how that went.)

Margarine aside, others claim the research in support of reducing saturated fats is thin at best.²⁰

However, excessive saturated fat consumption (beyond 10 percent of total calories) does seem to boost cholesterol levels and may increase your risk of heart disease.²¹

Some research has found that replacing 5 percent of the saturated fats in your diet with monounsaturated fats could reduce the risk of heart disease by 15 percent. Similarly, replacing 5 percent of the saturated fats in your diet with polyunsaturated fats (with most of that coming from refined vegetable oils) reduces the risk of a future heart attack by 10 percent, according to an analysis of eight studies involving 13,614 people.²² Many other studies support this finding.²³

But not all saturated fats affect blood cholesterol equally. In some dairy foods, a membrane—called a milk fat globule membrane—surrounds the saturated fats and seems to limit their cholesterol-raising properties.

However, butter is low in this protective membrane, and consequently raises blood cholesterol more than other high-fat dairy products, like full-fat milk, cream, yogurt, or cheese.^{24 25 26}

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend capping saturated fat at less than 10 percent of your calorie intake. A tablespoon of butter contains 7 grams of saturated fat—a third of the recommended daily limit in a 2000 Calorie diet.

So, while you don’t necessarily need to eliminate butter, it’s worth moderating your intake.

(Interested in learning about all the nuances of saturated fat consumption? Read: Is saturated fat good or bad for you?)

The case for refined vegetable oils

Due to their chemical structure, polyunsaturated fats are inherently less stable and more prone to oxidation than saturated or monounsaturated fats.

During the refining process, protective phytochemicals and antioxidants are stripped, making these oils more prone to oxidation. The theory is that this oxidation increases inflammation in the body and elevates the risk of various health conditions.

There’s some evidence to suggest that diets rich in polyunsaturated fats, especially from refined vegetable oils, are associated with increased levels of oxidized blood lipids, lipid peroxidation, and other markers of inflammation.^{27 28}

If you only use refined corn or safflower oils to lightly coat veggies before roasting them, you likely don’t have much to worry about.

However, for the vast majority of people, the biggest source of refined vegetable oils isn’t home-cooked meals—it’s ultra-processed foods.

The extra processing and repeated heat exposure used to create ultra-processed foods further oxidize these oils. Additionally, these foods are often loaded with potentially harmful ingredients like added sodium and sugars, and low in beneficial nutrients like fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

Plus, they’re incredibly calorie-dense and difficult to stop eating, which can raise your risk for obesity. (Find out exactly why highly-processed foods are so “addictive”: Why you can’t stop eating ultra-processed foods.)

Most ultra-processed foods list one or more vegetable oils as one of their ingredients. Even ultra-processed foods that you wouldn’t think of as “fatty” contain small amounts. You’ll find them in store-bought cookies, chips, crackers, sauces, frozen dinners, meal replacement shakes, boxed macaroni and cheese, salad dressing, boxed rice blends, and more.

In a large review involving nearly 10 million people, the consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a higher risk of premature death.²⁹ In addition, studies have linked high consumption of ultra-processed foods with the following health problems:^{30 31 32 33}

• Heart disease and heart attacks
• Stroke
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Overweight and obesity
• Diabetes
• Reduced HDL cholesterol
• Cancer

You don’t have to abolish ultra-processed foods.

But your health will benefit from capping your consumption to about 20 percent or so of your intake, with the other 80 percent or so from mostly minimally-processed whole foods.

This alone will naturally lower your refined vegetable oil intake to a safer level, without much fuss. Plus, consuming refined vegetable oils in the context of a diet that’s rich in colorful plants, fiber, phytochemicals, and antioxidants may help offset the concern of oxidation. (For example, by putting a reasonable amount of commercial salad dressing on a large, colorful salad.)

The winner

This match-up is a draw.

Ultimately, both should be limited in the diet, and neither are health-promoting.

Most refined vegetable oils are lopsidedly rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to monounsaturated fats, and are stripped of many protective compounds. As mentioned earlier, some experts argue that these omega-6-rich fats may contribute to inflammation (but the evidence here is mixed). Because of how they’re processed, seed oils also contain some of those trans fats that everyone agrees we should all minimize.

In contrast, butter is low in omega 6s but high in saturated fat, which can be problematic in higher amounts. Especially since it’s so low in the protective milk fat globule membrane. However, compared to refined vegetable oil, butter is less processed. Like olive oil, it’s one of those fats you could theoretically make at home.

Some final parting advice

This might be obvious from the head-to-head matchups, but we’ll say it anyway.

If you like it and can afford it, EVOO is a great choice.

Cold-pressed avocado oil and walnut oil are also great options, as both are rich in antioxidant compounds. Like EVOO, avocado oil is a rich source of MUFAs. Walnut oil’s fat primarily comes from polyunsaturated fats, so it’s best used as a dressing rather than used for cooking (as it’s less heat stable).

However, like EVOO, avocado and walnut oil tend to be expensive. If you or your client are budget-conscious, expeller-pressed canola oil is a solid runner-up.

Similarly, high-oleic sunflower and safflower oils are richer sources of monounsaturated fats than their high-linoleic cousins. When substituted for saturated fats like butter, high-oleic oils have been associated with cardiovascular benefits.^{34 35}

Regardless of what cooking fats you or your client choose, you’ll also want to do the following:

Prioritize minimally-processed whole foods.

Whole and minimally-processed foods—such as nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and salmon—are more likely to feature health-promoting monounsaturated (MUFAs) and omega-3 fats. They also come packaged with a wide array of other good-for-you nutrients such as fiber, protein, minerals, and antioxidants.

In contrast, ultra-professed foods are generally devoid of everything you keep hearing you should consume more of. These foods also tend to be calorie-dense, highly rewarding, and hard to stop eating.

If you’re not sure whether packaged food is minimally processed or highly processed, take a close look and consider:

• Does anything in nature resemble this food?
• Does it look like it came from an animal or a plant?
• If you look at the list of ingredients, do you see animal or plant components?

If you answer “no” to most of the above, the food is likely highly processed.

Limit deep-fried foods.

It doesn’t matter what source of fat is used to fry them.

Sort all fried foods into the “eat less” category.

Get most of your fats from food, not oils.

EVOO is associated with longer, healthier lives. However, that doesn’t mean you should be doing shots of it.

As a general rule, you’re better off getting most of your fat from foods like avocados, olives, nuts and seeds than from any cooking oil.

Whole food fats are rich in fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals, and are generally less calorie-dense than oils. (But having one to three servings of oils or butter per day is reasonable.)

And if you want personalized advice to suit your body, your eating preferences, and your goals, check out our Nutrition Calculator to figure out how fats fit into your overall diet.

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References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Are seed oils bad for you? Vegetable oil vs. olive oil vs. butter appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

While our ancestors relied on their senses to assess how they were doing, increasingly, we rely on gadgets.

Today, if you’re curious enough, you can measure your heart rate, your step count, your exercise intensity, and your sleep quality—sometimes all on one sleek device.

In the best cases, these devices offer a bridge between what you subjectively feel and what you can objectively measure.

This is generally a really cool and amazing thing.

Our subjective feelings and assessments matter, but they’re not always the most reliable. Us humans just aren’t particularly skilled at quantifying our experiences and behaviors with cold precision.

Take, for example, a colleague of mine. He believed he was eating within a narrow caloric window, but after careful tracking, he learned that he was putting away a bonus 500 Calories a day—in barbecue sauce.

That said, some of us are better than others.

Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter, was reported to have been able to call out his 100 metre time within a tenth of a second of the stopwatch readout.¹

That’s outlier performance, to be clear, but it still makes you wonder:

How good are you at assessing yourself?

And, how can you improve your accuracy through the wise use of technology—like fitness trackers—to help you make better decisions about your health?

In the following article, we’ll tackle the above, plus we’ll address:

• How accurate are data trackers in the first place?
• When is tracking helpful? (And when is it not?)
• Can you train yourself to more accurately assess things by feel?

Let’s get into it.

First, how accurate are data trackers anyway?

Not all data is created equal.

Some brands produce better products than others. This is not just hardware but also the quality of their software and datasets.

Beyond that, not all things are equally easy to quantity.

For example, heart rate and step-count data are generally reliable,² but many other types of outputs—from calories burned to movement velocity—have substantial margins for error.

The below chart shows the reliability of various tracking devices.

(If you’re curious, we cover the accuracy of various progress indicators in more detail here: Are Fitness Trackers Worth It?)

Next, when is tracking actually helpful?

The good: Tracking devices offer us more data about our behaviors and bodies than ever before.

The bad: Tracking devices offer us more data about our behaviors and bodies than ever before.

“What’s really remarkable,” says Samantha Kleinberg, a computer scientist who studies decision-making, “is that even a tiny amount of surplus information has a big negative effect on our decision-making.”³

That’s the paradox of tracking: Too little detail makes it tough to make the right decision, but so does too much.

This can be expressed as an inverted U, with the sweet spot at the top of the curve.

Today, it’s surprisingly easy to have too much information.

Consider the analysis paralysis you feel after scanning hundreds of reviews from the various taco places in your neighborhood. (All you wanted was a decent el pastor, but now you don’t know which taqueria to pick!)

Finding just enough information to make good decisions is an art form—especially in the world of health and fitness, where it seems like everyone is trying to outdo each other when it comes to providing more science, more customization, and more complexity.

But when all that information starts to blur together with no clear path forward, what should you do?

For starters, you can ask yourself a simple question:

Does tracking increase my wellbeing and performance?

If the answer is a clear yes or no, you know what to do. (Either continue tracking as you were, or drop the gadget and walk away.)

If you’re a little fuzzy, here are three signs to watch for to help you determine if tracking is helpful—or not.

Sign #1: Tracking is decreasing your stress and validating your method(s).

When Zak’s coach raved about the benefits of zone 2 cardio, it sounded logical. But when the rubber on his running shoes hit the road, Zak second-guessed everything. Zak prided himself on his ability to grind, and simply didn’t trust that something that felt easy could also be effective.

Yet, the data didn’t lie. As the weeks went by, Zak watched his resting heart rate drop—along with his recovery time from hard runs. With that reassurance, Zak began to relax about the process—and his resting heart rate dropped further.

Zak hadn’t trusted his feelings, but he did trust the data from his heart rate monitor.

Using a tracking device enabled Zak to calibrate his own perceptions so they were more accurate and realistic.

If you’re a coach who has a client like Zak who’s high performing but doesn’t know it, tracking can help build confidence and reduce the anxiety that they’re “not good enough.”

Here, you empower them by shining a spotlight on existing performance. Expert assurance can go a long way but can also be bolstered by reliable data.

(Recently, many people have begun using continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, in order to “optimize” their blood sugar levels. This can help “validate” certain food choices… but it can also be a waste of time. Read more: Should people without diabetes use CGMs?)

Bad omen: Tracking is increasing stress or negatively affecting performance.

Sometimes, data can stress you out without any upside—like when you receive poor scores about things beyond your control.

Take the new parent of a newborn who gets a poor sleep quality score.

Tracking has a time and a place. When scores are beyond your control or your priorities lie elsewhere, tracking can create unnecessary stress and is counterproductive.

You can always revisit tracking when circumstances or priorities change.

Sign #2: Clear feedback from data is enhancing your motivation and ability.

For a behaviour to take place, you need three things⁴:

• Motivation: A compelling reason or desire to take action toward achieving something. This can come from external sources (your spouse is urging you to quit smoking) or internal drives (you’ve always dreamed of running a marathon).
• Ability: You have a combination of skills, plus opportunities to express them. (For example, you know how to do a simple resistance training routine, and you have 20 minutes a day to execute it.) This may involve overcoming constraints like time, money, mental and/or physical effort, social pressures, and changes to routine.⁵
• Prompt: A prompt is a cue or instruction that elicits an action. (For example, when your GPS tells you to turn left, or when your restless legs “remind” you you’re due for a walk.) Critically, even with high levels of motivation and ability, you may not take action—or the right kind of action—without a prompt.

Fitness trackers shine when you’ve got plenty of motivation and ability—and just lack the prompt.

Take my client, Margaret. She used to have a glass of wine most nights, believing it helped her sleep better. Once she started wearing a sleep tracker though, she saw that her sleep quality was much poorer the nights she imbibed. Once she received this prompt—her sleep score—she adjusted her behavior.

When you highlight important data, the right choices become clearer.

When it comes to changing behaviours, sometimes all it takes is one key piece of data. As they say, “Once you see it, you can’t un-see it.”

(PN’s CEO Tim Jones used the feedback he got from various lifestyle trackers to finally reduce his genetically high cholesterol levels—and built a richer, more meaningful life in the process. Read more: How This Guy Cut His Cholesterol in Half Without Drugs)

Bad omen: Data collection is decreasing motivation or ability.

When Jan, an avid recreational cyclist, found out he could view—then demolish—the records set on local biking trails, he set to work. But as those records were destroyed, so too was his ability to ride for enjoyment. His focus on speed left him under-recovered and eventually led to burnout.

If workouts have become more about the numbers and less about technique, experience, or even enjoyment, tracking is likely no longer helpful.

Sign #3: Tracking is helping you understand yourself better.

The harder you work, the better your results.

Right?

Not necessarily.

This belief tends to get grinders like Zak into trouble because they think they’re making progress—but really they’re just getting in their own way, even inhibiting performance and recovery.

Meanwhile, there are also many people who chronically underestimate their effort and capacity, and would benefit from turning up the heat. Here, data can help us more accurately understand our own potential.

Let’s look at high-intensity interval training (HIIT) as an example. HIIT workouts alternate fixed periods of intense effort with fixed periods of rest. However, these fixed periods of rest are just estimates of recovery times.

Heart rate data can create a more individualized picture of actual recovery needs, which may be faster or slower than you expect.

Sometimes, the mind says yes but the heart says not quite yet.

A good coach does more than just simply ask for more. They also help keep clients out of the unproductive “junk volume” zone, where fatigue accumulates but performance doesn’t improve (and maybe even worsens).

By looking at real-time metrics of output, fatigue, and recovery, you can better understand yourself and your clients, and help keep everyone training and recovering efficiently.

Bad omen: Over-reliance on data is making you lose touch with your own senses.

When you become overly reliant on data, you risk losing touch with your own sense of how you feel, whether that’s hunger and fullness levels, energy and fatigue, or something else.

A relevant example is “The Great My Fitness Pal Blackout.”

In January of 2019, the calorie-tracking app (with a reported 200 million subscribers!) went down for a day. Pretty minor—unless you happened to be tracking your macro and caloric intake and waiting for the app to tell you exactly how much you could eat that day… which I was.

When the app wouldn’t load, I recognized the mild panic I felt was unhelpful. My overreliance on the app had disconnected me from my own internal signals, and without it, I felt adrift. Since then, I’ve shifted my focus to how energetic I feel and one of the oldest tracking technologies available: the mirror.

(If you feel like you’re lost without your besties—your phone and your apps—there’s a name for that. There are also ways to develop a healthier relationship with your tech. Read more: What is nomophobia?)

3 ways to use fitness trackers to help you make more accurate self-assessments

Before we get to how to do the above, let’s talk about why assessing things by feel can be so important.

Whether it’s body fat percentage or movement speed, even supremely motivated and capable clients will experience diminishing objective results from their training.

The scale stops dropping, the number of plates you’re able to load on the bar plateaus, or—gasp—your race time even regresses.

Motivation based purely on progress or other extrinsic goals⁶ will fall away during these times.

However, exercisers who focus on feelings of mindfulness⁷, mastery, meaning⁸, and success⁹ develop a more resilient practice. They also enjoy the process more, whether that’s the process of running, lifting, winding down for a good night’s sleep, or just enjoying a meal.

So, although objective data can provide essential feedback and guidance, you’ll only reap the full benefits of your practice—that is, enjoyment and results—if you maintain connection with your felt experience.

And good news: You can actually use fitness trackers to calibrate and even improve your ability to accurately sense what’s happening in your body.

Here are three ways to do it.

1. Check in with yourself before you check the data.

Can you imagine asking someone how their vacation was and then waiting for them to look at their photos to be able to answer? That’s what it’s like when you rely purely on external data about your own experience.

Whatever the metric—how far you biked, how many calories you consumed, or how fast your heart was beating—the simplest way to work mindfully with tracker data is to pause, breathe, and then tune into the powerful (if not always accurate) prediction-making powers of your brain.

Once you’ve checked in with yourself, you can calibrate your self-assessment by comparing the detailed (if not always accurate) outputs of your fitness tracker.

Over time, you may be able to narrow the gap between two.

(Note: Don’t forget to regularly update your app. Algorithms and data sets are regularly adjusted for better predictive accuracy.)

2. Develop mental shortcuts that can occasionally stand in for objective measures.

The coaches I work with regularly ask people to estimate the boundaries of their strength (such as how many reps they can do at a given weight until failure).

Novices are often terrible at estimating this—and regularly off the mark by five or more reps. However, the use of objective trackers can help calibrate their understanding, and most people can reduce their margin of error dramatically.

In theory, you might use fancy tools like accelerometers or blood lactate measurements, but our coaches just ask, “For a million dollars a rep, how many more reps do you think you could do?”

Though there’s nothing objective about this question, most clients are able to use the prompt as a kind of shortcut to understand maximal effort. (After all, that last rep may be worth seven figures!)

The question also leverages the rate of perceived exertion (RPE)—your perception of how hard you’re working—which is one of the most validated sensory-driven approaches.

Not everyone is automatically good at estimating RPE, but most people can improve their skills by mapping their felt experience with occasional calibration with objective data.

3. Keep developing your ability to dial into your senses.

Trackers have components like accelerometers, GPS, and gyroscopes to sense data about speed, distance, and more.

But humans are no slouches either.

We have…

• Mechanoreceptors that respond to pressure, vibration, and the joint angles change
• A vestibular system that monitors balance and angle changes
• Proprioceptors that clock the speed and rate of length-change of muscle spindles
• Thermoreceptors that register register warming or cooling
• Chemoreceptors that detect chemical changes, such as scent or taste, as well as changes in the bloodstream
• Nociceptors—part of the body’s alarm system—that sense threat and send signals of potential harm or distress

And that’s only a partial list.

You have access to an incredibly rich network of sensory information—something that technology cannot begin to touch.

All of this information is fed into the powerful pattern-recognition machine of your nervous system.

To continue honing your ability to use this rich network of sensory information, regularly check in with what and how you’re feeling.

When you learn to calibrate your own senses with objective data, you can leverage all the cool advances in wearable tech—while still keeping your own experience front and centre.

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References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post How to use fitness trackers to enhance performance and wellbeing—without losing touch with yourself appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

While our ancestors relied on their senses to assess how they were doing, increasingly, we rely on gadgets.

Today, if you’re curious enough, you can measure your heart rate, your step count, your exercise intensity, and your sleep quality—sometimes all on one sleek device.

In the best cases, these devices offer a bridge between what you subjectively feel and what you can objectively measure.

This is generally a really cool and amazing thing.

Our subjective feelings and assessments matter, but they’re not always the most reliable. Us humans just aren’t particularly skilled at quantifying our experiences and behaviors with cold precision.

Take, for example, a colleague of mine. He believed he was eating within a narrow caloric window, but after careful tracking, he learned that he was putting away a bonus 500 Calories a day—in barbecue sauce.

That said, some of us are better than others.

Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter, was reported to have been able to call out his 100 metre time within a tenth of a second of the stopwatch readout.¹

That’s outlier performance, to be clear, but it still makes you wonder:

How good are you at assessing yourself?

And, how can you improve your accuracy through the wise use of technology—like fitness trackers—to help you make better decisions about your health?

In the following article, we’ll tackle the above, plus we’ll address:

• How accurate are data trackers in the first place?
• When is tracking helpful? (And when is it not?)
• Can you train yourself to more accurately assess things by feel?

Let’s get into it.

First, how accurate are data trackers anyway?

Not all data is created equal.

Some brands produce better products than others. This is not just hardware but also the quality of their software and datasets.

Beyond that, not all things are equally easy to quantity.

For example, heart rate and step-count data are generally reliable,² but many other types of outputs—from calories burned to movement velocity—have substantial margins for error.

The below chart shows the reliability of various tracking devices.

(If you’re curious, we cover the accuracy of various progress indicators in more detail here: Are Fitness Trackers Worth It?)

Next, when is tracking actually helpful?

The good: Tracking devices offer us more data about our behaviors and bodies than ever before.

The bad: Tracking devices offer us more data about our behaviors and bodies than ever before.

“What’s really remarkable,” says Samantha Kleinberg, a computer scientist who studies decision-making, “is that even a tiny amount of surplus information has a big negative effect on our decision-making.”³

That’s the paradox of tracking: Too little detail makes it tough to make the right decision, but so does too much.

This can be expressed as an inverted U, with the sweet spot at the top of the curve.

Today, it’s surprisingly easy to have too much information.

Consider the analysis paralysis you feel after scanning hundreds of reviews from the various taco places in your neighborhood. (All you wanted was a decent el pastor, but now you don’t know which taqueria to pick!)

Finding just enough information to make good decisions is an art form—especially in the world of health and fitness, where it seems like everyone is trying to outdo each other when it comes to providing more science, more customization, and more complexity.

But when all that information starts to blur together with no clear path forward, what should you do?

For starters, you can ask yourself a simple question:

Does tracking increase my wellbeing and performance?

If the answer is a clear yes or no, you know what to do. (Either continue tracking as you were, or drop the gadget and walk away.)

If you’re a little fuzzy, here are three signs to watch for to help you determine if tracking is helpful—or not.

Sign #1: Tracking is decreasing your stress and validating your method(s).

When Zak’s coach raved about the benefits of zone 2 cardio, it sounded logical. But when the rubber on his running shoes hit the road, Zak second-guessed everything. Zak prided himself on his ability to grind, and simply didn’t trust that something that felt easy could also be effective.

Yet, the data didn’t lie. As the weeks went by, Zak watched his resting heart rate drop—along with his recovery time from hard runs. With that reassurance, Zak began to relax about the process—and his resting heart rate dropped further.

Zak hadn’t trusted his feelings, but he did trust the data from his heart rate monitor.

Using a tracking device enabled Zak to calibrate his own perceptions so they were more accurate and realistic.

If you’re a coach who has a client like Zak who’s high performing but doesn’t know it, tracking can help build confidence and reduce the anxiety that they’re “not good enough.”

Here, you empower them by shining a spotlight on existing performance. Expert assurance can go a long way but can also be bolstered by reliable data.

(Recently, many people have begun using continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, in order to “optimize” their blood sugar levels. This can help “validate” certain food choices… but it can also be a waste of time. Read more: Should people without diabetes use CGMs?)

Bad omen: Tracking is increasing stress or negatively affecting performance.

Sometimes, data can stress you out without any upside—like when you receive poor scores about things beyond your control.

Take the new parent of a newborn who gets a poor sleep quality score.

Tracking has a time and a place. When scores are beyond your control or your priorities lie elsewhere, tracking can create unnecessary stress and is counterproductive.

You can always revisit tracking when circumstances or priorities change.

Sign #2: Clear feedback from data is enhancing your motivation and ability.

For a behaviour to take place, you need three things⁴:

• Motivation: A compelling reason or desire to take action toward achieving something. This can come from external sources (your spouse is urging you to quit smoking) or internal drives (you’ve always dreamed of running a marathon).
• Ability: You have a combination of skills, plus opportunities to express them. (For example, you know how to do a simple resistance training routine, and you have 20 minutes a day to execute it.) This may involve overcoming constraints like time, money, mental and/or physical effort, social pressures, and changes to routine.⁵
• Prompt: A prompt is a cue or instruction that elicits an action. (For example, when your GPS tells you to turn left, or when your restless legs “remind” you you’re due for a walk.) Critically, even with high levels of motivation and ability, you may not take action—or the right kind of action—without a prompt.

Fitness trackers shine when you’ve got plenty of motivation and ability—and just lack the prompt.

Take my client, Margaret. She used to have a glass of wine most nights, believing it helped her sleep better. Once she started wearing a sleep tracker though, she saw that her sleep quality was much poorer the nights she imbibed. Once she received this prompt—her sleep score—she adjusted her behavior.

When you highlight important data, the right choices become clearer.

When it comes to changing behaviours, sometimes all it takes is one key piece of data. As they say, “Once you see it, you can’t un-see it.”

(PN’s CEO Tim Jones used the feedback he got from various lifestyle trackers to finally reduce his genetically high cholesterol levels—and built a richer, more meaningful life in the process. Read more: How This Guy Cut His Cholesterol in Half Without Drugs)

Bad omen: Data collection is decreasing motivation or ability.

When Jan, an avid recreational cyclist, found out he could view—then demolish—the records set on local biking trails, he set to work. But as those records were destroyed, so too was his ability to ride for enjoyment. His focus on speed left him under-recovered and eventually led to burnout.

If workouts have become more about the numbers and less about technique, experience, or even enjoyment, tracking is likely no longer helpful.

Sign #3: Tracking is helping you understand yourself better.

The harder you work, the better your results.

Right?

Not necessarily.

This belief tends to get grinders like Zak into trouble because they think they’re making progress—but really they’re just getting in their own way, even inhibiting performance and recovery.

Meanwhile, there are also many people who chronically underestimate their effort and capacity, and would benefit from turning up the heat. Here, data can help us more accurately understand our own potential.

Let’s look at high-intensity interval training (HIIT) as an example. HIIT workouts alternate fixed periods of intense effort with fixed periods of rest. However, these fixed periods of rest are just estimates of recovery times.

Heart rate data can create a more individualized picture of actual recovery needs, which may be faster or slower than you expect.

Sometimes, the mind says yes but the heart says not quite yet.

A good coach does more than just simply ask for more. They also help keep clients out of the unproductive “junk volume” zone, where fatigue accumulates but performance doesn’t improve (and maybe even worsens).

By looking at real-time metrics of output, fatigue, and recovery, you can better understand yourself and your clients, and help keep everyone training and recovering efficiently.

Bad omen: Over-reliance on data is making you lose touch with your own senses.

When you become overly reliant on data, you risk losing touch with your own sense of how you feel, whether that’s hunger and fullness levels, energy and fatigue, or something else.

A relevant example is “The Great My Fitness Pal Blackout.”

In January of 2019, the calorie-tracking app (with a reported 200 million subscribers!) went down for a day. Pretty minor—unless you happened to be tracking your macro and caloric intake and waiting for the app to tell you exactly how much you could eat that day… which I was.

When the app wouldn’t load, I recognized the mild panic I felt was unhelpful. My overreliance on the app had disconnected me from my own internal signals, and without it, I felt adrift. Since then, I’ve shifted my focus to how energetic I feel and one of the oldest tracking technologies available: the mirror.

(If you feel like you’re lost without your besties—your phone and your apps—there’s a name for that. There are also ways to develop a healthier relationship with your tech. Read more: What is nomophobia?)

3 ways to use fitness trackers to help you make more accurate self-assessments

Before we get to how to do the above, let’s talk about why assessing things by feel can be so important.

Whether it’s body fat percentage or movement speed, even supremely motivated and capable clients will experience diminishing objective results from their training.

The scale stops dropping, the number of plates you’re able to load on the bar plateaus, or—gasp—your race time even regresses.

Motivation based purely on progress or other extrinsic goals⁶ will fall away during these times.

However, exercisers who focus on feelings of mindfulness⁷, mastery, meaning⁸, and success⁹ develop a more resilient practice. They also enjoy the process more, whether that’s the process of running, lifting, winding down for a good night’s sleep, or just enjoying a meal.

So, although objective data can provide essential feedback and guidance, you’ll only reap the full benefits of your practice—that is, enjoyment and results—if you maintain connection with your felt experience.

And good news: You can actually use fitness trackers to calibrate and even improve your ability to accurately sense what’s happening in your body.

Here are three ways to do it.

1. Check in with yourself before you check the data.

Can you imagine asking someone how their vacation was and then waiting for them to look at their photos to be able to answer? That’s what it’s like when you rely purely on external data about your own experience.

Whatever the metric—how far you biked, how many calories you consumed, or how fast your heart was beating—the simplest way to work mindfully with tracker data is to pause, breathe, and then tune into the powerful (if not always accurate) prediction-making powers of your brain.

Once you’ve checked in with yourself, you can calibrate your self-assessment by comparing the detailed (if not always accurate) outputs of your fitness tracker.

Over time, you may be able to narrow the gap between two.

(Note: Don’t forget to regularly update your app. Algorithms and data sets are regularly adjusted for better predictive accuracy.)

2. Develop mental shortcuts that can occasionally stand in for objective measures.

The coaches I work with regularly ask people to estimate the boundaries of their strength (such as how many reps they can do at a given weight until failure).

Novices are often terrible at estimating this—and regularly off the mark by five or more reps. However, the use of objective trackers can help calibrate their understanding, and most people can reduce their margin of error dramatically.

In theory, you might use fancy tools like accelerometers or blood lactate measurements, but our coaches just ask, “For a million dollars a rep, how many more reps do you think you could do?”

Though there’s nothing objective about this question, most clients are able to use the prompt as a kind of shortcut to understand maximal effort. (After all, that last rep may be worth seven figures!)

The question also leverages the rate of perceived exertion (RPE)—your perception of how hard you’re working—which is one of the most validated sensory-driven approaches.

Not everyone is automatically good at estimating RPE, but most people can improve their skills by mapping their felt experience with occasional calibration with objective data.

3. Keep developing your ability to dial into your senses.

Trackers have components like accelerometers, GPS, and gyroscopes to sense data about speed, distance, and more.

But humans are no slouches either.

We have…

• Mechanoreceptors that respond to pressure, vibration, and the joint angles change
• A vestibular system that monitors balance and angle changes
• Proprioceptors that clock the speed and rate of length-change of muscle spindles
• Thermoreceptors that register register warming or cooling
• Chemoreceptors that detect chemical changes, such as scent or taste, as well as changes in the bloodstream
• Nociceptors—part of the body’s alarm system—that sense threat and send signals of potential harm or distress

And that’s only a partial list.

You have access to an incredibly rich network of sensory information—something that technology cannot begin to touch.

All of this information is fed into the powerful pattern-recognition machine of your nervous system.

To continue honing your ability to use this rich network of sensory information, regularly check in with what and how you’re feeling.

When you learn to calibrate your own senses with objective data, you can leverage all the cool advances in wearable tech—while still keeping your own experience front and centre.

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If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Private: How to use fitness trackers to enhance performance and wellbeing—without losing touch with yourself appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

“I worried that if I stopped tracking macros, I would lose my physique.”

After years of careful macro tracking, Dr. Fundaro finally admitted to herself that the method no longer worked for her. Yet she was afraid to give it up.

If anyone should feel confident in their food choices, it would be Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro. After all, Dr. Fundaro has a PhD in Human Nutrition, a decade-plus of nutrition coaching experience, and six powerlifting competitions under her belt.

Yet, when she was really honest with herself, Dr. Fundaro realized that she felt far from confident around food. For years, she’d used macro counting as a way to stay “on track” with her eating.

And it worked… until it didn’t.

After years of macro tracking, Dr. Fundaro was tired of the whole thing. She was tired of making sure her macros were perfectly in balance. She was sick of not being able to just pick whatever she wanted off a menu and enjoy the meal, trusting that her health and physique wouldn’t go sideways as a result.

Yet the idea of not tracking freaked her out. Every time she quit tracking, she worried:

“What if I don’t eat enough protein, and lose all my muscle?”

“What if I overeat and gain fat?”

“What if I have no idea how to fuel myself without tracking macros? And what does that say about me as an expert in the field of nutrition?”

The more Dr. Fundaro wrestled with macro tracking, the more she wanted to find an alternative.

Something that would support her nutritional goals while also giving her a sense of freedom and peace around food.

Calorie counting wouldn’t do it. That was just as restrictive as counting macros—maybe more.

Intuitive eating didn’t seem like a good fit either. Intuitive eating relies heavily on a person’s ability to tune into internal hunger and fullness cues to guide food choices and amounts. After years of relying on external cues (like her macro targets), Dr. Fundaro didn’t feel trusting enough of her own instincts; she wanted more structure.

Meanwhile, at the gym, Dr. Fundaro began lifting based on the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale—a framework that helps individuals quantify the amount of effort they’re putting into a given movement or activity. It’s considered a valuable tool to help people train safely and effectively according to their ability and goals. (More on that soon.)

While using the RPE scale in her training, Dr. Fundaro found she was both getting stronger and recovering better. There was something to this combination of structure and intuition that just worked.

And then, it dawned on Dr. Fundaro like the apple hit Sir Isaac Newton on the head:

If Rate of Perceived Exertion could help her train better, couldn’t a similar framework help her eat better?

With that, the RPE-Eating Scale was born.

Dr. Fundaro has since used this alternative method to help herself and her clients regain confidence and self-trust around food; improve nutritional awareness and competence; and free themselves from food tracking.

(Yup, Dr. Fundaro finally trusts her eating choices—no macro tracker in sight.)

In this article, you’ll learn how she did it, plus:

• What the RPE-Eating scale is
• How to practice RPE-Eating
• How to use RPE-Eating for weight loss or gain
• Whether RPE-Eating is right for you or your clients
• What to keep in mind if you’re skeptical of the concept

What is RPE-Eating?

Invented by Gunnar Borg in the 1960’s, Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a scale that’s used to measure an individual’s perceived level of effort or exertion during exercise.

Though Borg’s RPE uses a scale that goes from 6 to 20, many modern scales use a 0 to 10 range (which is the range that Dr. Fundaro adapted for her RPE-Eating scale).

Here’s the RPE scale used in fitness.

Rating	Perceived Exertion Level
0	No exertion, at rest
1	Very light
2-3	Light
4-5	Moderate, somewhat hard
6-7	High, vigorous
8-9	Very hard
10	Maximum effort, highest possible

Originally used in physiotherapy settings, the scale is now frequently used in fitness training.

For example, powerlifters might use it to choose how heavy they want to go during a training session. Or, pregnant women might use it to ensure they aren’t over-exerting themselves during a fitness class or strength training session.

Because human experience is highly subjective and individual, the scale allows the exerciser to judge how hard they’re working for themselves. A coach can provide a general guideline, such as “aim for a 7/10 this set,” but it’s up to the client to determine exactly what that means for them.

Dr. Fundaro had used the scale many times with herself, and clients. She always appreciated the sense of autonomy it gave her clients, while still providing some structure.

So, she decided to take the same 1-10 scale and its principles, and apply it to eating.

Here’s what the RPE-Eating Scale looks like:

The goal with RPE-Eating is similar to RPE when training: Develop the skills to determine what is sufficient for you, without having to rely on other external metrics (such as apps or trackers).

How to practice RPE-Eating

If you’ve ever practiced RPE-training, you’ll know it takes some time to get used to. RPE-Eating is the same.

Don’t expect to be in lockstep with all of your body’s internal cues at first, especially if you’ve been ignoring them for a long time.

With this in mind, apply the steps below to practice the RPE-Eating process.

Step #1: Get clear on your goals.

RPE-Eating is not just another diet.

“It’s not about aiming to change your body,” Dr. Fundaro explains. “It’s not about feeling more control over your diet. Nor is it about feeling like you’re eating the ‘optimal’ diet.”

If your priority is maintaining a specific physique (such as staying ultra lean) or changing your body (building muscle or losing fat), this method can be adapted for that, though it isn’t the most efficient one to use.

Instead, RPE-Eating is about sensing into what your body needs and giving yourself appropriate nourishment—while building inner trust and confidence along the way.

“You have to trust that you’ll be able to nourish your body, and that you’ll be okay even though things may change in your body,” says Dr. Fundaro.

Admittedly, this can be challenging to do. It can also be difficult to let go of the expectation that you’ll hit the “right” macros at every meal—which RPE-Eating isn’t specifically designed to do.

However, if your goal is to build more self-trust, RPE-Eating can be a great tool to help you do that.

Step #2: Practice identifying your hunger cues

Before we explore this step, let’s distinguish between two motivators for eating.

First, there’s hunger. Hunger occurs when physical cues in your body (like a general sense of emptiness or rumbling in your stomach, or lightheadedness) tells you that you require energy—known to us mortals as food.

Then, there’s appetite. Appetite is our desire or interest in eating. It can stay peaked even after hunger is quelled, especially if something looks or tastes especially delicious—like a warm, gooey cookie offered after dinner that you feel you have to try, even though you’re technically full.

While it’s normal to eat for both hunger and appetite drives, the two can become mixed up. Especially if we have a history of dieting and tracking food.

The RPE-Eating scale helps you tap back into those true physical hunger cues, and learn the difference between hunger and appetite.

To put this in practice, try this before your next meal:

Using the RPE-Eating scale mentioned above, identify your current level of hunger. Record the number on paper or the notes app on your phone.

Then, eat your meal with as much presence as possible. (Note: This in itself takes practice. It can help to limit distractions, such as eating at the table rather than in front of the TV, and focusing on the flavors and textures of the food you’re eating, and how you feel eating it.)

About halfway through the meal, check in again. Based on the scale, how hungry are you now? As before, record the number.

If you’re still hungry, finish your meal. When you’re finished, repeat the same process, writing down where you are on the scale.

Once you’re done, take a minute and tune into what your body feels like. What does it feel like to be full? “Download” that feeling into your mind and internalize it in your body, as if you’re updating your phone with the latest software.

Repeat this for as many meals as you can. Aim to do it for one meal a day for a week or so, or for as long as feels good to you. Don’t worry if you forget: simply repeat the practice when you can.

The more you practice this, the better you’ll become at being attuned with your actual hunger cues. With time, you’ll likely find you develop more trust in your internal compass than what the latest diet tracker says for your needs.

(For more on fully-tuned-in, mindful eating, read: The benefits of slow eating.)

Step #3: Get to know your non-hunger triggers

Have you ever come home after a super stressful day and you’ve basically thrown yourself onto a bag of chips or a carton of ice cream?

We might like to imagine ourselves eating every meal mindfully, using the RPE- Eating system to a tee, but life rarely works like that.

Chances are, there are certain situations that trigger you to eat more quickly, mindlessly, and beyond the point of hunger.

That’s okay.

Dr. Fundaro’s suggestion? Aim to become more aware of the situations that cause you to overeat in the first place.

To do this, you can practice something we use in PN Coaching: Notice and name.

When you find yourself scarfing down food faster than you can blink, simply try to notice what’s going on.

Can you name a feeling—such as anxiety, or sadness?

Can you identify a situation or moment that happened before you started eating—say, an argument with your teenager, or a nasty email from your boss?

Once you’ve identified the feeling, event, or person that’s triggered you to eat compulsively, see if you can also identify what you might really be needing or desiring.

Eating for comfort is normal. However, if it’s the only coping method we have, it can cause more problems than it solves in the long run.

When you find yourself with an urge to eat mindlessly, consider what non-food coping mechanisms might help you feel better. That could be 10 minutes away from your computer to close your eyes and breathe, a walk outside, or a quick call to a friend to rant—or just talk about something completely unrelated.

Getting to know your non-hunger eating triggers—plus widening your repertoire of self-soothing methods—is just as valuable as getting to know your hunger cues. Over time, this awareness will allow you to eat with more intention.

Step #4: Eat for satiety AND satisfaction

Even when you’re “adequately fueled” from a physical perspective, you might still feel unsatisfied from an emotional perspective.

That’s because, according to the RPE-Eating framework, eating should fulfill two criteria:

Satiety describes the physical sensation of being full; your calorie or fuel needs are met.

Satisfaction describes a more holistic feeling of being nourished; your calorie needs are met, but your meal also felt pleasurable.

If you ate to satiety only, your calorie needs might be met and your physical hunger quelled, but you might still feel unsatisfied—maybe because chocolate is on your “don’t” list, and even though you’ve eaten everything else in your kitchen that isn’t chocolate, nothing quite “hit the spot.”

In other words, you can eat to satiety at every meal, yet still be “restricting” foods.

You may not be restricting calories per se, but you may have banned entire food groups—baked goods, pizza, or whatever else curls your toes. This can lead to a feeling of constantly needing to police yourself, and doesn’t leave much room for the flexibility and spontaneity that real-life (enjoyable) eating requires.

(Plus, avoiding particular foods tends to work like a pendulum: restrict now; binge later. If you want to learn how to stop those wild swings, read: How to eat junk food: A guide for conflicted humans)

Satisfaction is a key part of eating.

After all, humans don’t just eat for adequate nutrients and energy. We eat for other reasons too: pleasure, novelty, tradition, community, enjoyment.

So, to take your RPE-Eating to the next level, Dr. Fundaro recommends trying it with meals and foods you genuinely enjoy.

If any foods or meals have been “off-limits,” try eating them using the RPE technique. (Macaroni and cheese, anyone?)

Practice using the scale with a variety of meals (including those you may have restricted previously), and notice how you feel over time.

With experience, you’ll get to know what it feels like to adequately fuel yourself with a variety of foods—including those you genuinely enjoy.

How to use RPE- Eating for weight loss or weight gain

According to Dr. Fundaro, the best way to use RPE-Eating is in a weight-neutral setting.

While it could be used for weight modification, she doesn’t recommend treating it as another way to hit your macros or “goal weight.”

“I’m not anti-weight modification,” Dr. Fundaro explains. “I’m pro safe weight modification. I compare weight loss to contact sports. There are inherent risks but they can be mitigated through best practices.”

Dr. Fundaro elaborates: “Since RPE-Eating removes macro-tracking, which can increase risk of disordered eating in some people, and relies on biofeedback and non-hunger triggers, RPE-Eating provides a safety net that macro-tracking alone doesn’t provide.”

But if you do want to use RPE-Eating for intentional weight change, what should you do?

Dr. Fundaro recommends aiming to hover around the ranges that support your goal.

(As a reminder, a 1 to 3 on the RPE-Eating scale is categorized as “inadequate fuel; a 4 to 7 is categorized as “adequate fuel”; and a 8 to 10 is categorized as “excess fuel.”)

If the goal is weight gain, you’ll likely aim to eat within the 7 to 8 range for most of your meals.

If the goal is weight loss, you’ll likely aim to eat within the 4 to 5 range for most of your meals.

A key thing to remember is that you would never use RPE-Eating for extreme weight-modification such as for a bodybuilding competition. “That would be like using physio exercises to prepare for a powerlifting competition.” In other words, it’s not the right tool for the job.

Hold up, bro: Isn’t this just feelings over facts?

If you’re skeptical and think this is just eating “based on your feelings,” keep in mind that RPE was once laughed at by lifters, too.

These days, RPE and autoregulation are widely accepted in gym culture and have been studied as a valid method for managing and guiding your training. ¹

RPE isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty accurate and incredibly convenient. A lot more convenient than, say, using a velocity loss tracker for every set. ^{2 3}

And while it might seem like it’s all feelings-based, the RPE scale is actually built around practicing the skill of interoceptive awareness—the awareness of internal sensations in your body.

The better you get at the skill of interoceptive awareness, the more you’ll be able to use that awareness to make informed decisions about your training.

RPE-Eating is similar: It builds the skill of sensing into your own body, and lets your internal sensations guide your decisions.

Similar to how the bar slowing down on a squat would indicate you’re getting closer to failure, experiencing the absence of hunger at the end of your meal would indicate you’re closer to being full.

Instead of tracking your glucose levels to validate your perceived hunger, you use internal cues that correlate with lowered blood sugar and coincide with hunger.

And, let’s be real: Being mindful of stomach grumbling or general hunger pangs is much more convenient and accessible than tracking glucose readings.

This process will not be perfect. You may undereat or overeat at first. But over time, with practice, you’ll build the core skills of RPE-Eating.

Are there downsides to RPE-Eating?

While this tool can be helpful, it’s just a tool. A screwdriver is great, but it isn’t useful when you need a hammer.

RPE-Eating can be great for helping you become more aware of your internal hunger cues and build a better relationship with food along the way.

It can also be more laborious. It requires paying real attention to your feelings (physical and emotional), and reflecting on them.

This can be difficult for anyone—but especially people who aren’t able to sit at the table and have a leisurely meal, like parents with small kids, or people with work schedules that require eating on-the-go.

If this is you, just use RPE-Eating when it does work for you—or simply pick and choose specific steps to use in isolation. For example, maybe you try RPE-Eating on the occasional quiet lunch break. Or, maybe you focus solely on developing your awareness of hunger and fullness cues, without trying to change anything else.

If you’ve been tracking macros for a long time, it can be hard to stop.

Tracking macros isn’t inherently bad. It can actually be a helpful tool to teach you more about nutrition. But it’s also not something most people want to do for the rest of their lives.

The problem is, if you’ve depended on tracking your food intake, stopping can feel scary.

In these cases, RPE-Eating can be used as a kind of off-ramp to help transition away from rigid and restrictive macro tracking.

(It can also help loosen the compulsion to “always finish your plate.” Though macros tracking and habitual plate-cleaning may sound different, they’re actually similar: both rely on external cues—such as macro targets or what’s served on your plate—to determine when you’re “done.”)

RPE-Eating won’t take away all the scary feelings that may come with changing ingrained ways of eating.

However, it can provide some structure and language to help you, or your clients, eat with less fear, less stress, and a bit more confidence.

“The goal,” says Dr. Fundaro, “is to know that you’re nourishing yourself—and you don’t need a food tracker to do that.”

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The post How to stop tracking macros and trust yourself around food appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

“I worried that if I stopped tracking macros, I would lose my physique.”

After years of careful macro tracking, Dr. Fundaro finally admitted to herself that the method no longer worked for her. Yet she was afraid to give it up.

If anyone should feel confident in their food choices, it would be Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro. After all, Dr. Fundaro has a PhD in Human Nutrition, a decade-plus of nutrition coaching experience, and six powerlifting competitions under her belt.

Yet, when she was really honest with herself, Dr. Fundaro realized that she felt far from confident around food. For years, she’d used macro counting as a way to stay “on track” with her eating.

And it worked… until it didn’t.

After years of macro tracking, Dr. Fundaro was tired of the whole thing. She was tired of making sure her macros were perfectly in balance. She was sick of not being able to just pick whatever she wanted off a menu and enjoy the meal, trusting that her health and physique wouldn’t go sideways as a result.

Yet the idea of not tracking freaked her out. Every time she quit tracking, she worried:

“What if I don’t eat enough protein, and lose all my muscle?”

“What if I overeat and gain fat?”

“What if I have no idea how to fuel myself without tracking macros? And what does that say about me as an expert in the field of nutrition?”

The more Dr. Fundaro wrestled with macro tracking, the more she wanted to find an alternative.

Something that would support her nutritional goals while also giving her a sense of freedom and peace around food.

Calorie counting wouldn’t do it. That was just as restrictive as counting macros—maybe more.

Intuitive eating didn’t seem like a good fit either. Intuitive eating relies heavily on a person’s ability to tune into internal hunger and fullness cues to guide food choices and amounts. After years of relying on external cues (like her macro targets), Dr. Fundaro didn’t feel trusting enough of her own instincts; she wanted more structure.

Meanwhile, at the gym, Dr. Fundaro began lifting based on the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale—a framework that helps individuals quantify the amount of effort they’re putting into a given movement or activity. It’s considered a valuable tool to help people train safely and effectively according to their ability and goals. (More on that soon.)

While using the RPE scale in her training, Dr. Fundaro found she was both getting stronger and recovering better. There was something to this combination of structure and intuition that just worked.

And then, it dawned on Dr. Fundaro like the apple hit Sir Isaac Newton on the head:

If Rate of Perceived Exertion could help her train better, couldn’t a similar framework help her eat better?

With that, the RPE-Eating Scale was born.

Dr. Fundaro has since used this alternative method to help herself and her clients regain confidence and self-trust around food; improve nutritional awareness and competence; and free themselves from food tracking.

(Yup, Dr. Fundaro finally trusts her eating choices—no macro tracker in sight.)

In this article, you’ll learn how she did it, plus:

• What the RPE-Eating scale is
• How to practice RPE-Eating
• How to use RPE-Eating for weight loss or gain
• Whether RPE-Eating is right for you or your clients
• What to keep in mind if you’re skeptical of the concept

What is RPE-Eating?

Invented by Gunnar Borg in the 1960’s, Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a scale that’s used to measure an individual’s perceived level of effort or exertion during exercise.

Though Borg’s RPE uses a scale that goes from 6 to 20, many modern scales use a 0 to 10 range (which is the range that Dr. Fundaro adapted for her RPE-Eating scale).

Here’s the RPE scale used in fitness.

Rating	Perceived Exertion Level
0	No exertion, at rest
1	Very light
2-3	Light
4-5	Moderate, somewhat hard
6-7	High, vigorous
8-9	Very hard
10	Maximum effort, highest possible

Originally used in physiotherapy settings, the scale is now frequently used in fitness training.

For example, powerlifters might use it to choose how heavy they want to go during a training session. Or, pregnant women might use it to ensure they aren’t over-exerting themselves during a fitness class or strength training session.

Because human experience is highly subjective and individual, the scale allows the exerciser to judge how hard they’re working for themselves. A coach can provide a general guideline, such as “aim for a 7/10 this set,” but it’s up to the client to determine exactly what that means for them.

Dr. Fundaro had used the scale many times with herself, and clients. She always appreciated the sense of autonomy it gave her clients, while still providing some structure.

So, she decided to take the same 1-10 scale and its principles, and apply it to eating.

Here’s what the RPE-Eating Scale looks like:

The goal with RPE-Eating is similar to RPE when training: Develop the skills to determine what is sufficient for you, without having to rely on other external metrics (such as apps or trackers).

How to practice RPE-Eating

If you’ve ever practiced RPE-training, you’ll know it takes some time to get used to. RPE-Eating is the same.

Don’t expect to be in lockstep with all of your body’s internal cues at first, especially if you’ve been ignoring them for a long time.

With this in mind, apply the steps below to practice the RPE-Eating process.

Step #1: Get clear on your goals.

RPE-Eating is not just another diet.

“It’s not about aiming to change your body,” Dr. Fundaro explains. “It’s not about feeling more control over your diet. Nor is it about feeling like you’re eating the ‘optimal’ diet.”

If your priority is maintaining a specific physique (such as staying ultra lean) or changing your body (building muscle or losing fat), this method can be adapted for that, though it isn’t the most efficient one to use.

Instead, RPE-Eating is about sensing into what your body needs and giving yourself appropriate nourishment—while building inner trust and confidence along the way.

“You have to trust that you’ll be able to nourish your body, and that you’ll be okay even though things may change in your body,” says Dr. Fundaro.

Admittedly, this can be challenging to do. It can also be difficult to let go of the expectation that you’ll hit the “right” macros at every meal—which RPE-Eating isn’t specifically designed to do.

However, if your goal is to build more self-trust, RPE-Eating can be a great tool to help you do that.

Step #2: Practice identifying your hunger cues

Before we explore this step, let’s distinguish between two motivators for eating.

First, there’s hunger. Hunger occurs when physical cues in your body (like a general sense of emptiness or rumbling in your stomach, or lightheadedness) tells you that you require energy—known to us mortals as food.

Then, there’s appetite. Appetite is our desire or interest in eating. It can stay peaked even after hunger is quelled, especially if something looks or tastes especially delicious—like a warm, gooey cookie offered after dinner that you feel you have to try, even though you’re technically full.

While it’s normal to eat for both hunger and appetite drives, the two can become mixed up. Especially if we have a history of dieting and tracking food.

The RPE-Eating scale helps you tap back into those true physical hunger cues, and learn the difference between hunger and appetite.

To put this in practice, try this before your next meal:

Using the RPE-Eating scale mentioned above, identify your current level of hunger. Record the number on paper or the notes app on your phone.

Then, eat your meal with as much presence as possible. (Note: This in itself takes practice. It can help to limit distractions, such as eating at the table rather than in front of the TV, and focusing on the flavors and textures of the food you’re eating, and how you feel eating it.)

About halfway through the meal, check in again. Based on the scale, how hungry are you now? As before, record the number.

If you’re still hungry, finish your meal. When you’re finished, repeat the same process, writing down where you are on the scale.

Once you’re done, take a minute and tune into what your body feels like. What does it feel like to be full? “Download” that feeling into your mind and internalize it in your body, as if you’re updating your phone with the latest software.

Repeat this for as many meals as you can. Aim to do it for one meal a day for a week or so, or for as long as feels good to you. Don’t worry if you forget: simply repeat the practice when you can.

The more you practice this, the better you’ll become at being attuned with your actual hunger cues. With time, you’ll likely find you develop more trust in your internal compass than what the latest diet tracker says for your needs.

(For more on fully-tuned-in, mindful eating, read: The benefits of slow eating.)

Step #3: Get to know your non-hunger triggers

Have you ever come home after a super stressful day and you’ve basically thrown yourself onto a bag of chips or a carton of ice cream?

We might like to imagine ourselves eating every meal mindfully, using the RPE- Eating system to a tee, but life rarely works like that.

Chances are, there are certain situations that trigger you to eat more quickly, mindlessly, and beyond the point of hunger.

That’s okay.

Dr. Fundaro’s suggestion? Aim to become more aware of the situations that cause you to overeat in the first place.

To do this, you can practice something we use in PN Coaching: Notice and name.

When you find yourself scarfing down food faster than you can blink, simply try to notice what’s going on.

Can you name a feeling—such as anxiety, or sadness?

Can you identify a situation or moment that happened before you started eating—say, an argument with your teenager, or a nasty email from your boss?

Once you’ve identified the feeling, event, or person that’s triggered you to eat compulsively, see if you can also identify what you might really be needing or desiring.

Eating for comfort is normal. However, if it’s the only coping method we have, it can cause more problems than it solves in the long run.

When you find yourself with an urge to eat mindlessly, consider what non-food coping mechanisms might help you feel better. That could be 10 minutes away from your computer to close your eyes and breathe, a walk outside, or a quick call to a friend to rant—or just talk about something completely unrelated.

Getting to know your non-hunger eating triggers—plus widening your repertoire of self-soothing methods—is just as valuable as getting to know your hunger cues. Over time, this awareness will allow you to eat with more intention.

Step #4: Eat for satiety AND satisfaction

Even when you’re “adequately fueled” from a physical perspective, you might still feel unsatisfied from an emotional perspective.

That’s because, according to the RPE-Eating framework, eating should fulfill two criteria:

Satiety describes the physical sensation of being full; your calorie or fuel needs are met.

Satisfaction describes a more holistic feeling of being nourished; your calorie needs are met, but your meal also felt pleasurable.

If you ate to satiety only, your calorie needs might be met and your physical hunger quelled, but you might still feel unsatisfied—maybe because chocolate is on your “don’t” list, and even though you’ve eaten everything else in your kitchen that isn’t chocolate, nothing quite “hit the spot.”

In other words, you can eat to satiety at every meal, yet still be “restricting” foods.

You may not be restricting calories per se, but you may have banned entire food groups—baked goods, pizza, or whatever else curls your toes. This can lead to a feeling of constantly needing to police yourself, and doesn’t leave much room for the flexibility and spontaneity that real-life (enjoyable) eating requires.

(Plus, avoiding particular foods tends to work like a pendulum: restrict now; binge later. If you want to learn how to stop those wild swings, read: How to eat junk food: A guide for conflicted humans)

Satisfaction is a key part of eating.

After all, humans don’t just eat for adequate nutrients and energy. We eat for other reasons too: pleasure, novelty, tradition, community, enjoyment.

So, to take your RPE-Eating to the next level, Dr. Fundaro recommends trying it with meals and foods you genuinely enjoy.

If any foods or meals have been “off-limits,” try eating them using the RPE technique. (Macaroni and cheese, anyone?)

Practice using the scale with a variety of meals (including those you may have restricted previously), and notice how you feel over time.

With experience, you’ll get to know what it feels like to adequately fuel yourself with a variety of foods—including those you genuinely enjoy.

How to use RPE- Eating for weight loss or weight gain

According to Dr. Fundaro, the best way to use RPE-Eating is in a weight-neutral setting.

While it could be used for weight modification, she doesn’t recommend treating it as another way to hit your macros or “goal weight.”

“I’m not anti-weight modification,” Dr. Fundaro explains. “I’m pro safe weight modification. I compare weight loss to contact sports. There are inherent risks but they can be mitigated through best practices.”

Dr. Fundaro elaborates: “Since RPE-Eating removes macro-tracking, which can increase risk of disordered eating in some people, and relies on biofeedback and non-hunger triggers, RPE-Eating provides a safety net that macro-tracking alone doesn’t provide.”

But if you do want to use RPE-Eating for intentional weight change, what should you do?

Dr. Fundaro recommends aiming to hover around the ranges that support your goal.

(As a reminder, a 1 to 3 on the RPE-Eating scale is categorized as “inadequate fuel; a 4 to 7 is categorized as “adequate fuel”; and a 8 to 10 is categorized as “excess fuel.”)

If the goal is weight gain, you’ll likely aim to eat within the 7 to 8 range for most of your meals.

If the goal is weight loss, you’ll likely aim to eat within the 4 to 5 range for most of your meals.

A key thing to remember is that you would never use RPE-Eating for extreme weight-modification such as for a bodybuilding competition. “That would be like using physio exercises to prepare for a powerlifting competition.” In other words, it’s not the right tool for the job.

Hold up, bro: Isn’t this just feelings over facts?

If you’re skeptical and think this is just eating “based on your feelings,” keep in mind that RPE was once laughed at by lifters, too.

These days, RPE and autoregulation are widely accepted in gym culture and have been studied as a valid method for managing and guiding your training. ¹

RPE isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty accurate and incredibly convenient. A lot more convenient than, say, using a velocity loss tracker for every set. ^{2 3}

And while it might seem like it’s all feelings-based, the RPE scale is actually built around practicing the skill of interoceptive awareness—the awareness of internal sensations in your body.

The better you get at the skill of interoceptive awareness, the more you’ll be able to use that awareness to make informed decisions about your training.

RPE-Eating is similar: It builds the skill of sensing into your own body, and lets your internal sensations guide your decisions.

Similar to how the bar slowing down on a squat would indicate you’re getting closer to failure, experiencing the absence of hunger at the end of your meal would indicate you’re closer to being full.

Instead of tracking your glucose levels to validate your perceived hunger, you use internal cues that correlate with lowered blood sugar and coincide with hunger.

And, let’s be real: Being mindful of stomach grumbling or general hunger pangs is much more convenient and accessible than tracking glucose readings.

This process will not be perfect. You may undereat or overeat at first. But over time, with practice, you’ll build the core skills of RPE-Eating.

Are there downsides to RPE-Eating?

While this tool can be helpful, it’s just a tool. A screwdriver is great, but it isn’t useful when you need a hammer.

RPE-Eating can be great for helping you become more aware of your internal hunger cues and build a better relationship with food along the way.

It can also be more laborious. It requires paying real attention to your feelings (physical and emotional), and reflecting on them.

This can be difficult for anyone—but especially people who aren’t able to sit at the table and have a leisurely meal, like parents with small kids, or people with work schedules that require eating on-the-go.

If this is you, just use RPE-Eating when it does work for you—or simply pick and choose specific steps to use in isolation. For example, maybe you try RPE-Eating on the occasional quiet lunch break. Or, maybe you focus solely on developing your awareness of hunger and fullness cues, without trying to change anything else.

If you’ve been tracking macros for a long time, it can be hard to stop.

Tracking macros isn’t inherently bad. It can actually be a helpful tool to teach you more about nutrition. But it’s also not something most people want to do for the rest of their lives.

The problem is, if you’ve depended on tracking your food intake, stopping can feel scary.

In these cases, RPE-Eating can be used as a kind of off-ramp to help transition away from rigid and restrictive macro tracking.

(It can also help loosen the compulsion to “always finish your plate.” Though macros tracking and habitual plate-cleaning may sound different, they’re actually similar: both rely on external cues—such as macro targets or what’s served on your plate—to determine when you’re “done.”)

RPE-Eating won’t take away all the scary feelings that may come with changing ingrained ways of eating.

However, it can provide some structure and language to help you, or your clients, eat with less fear, less stress, and a bit more confidence.

“The goal,” says Dr. Fundaro, “is to know that you’re nourishing yourself—and you don’t need a food tracker to do that.”

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References

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The post Private: How to stop tracking macros and trust yourself around food appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD and Helen Kollias, PhD

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It’s like my thoughts were under a pile of garbage.

On a Friday night, as my husband and I tried to figure out where to eat, a typical conversation would go like this:

Me: Do you want to go to that restaurant?

Him: What restaurant?

Me: I can’t think of the name. We’ve eaten there before. It’s that place with the peanut shells on the floor? It’s next to… You know… It’s on that road where we used to take the dog to the vet. Do you know the one I’m talking about??

It was as if certain details got lost in a pile of sludge in the deep recesses of my brain. Then, hours later, the details would escape, and I’d shout into an empty room…

“Texas Roadhouse!”

Sludginess with proper nouns is typical for people who are middle-aged and beyond.

However, what seemed to be happening to me, increasingly in my late 40s and early 50s, felt far from typical.

Not only could I never seem to spit out the names of various restaurants or people or books or movies or so many other things, but my brain was also pooping out during the workday.

I’d sit in front of my computer screen, stare at a document, and will myself to do something constructive with my fingertips. Everything seemed hazy, like those first few moments in the morning when you’re awake enough to turn off the alarm but too sleepy to do basic math.

I had my good moments, usually in the morning, when I attempted to pack eight hours of writing into the two or three hours I possessed mental clarity.

On my worst days, however, I awoke with a haze I never managed to shake. Work was a non-starter. Nor did I have enough bandwidth to read, or do much of anything, really.

I sought medical advice.

Three healthcare professionals recommended antidepressants. I tried one, and felt even worse. I tried another. I tried yet another at a higher dose. Still, I felt like a zombie. Another professional gave me a sleeping pill. It left me feeling even more drugged.

Someone tested my thyroid. There was nothing wrong with it. Nor was I anemic. I tried supplements, mushroom coffee, and just about any product with the word “think” somewhere on its label.

Finally, after nearly two years of seeing a revolving door of doctors, I made an appointment with a gynecologist for my yearly exam. I mentioned vaginal dryness. That information triggered her to ask a string of questions that had nothing to do with my undercarriage. How was my sleep? Mood? Energy levels? Was I experiencing hot flashes? How about brain fog?

“Funny you should mention brain fog,” I said in my usual hazy monotone. “I feel like I’m barely alive.”

By the end of the visit, I understood that I’d likely never had depression.

What I “had” was menopause.

My gynecologist sent me home with prescriptions for estradiol and progesterone.

Within days, it was as if someone had flipped a switch.

I could think again. I could type words again. I could follow conversations. I could work past noon.

And, for the first time in years, I could sleep more than two hours without waking.

Now, menopause isn’t a medical condition.

Nor is it a disease.

Instead, like puberty, it’s a life stage—a transitional moment to be precise.

Once you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a period, you’ve reached menopause. And from that moment onwards, you’re officially “postmenopausal.”

As women approach this transitional moment, hormone levels fluctuate and fall, triggering dozens of symptoms. Weight gain and reduced sex drive get a lot of attention.

However, during and after menopause, roughly 40 percent of women report increased irritability, mood swings, anxiety, fatigue, and trouble concentrating, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.^{1 2} As the following image shows, it’s also one of the most vulnerable times in a woman’s life to develop depression,³ particularly if they’ve struggled in the past with it before.

Before starting hormones, I often found myself sobbing for no reason. Other times, the world’s stimuli felt too… stimulating.

Normal everyday sounds—like the buzz of traffic or people at the mall—literally hurt. I was jumpy and irritable and felt anxious about situations that had never bothered me in the past, such as driving over bridges or through construction.

It’s not completely clear what drives these cognitive and emotional symptoms.

Fluctuating hormone levels likely play a role, as do typical age-related changes in the brain.

In addition, during this stage of life, women often deal with several issues that siphon cognitive capacity faster than a thirsty vampire drains a carotid.

During their 40s and 50s, for example, many women have reached the peak of their careers, with responsibilities that follow them home and keep them up at night. They may also be parenting angst-filled teens, caring for aging parents, adjusting to an empty nest, questioning their marriage, or trying to wrap their bank account around the latest statement from the college bursar or hospital billing department.

However, one of the lesser-known and talked about triggers for cognitive discontent has nothing to do with aging or life stress and everything to do with that hallmark menopausal symptom: the hot flash.

Anatomy of a hot flash

Hot flashes, which happen during the day, and night sweats, which occur at night, fall under the category of vasomotor symptoms. (The word “vasomotor” refers to the constriction or dilation of blood vessels which, in turn, can influence everything from blood pressure to sweating.)

During a hot flash or night sweat, norepinephrine and cortisol levels rise. Blood vessels dilate in an attempt to shed heat. Blood pressure and heart rate increase.

Depending on the severity of the hot flash, your skin might redden as sensations of warmth spread through your face, neck, and chest.

You might sweat, experience heart palpitations, or feel anxious, tired, or faint.⁴

It’s not entirely clear why hot flashes crop up around menopause.

According to one theory, falling estrogen levels affect the hypothalamus, the area of the brain involved in temperature regulation. The brain’s internal thermostat gets wonky and occasionally thinks your body is too hot or cold (when it’s not).

How vasomotor symptoms change the brain

For many years, experts thought of vasomotor symptoms as mere inconveniences or sources of embarrassment.

(To be honest, so did I. During all of those fruitless visits to various healthcare professionals, it never occurred to me to mention them.)

However, an increasing body of research has revealed that hot flashes may do more than make us uncomfortable or force us to change our sheets in the middle of the night.

They may also affect our blood vessels and brains—and not for the better.⁵ For this reason, an increasing number of experts now consider vasomotor symptoms to be a treatable medical condition.^{6 7 8}

Hot flashes and brain lesions

In one study, researchers asked 226 women to wear monitors that tracked when they were experiencing a hot flash. The women also underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), filled out sleep diaries, and wore smartwatches that recorded how often they woke at night.⁹

As researchers looked at the brain images obtained from women who experienced the most hot flashes, they noticed an abundance of patchy areas called whole-brain white matter intensities.

These lesions were once thought of as a typical consequence of aging. However, neuroscientists now believe that the presence of whole-brain white matter intensities is predictive of future cognitive decline.

People with an abundance of these brain lesions are twice as likely to get diagnosed with dementia and three times as likely to have a future stroke.¹⁰

The blood vessel connection

It’s thought that the increased presence of whole-brain white matter intensities may stem, in part, from changes taking place in the blood vessels that feed the brain.

A three-year study of 492 women supports that theory. It determined that women who experienced frequent hot flashes also tended to experience unhealthy changes in their blood vessels, such as an inability to dilate to accommodate increased blood flow.¹¹

Other research has linked frequent hot flashes with increases in the following:

• Thickening in the carotid arteries that supply blood to the brain, face, and neck¹²
• Body fat
• Total and LDL cholesterol
• Insulin resistance^{13 14 15 16}

The sleep connection

In addition to directly affecting the blood vessels, frequent hot flashes may also affect the brain by disturbing sleep.¹⁷

Interestingly, many women don’t necessarily know that hot flashes are disturbing their sleep.

They may instead—as I did—assume they have insomnia or sleep apnea.

That’s because night sweats aren’t always sweaty.

By the time a surge in cortisol and norepinephrine jolts a woman awake, the hotness of the flash may have dissipated. So, it can feel as if she’s repeatedly waking, over and over and over again, for no discernable reason.

These frequent awakenings may interfere with the brain’s ability to consolidate memories, metabolize toxins, and store all the names, dates, and facts one encounters daily.

It can also lead to lost connectivity in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that’s important for learning and memory.

Sleep loss also means the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in emotion, becomes more reactive, causing people to feel more easily stressed, anxious, irritable, frustrated, or enraged.^{18 19}

All of these brain changes can set in after just days to a week of lost sleep. So, imagine what happens when you’ve been waking over and over again—for years.

Why it can be hard to get help

To diagnose depression, healthcare professionals use a tool called the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression scale. If you check off four of the nine symptoms on the scale, you’re considered depressed.

However, four of the symptoms on the checklist also overlap with the symptoms of menopause-related sleep deprivation:

• Little interest or pleasure in doing things
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Feeling tired or having little energy
• Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television

Check off those four items, and you might be diagnosed with depression, even if what’s really ailing you is the battle with sleep you’ve been waging since you turned 47.

A lack of menopause-specific training

Another problem: On surveys, 80 percent of medical residents admit they feel “barely comfortable” talking about menopause.²⁰ In addition, few residency programs—including ob-gyn residency programs—offer training in it.²¹

Given the above, it’s no wonder so many healthcare professionals never think to ask about hot flashes or sleep disturbances when people like me show up complaining of fatigue, lack of gumption, and an inability to focus.

In addition, even when it’s clear that vasomotor symptoms are leading to cognitive and emotional symptoms, many healthcare professionals still shy away from prescribing menopausal hormone therapy (also called hormone replacement therapy, or HRT), often telling women that supplemental hormones are “not safe” or “too risky.”

These professionals are practicing what Michigan-based menopause-trained gynecologist Jerrold H. Weinberg, MD, calls “defensive medicine.”

“It’s one of the first reflexes doctors have when they recommend a treatment,” says Dr. Weinberg. “They worry they’re going to get sued.”

What the research actually says about hormone therapy

These worries are based on research done several decades ago that linked the use of certain types of hormones with a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer or stroke.²²

However, according to more recent research, that small increased risk seems to depend on several other factors, such as age, dose, the type of hormonal preparation, and the duration of hormone use.^{23 24}

As long as you’re younger than 60 and have been postmenopausal for fewer than 10 years, many experts now say the benefits outweigh the risks for women with moderate to severe menopausal symptoms.²⁵

It’s also counterbalanced by health benefits such as reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or osteoporosis, says Dr. Weinberg, who confirms the health benefits of menopause hormone therapy far outweigh the risks for most women.

Because some antidepressants can lift mood, improve sleep, and reduce hot flashes, some healthcare professionals turn to them instead of menopause hormone therapy. As with any medicine, antidepressants have their own list of side effects. However, for someone practicing defensive medicine, they often seem like a safer bet, says Dr. Weinberg.^{26 27 28}

How to advocate for your health

If you or your client are on what seems like a never-ending quest to find a healthcare professional who understands menopause, use the following advice from Dr. Weinberg and Helen Kollias, PhD, an expert on physiology and molecular biology and science advisor at Precision Nutrition and Girls Gone Strong.

Seek care from a menopause-trained health professional.

Usually, these professionals list this training and interest in their bio. For example, they might list “menopause” as an area of focus.

You can also search this database for practitioners who have earned a certification from the Menopause Society.

Document your symptoms.

Write them down. That way, if you feel foggy or nervous during your appointment, you can lean on your notes.

This information can also help you judge whether MHT or another medicine is working. Based on your symptom data, you and your healthcare professional may decide to switch to a different medicine or change your dose.

Consider tracking:

• How often you get hot flashes
• The number of hours in a typical day you find yourself battling brain fog
• How often you experience fatigue, anxiety, rage, or some other symptom
• How often you wake up at night

Be as specific as you can during your appointment.

Saying something like “I don’t sleep well,” is less likely to get you the right kind of help than saying, “During the past seven days, I’ve only gotten four uninterrupted hours once. I wake, on average, five times a night. On a typical night, my longest stretch of sleep is three hours.”

If you use a smartwatch, come ready to fire up your health app, so your healthcare professional can see the data.

Talk about the pros and cons of treatment.

There’s a concept in medicine known as “shared decision-making.” Part of that process involves frank discussions about the benefits and risks of a given treatment. Then, patients and clinicians work together to make decisions based on those benefits and risks.

Many healthcare networks encourage clinicians to use shared decision-making, as it seems to reduce patient complaints as well as malpractice lawsuits.^{29 30}

For this reason, shared decision-making can help shift a healthcare professional out of the “defensive medicine” mindset.

You might ask questions like:

• “I’m interested in seeing if menopausal hormone therapy might be helpful. Could we discuss if I’m a good candidate?”
• “I’ve read that menopausal hormone therapy could slightly increase my risk of breast cancer. Could you help me understand my personal breast cancer risk based on my family history, age, body weight, and lifestyle?”
• “Osteoporosis runs in my family, as does dementia. I’ve heard that menopausal hormone therapy might help to reduce the risk for both, in addition to helping me sleep. Could you help me weigh the pros and cons?”

How to improve mental and emotional health during menopause: 9 lifestyle strategies

The lifestyle habits that improve mental and emotional health during menopause aren’t terribly different from the lifestyle habits that improve overall health—for any person, at any stage of life.

Other than avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and spicy or hot foods, there’s no special diet for people with vasomotor symptoms. (And by the way, tofu and other soy products don’t seem to help with vasomotor symptoms as much as once thought³⁰—though they’re still nutritious.)

Strategy #1: Lean into fundamental health strategies.

Healthy behaviors don’t necessarily change during middle age.

Nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, social connectedness, and a sense of purpose matter just as much during the menopausal transition as they do when we’re younger. However, these fundamentals are even more important to dial in as life progresses.

So consider:

• Are you setting aside enough time for sleep and rest?
• Are you physically active?
• Are you eating a diet that’s mostly minimally processed and full of brightly colored produce, healthy fats, lean protein, fibrous vegetables, and legumes?
• Do you regularly connect with other humans in ways that help you buffer stress and feel supported?
• Do you find ways to experience awe, joy, curiosity, peace, and purpose?

If you answered “no” to some or all of those questions, consider why that is. What’s stopping you? How might you remove barriers or shore up support to make those fundamentals easier?

Strategy #2: Experiment with creatine.

In addition to helping to blunt age- and hormone-related losses in muscle and bone mass, creatine may also help bolster mood and brain function while reducing mental fatigue.

It also seems to counter some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation. ^{32 33} Research shows a daily dose of 5 to 7 grams of creatine monohydrate is effective.

Strategy #3: Get regular about light exposure.

In addition to helping you feel alert, sunlight helps to set the internal clock in your brain that makes you sleepy at night and spunky in the morning. Morning and late afternoon light exposure seem particularly potent.

In a study of 103 people, exposure to morning sunlight predicted better sleep quality the following night. When people spent time outdoors in the mornings, they fell asleep more quickly, slept longer, and experienced fewer awakenings the following evening.³⁴

Sunlight may also improve mood and concentration.³⁵

Strategy #4: Go easier at the gym.

If you’re already worn out, long, intense exercise sessions will likely make you feel worse.

For one, injuries crop up much more easily at middle age than during our 20s and 30s. In addition, it takes longer to recover between sessions.³⁶

String too many overly zealous workouts too close together, and you’ll not only likely start to feel achy but also more irritable, tense, and tired.

However, much like a cold shower, short bursts of exercise may help you to feel alert during the day.

If you’re falling asleep at your desk, encourage yourself to take short movement breaks such as a 5- or 10-minute walk outdoors or a quick set of pushups or squats.

In addition, you may find gentle exercise—such as yoga or stretching—helps you relax before bed. Just don’t make it too intense, or you’ll trigger a release of adrenaline.

Whenever you exercise, tune into how your body feels, especially after a particularly bad night of sleep.

We’re not saying you should never exercise vigorously or try to beat your lifting PRs. However, depending on your sleep and recovery, you might want to pare things back, especially if you’ve traditionally hit the gym hard.

You can still do intense sessions—just balance them out with more moderate sessions, as well as proportionate recovery.

Depending on how you feel, you might decide to go all out, as usual.

However, you might also decide to do a zone 2 training session instead of an intense run. Or, if you’re resistance training, you might still do your planned session, but reduce the number of sets, reps, or volume lifted.

Strategy #5: Investigate Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I).

This research-based therapy for insomnia can help you develop skills and mental reframes that encourage sound sleep.

For example, a CBT-I therapist will help you develop the skill of getting up at the same time every day, regardless of how badly you slept (or didn’t sleep) the night before.

(Read more: Three CBT-I skills that can transform how you sleep.)

Strategy #6: Get real about stress.

You may not have the energy (or desire) to do everything you did when you were younger. (When you were 36, your daily checklist defied time and space.)

As a result, you might benefit from looking critically at your current responsibilities to see which ones you can shrink or downsize. For several days, track how you spend your time and bandwidth. Then, analyze your data.

Ask yourself:

• Is this how you truly want to spend your time and energy?
• Does your current schedule allow you to rest, recover, and tend to your own needs? Or, do you spend nearly all of your time and energy caring for and providing for others?
• What changes could you make to prioritize rest and recovery?

If you’re a coach, use the Wheel of Stress Assessment to help clients identify different dimensions of their life that might be draining their mental and emotional capacity. (When you know specifically where your stress is coming from, you have a better chance of resolving it.)

If it’s demands from other people that prevent you from prioritizing self-care and recovery, you might like to read: How saying “no” can seriously change your life.

Strategy #7: Experiment with cooling technology.

You might find you sleep better and experience fewer night sweats if you sleep in a cooler environment.

Try turning down the thermostat a couple of degrees, using a fan, or investing in an electric cooling mattress pad.

Strategy #8: Take frequent breaks.

When you feel the fog take over your brain, it’s not likely you’ll be doing “your best work” anyway.

So, for a block of time—say, 20 minutes—permit yourself to do nothing. You might:

• Relax with a cold beverage
• Cuddle with a pet
• Gaze out a window
• Sit outdoors while listening to the birds
• Call a friend

If you need a quick “refresh,” you can also try a 5-minute mind-body scan.

Get your body into a comfortable position. For example, you might use the yoga “legs up the wall” pose or lie down and place a pillow under your knees.

Then, close your eyes and bring your attention to physical sensations in your body. Start at your head, and work your way down to your toes.

Don’t judge or rush to change anything. Just observe, like a scientist. You can also scan your mind, for example, by noticing thoughts.

When you’ve completed the scan, consider:

• What are you feeling physically?
• What are you feeling emotionally?
• What are you thinking?

You don’t have to “do” anything with the information you uncover, just notice.

Strategy #9: Follow a diet that promotes healthy circulation.

The foods that protect the blood vessels around your heart can also protect the blood vessels in your brain.

For example, both the MIND and Mediterranean diets are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and depression.^{37 38} These eating patterns are rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, olives, beans, fish, and other minimally-processed whole foods.

In addition, nitrate-rich foods like beets and dark, leafy greens may help to dilate blood vessels, temporarily improving memory by helping more blood to reach the brain.^{39 40}

(For more on how our diet can support brain function and emotional regulation, read: Nutrition and mental health: What (and how) to eat)

The upside of menopause

It’s frustrating when you feel like you can’t do it all.

Believe me. I know.

However, this stage of life presents a hidden opportunity, forcing you to re-evaluate what’s most important.

Before going on hormones, as my ability to type coherent words and phrases diminished, I was forced to ask an important question:

Do I really need to be doing this?

It was more of an existential question than a career-related one, and it allowed me to reassess how I wanted to spend my limited mental resources.

Given that I was self-employed, I didn’t actually need to be working eight hours a day. That was a gift, wasn’t it?

Maybe I also didn’t need to cook dinner six nights out of seven. Maybe the recipes I chose could be simplified, too.

Finally, maybe saying “no” a lot more often and without regret would allow me to continue to say yes to the things that mattered most.

Things like visiting my aging parents.

And picking up the phone whenever my kid called from college.

Or meeting a friend for a meandering walk around town.

Thanks to the hormones and life tweaks, I now have energy again. I’m also clear-headed most of the time. However, I still tend to end my work day around 3 p.m.

Why?

Because I can, and I want to.

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References

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The post Menopause and mental health: The science of the menopausal brain appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

“I work with coaches and other people who know too much.”

Kate Solovieva is a former professor of psychology, a PN master coach, and PN’s director of community engagement.

And the above quote has become one of her taglines.

Though Coach Kate has coached thousands of “regular” clients, her specialty is coaching other coaches.

Through her work as an instructor with PN’s Level 2 Master Health Coaching Certification, a facilitator for PN’s private online coaching communities, and a coach in her own private practice, she gets a front-row view of all the questions and challenges both new and seasoned coaches have.

Coach Kate knows what other coaches are up to.

She’s seen the victories and the blunders of thousands of coaches, and today, she’ll share three common mistakes she sees them making.

If there’s anything Coach Kate wants, it’s to see her peers achieve wild success, so her hope with this article is to help coaches:

• Stop feeling paralyzed by insecurity and doubt—and start growing their business
• Learn to see their clients more objectively, so they can best serve their needs and goals
• Clearly identify their responsibilities as a coach (hint: they’re’ not what many coaches think they are)
• Harness their natural passion and investment in a client’s success—without burning themselves out

We’ll cover three common coaching mistakes, plus the solutions to overcome them. Let’s get into it.

Coaching mistake #1: Focusing on coaching instead of selling

Coach Kate describes a coaching business as a three-legged stool.

• There’s the coaching leg (which is your skills and knowledge as a coach),
• A selling leg (which is your ability to market and attract a flow of clients), and
• An administrative leg (which includes how clients book appointments, make payments, and other organizing tools and systems).

“The vast majority of folks who get into coaching start with the coaching leg,” says Kate.

“They want to become the best coach they can be, which is amazing. However, to become the best coach you can be, information and theory only get you so far.”

As Kate says, “You cannot become the best coach you can be in a vacuum, talking to yourself in your office.”

Which is why she suggests challenging the desire many coaches have to wait until their knowledge is “complete.”

Instead, she suggests, just start selling.

Why?

Coaches who start selling sooner also get to start coaching sooner.

Over time, they’ll have an advantage over the coaches who want to be “the BEST coach they can be” by getting 12 certifications before selling their services.

Meanwhile, the coach who “doesn’t really know what they’re doing” but has started practicing anyway will begin building their business and their coaching experience—and likely improve their odds of overall success.

Solution: Remember to show up as a COACH, not an EXPERT

There’s a natural inclination among aspiring coaches who want to do a good job to get those 12 certifications before they start coaching.

“Sometimes we hold on to this hope that we’ll get to a point where we feel confident enough at fielding any question that ever comes our way,” Kate says.

Because as every coach knows, when you start telling people what you do, they’ll have questions. And often, they’ll have questions you can’t answer, and that can feel uncomfortable… mortifying even.

(You’re supposed to be the expert, right??)

According to Coach Kate, the above belief—that you’re supposed to be an authority with all the answers—is based on an erroneous assumption.

“When I show up to a coaching conversation, my role is not ‘the expert,’” she says.

Yes, coaches have to show up to client interactions with a baseline of nutrition knowledge. (For example, if a client asks you about good sources of protein, you should be able to list some.)

But coaches don’t have to show up with a prepared lecture, or encyclopedic knowledge of nutrition minutia or biochemistry. (You don’t have to feel bad if you can’t recall the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 in flax oil, or all the steps in the Krebs cycle that produces ATP.)

Even when you know the answer, Kate suggests that not answering right away can actually be more productive.

“If a client asks you about seed oils, you can simply say, ‘That’s a great question. I can get you some information on that if you’d like, but I’m curious, why do you ask?’”

While the expert might respond with a summary of the latest research on seed oil processing and its health effects, the coach will strive to learn more about why the question is meaningful to the client.

For example, after inquiring further, you may learn that your client heard about seed oils from their friend Susan, who changed the fat sources in her diet and lost ten pounds. And the client is curious to see if they might also lose ten pounds if they eliminate seed oils.

With this kind of response, you learn more about what the client is really after (a weight loss solution), which ultimately helps direct you to more effective strategies (which probably have nothing to do with seed oils).

Takeaway nugget:

Coaches should have a firm understanding of fitness and nutrition principles.

However, clients often don’t need more information; they need coaching.

When a client asks you a question, consider whether the answer will help them take action.

If it will, offer them what you know. (If you don’t know the answer, you can simply say, “I’m happy to find more information about that for you.”)

If it won’t, consider turning their question into a coaching opportunity. Ask, “Can you tell me why you’re curious about that?” Their answers will likely lead you to a more productive conversation.

Coaching mistake #2: Assuming your clients are exactly like you

Now, maybe it sounds obvious that clients aren’t just clones of us.

That said, especially when we feel all warm and vibe-y with our clients, it can be easy to forget in the moment.

For example, maybe you’re someone who…

• Tracks macros, and feels it’s relatively simple and effective. So you assume this approach will work on most clients (even though many will find it triggering and overwhelmingly complicated).
• Coaches virtually, so your clients are all over the world. You might recommend meeting certain protein targets, without considering that in some communities, protein dense foods might either be hard to access, prohibitively expensive, or both.
• Prioritizes fitness. And for the life of you, you can’t understand why your client would skip a lunch workout because she doesn’t want to mess up her hair and makeup in the middle of a work day.

If you’re a coach, you probably went into this line of work because you value nutrition, exercise, and overall health. And often, we assume our clients hold these same values. But the truth is, that’s not always the case.

Says Kate:

“There’s nothing inherently superior about valuing your health. If you do, yes, you’ll probably experience better health and live longer. But not everyone shares those values. That’s a tough one to swallow.”

Of course, without seeing your clients for the unique people they are—with their own individual preferences, values, and goals—you may find yourself suggesting behaviors that aren’t possible for them, or striving for goals that aren’t meaningful to them.

Over time, this becomes frustrating for your clients and you: They feel like you don’t “get” them, and you feel like a “bad” coach.

Solution: Get a clear picture of the client’s baseline—and determine what actions they’re ready, willing, and able to take

The opposite of assuming (often unconsciously) that clients are like you is, well, assuming nothing.

As best as you can, check your biases and assumptions at the door, and approach each client session with an open, curious mind.

Ask questions, such as:

“What inspired you—or pushed you—to come in today?”

And:

“Why is that goal meaningful to you?”

And:

“What skills do you have today that might help you achieve your goal? What skills do you feel you might be missing?”

Listen.

Withholding assumptions can be particularly difficult when clients share some obvious similarities with you. (Perhaps they’re also a single mom, or they’re also training for a triathlon, or they’re also a cancer survivor.)

But even when clients share similar experiences or goals, their biology, social context, personal history, and many other factors can make their “similar” experiences, in fact, totally different.

Coach Kate says in these cases, you can show that you relate to them, while also inviting them to describe their own experience. She suggests using the following question:

“I know what [insert shared experience] has been like for me, but what has [insert shared experience] been like for you?”

Once you have a clear picture of a client’s values, priorities, and reasons for change, you can assess which actions they’re ready, willing, and able to take. (Again, don’t make assumptions here. Just because you find meal prep quick and easy, doesn’t mean your client will.)

If you want to go through this exercise with your client on paper, use our Ready, Willing, and Able Worksheet.

Takeaway nugget:

Remember that clients:

• Aren’t always motivated by the same things as you (for example, they might care more about their next lab test results than how they look in a swimsuit)
• Don’t always enjoy—or hate—the same things (just because you love long sessions of steady state cardio, doesn’t mean they will… or vice versa)
• Don’t always share your values (as mentioned above, not all clients value health above all else; they may instead value pleasure, spontaneity, or something else)

Get to know your unique client, their specific goals, and what actions they can realistically execute (and maybe even get excited about).

Coaching mistake #3: Getting too attached to client results

This is, actually, very natural.

“There’s a reason we go into coaching. It’s because we care and we want to help clients. We want to see them succeed,” says Coach Kate.

But caring can be a double-edged sword.

“With our clients, we carefully decide on the habits and behaviors that need to occur… And then they walk off and either do the thing or don’t do the thing. That’s brutal.”

No matter how sound and foolproof your advice is, how well-thought out your plan, how much you care, ultimately, you have no control over whether a client executes it, and gets results.

Naturally, as a coach, you might feel frustrated, even heartbroken when clients don’t do what they say they’ll do, or when they’re not seeing the outcomes they were hoping to see.

However, according to Kate, this isn’t something coaches should try to avoid completely. It’s part of the job, and it’s often a sign that your work has meaning to you. (It’s a good thing.)

“However, I think there’s a point there where we can start caring more than the client themselves,” she says.

And that’s precisely where to draw to the line.

At PN, we often say that “care units” are the currency of coaching.

Care units are how much time, energy, attention, authenticity, and true “heart” you can bring to helping, serving, and caring about your clients.

Your client also has a certain amount of care units.

How much time, energy, attention, authenticity, and “heart” can they bring to their own change and growth projects?

(Most of the time, not that much. Which is totally normal.)

Our advice: Care one care unit less than your client does.

How do you do that? One approach…

Solution: Clearly separate client and coach responsibilities

So, how do we maintain an appropriate level of emotional investment—but also help clients stay on track?

“This is where I really like to get really clear on what my role is as a coach,” Coach Kate says.

“Because if you are very, very clear on what your role is as a coach, then you can sort of go through the list, and check in with yourself: ‘Did I show up? Did I follow up? Did I coach this person to the best of my ability?’”

For example, as a coach, it’s reasonable to be responsible for:

• Providing guidelines for how to reach out (to ask questions or book appointments) as well as setting expectations for your response times
• Weekly check-ins with clients via email, text, or phone, to assess progress or troubleshoot obstacles
• “Life-proofing” a program as much as possible, by proactively discussing obstacles that could arise in the future, and brainstorming realistic, flexible solutions

Meanwhile, the client is responsible for:

• Whether or not they respond to your check-ins
• Whether or not they actually DO the agreed upon fitness, nutrition, or lifestyle practices that are likely to get them to their goal
• How much they reveal during coaching sessions (for example, whether or not they tell you if they’re struggling with stress eating, or some other issue that makes it hard to stick to the plan)

Ideally, clearly delineating these responsibilities should happen early in the coaching relationship. Some coaches prefer to have an open discussion, while others have actual contracts that outline coach deliverables and client expectations.

This early communication can also be a way of vetting coach-client “fit.”

“When I’m having that initial conversation with a prospective client, I can ask, ‘What does accountability look like to you?’ If the client replies, ‘Well, I want you to text me every morning and night, and I want you to make sure I’ve done my workout, and also ship groceries to my house,’ then I will be the one to say, ‘I don’t think this is a good fit.’”

Coach Kate says this kind of early clarity can also prevent coach-client friction in the future.

Clear boundaries and expectations at the outset means clients are less likely to be disappointed if they assumed their coach was going to “take on” more, and coaches are less likely to burn out from shouldering more than they should.

It even protects the coach-client relationship in extreme (though not uncommon) situations such as when a client “ghosts” before a paid contract is over.

“When somebody doesn’t reply to me, I don’t take it personally. It’s not their job to reply, but it is my job to check in,” Coach Kate says.

“If I don’t hear back, I just check in on Monday, and then again on Monday. And again, and again, and again—trying all the contact methods they’ve provided me—until their coaching contract is over. If we get to that point, they’ll get an email from me saying, ‘Hey, I hope everything’s okay. My door is always open. I hope you’re doing well.’”

Takeaway nugget:

Make a list—either for your own reference, or to include in a contract that new clients have to sign—of the accountabilities you have as a coach.

(Hint: These are usually specific actions, like “Text, email, or phone once a week to check in” or “Host monthly virtual lectures on various nutrition topics for group clients.”)

Make sure to have a conversation about expectations and responsibilities with all clients, ideally before beginning to work together, or at least in the first session.

Bonus mistake: Forgetting to give yourself a pat on the back

It’s maybe not the most “coach-y” way to write an article: Point out a list of your mistakes, then hand you solutions to deal with them.

But if you’ve made the above “mistakes,” we want you to hear it from us:

We’re proud of you.

If you’ve gotten sidetracked by the above, it’s likely because you really care. And that’s never going to be a mistake; it’s a strength.

That said, although these “mistakes” are completely normal, and most coaches make them, they can limit your potential as a coach, and as a business.

And we want to see you succeed.

(If you liked this article and want to learn more, listen to the full episode of the Coaches Compass podcast, where the interview with Coach Kate Solovieva was originally conducted.)

In our elite mentorship program, you’ll get personal guidance from our industry-leading coaches—and be able to confidently deliver world-class results for clients of all backgrounds, lifestyles, and needs. Join the top 1% of coaches.

“I skyrocketed my coaching skills and confidence…My impostor syndrome is gone!”
– Katya Mohsen, PN Certified Master Health Coach

If you’re ready to level up your coaching skills and feel confident you can guide any client to a lasting health transformation, we’ve got some big news for you:

In April 2025, we’ll open registration for the next cohort of the PN Master Health Coaching Certification, the industry’s most respected practice-based mentorship.

“You cannot be a health or fitness coach without having the tools and techniques that this program brings. It’s a whole different level.”
– Katya Mohsen, Lisa Bernier, PN Certified Master Health Coach

Inside the Master Health Coaching Certification, you’ll learn a skill set and be able to earn a credential that will distinguish you as an elite coach:

The ability to use behavior change psychology to help any client achieve sustainable, meaningful change. And the credential of being a Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

“This program does an absolutely phenomenal job of addressing how to affect behavior change…something that’s sorely missing in most people’s practices.”
– Jeb Stuart Johnson, Founder of Food On The Mind, PN Certified Master Health Coach

It’s the only program in the world where you’ll learn the secrets of behavior change psychology through live mentorship.

Because, while knowing the science of nutrition and fitness is important, it’s not enough. In order to actually create change, you need a deep understanding of behavior change psychology.

We’ve applied this understanding with our coaching programs to help over 150,000 clients achieve lasting health transformations—something nobody else can say.

And now, we’re ready to share our hard-earned wisdom with you.

“This program taught me how to be a better coach and retain clients longer. Before, I had clients staying for a month. Now, it’s six, nine months, even a year.”
– Jeff Grogan, PN Certified Master Health Coach

Through real-world coaching scenarios, hands-on assignments, and mentoring sessions with PN’s industry-leading Master Health Coaches, you’ll learn how to prioritize a client’s challenges, help them remove obstacles holding them back, and how to create unique, actionable coaching plans for every client, addressing their:

• Sleep
• Stress management
• Mental health
• Emotional wellbeing
• Recovery
• Diet
• Exercise

This mentorship program is where the world’s best coaches come to take the next steps in their careers.

At the end of your 20-week program, you’ll be a Master Health Coach—confident in your ability to guide any client towards a meaningful, lasting health transformation.

“I now have more knowledge, more confidence and more skill. My clients stay longer and experience better results.”
– Jonny Landels, Founder of Next Step Nutrition, PN Certified Master Health Coach

After joining, you’ll:

• Help any client achieve sustainable, meaningful change by leveraging behavior-change psychology.
• Eliminate impostor syndrome and feel more confident in your skills than ever before by integrating proven methods used by the world’s top health and well-being coaches into your coaching practice.
• Become an authority in the health and well-being space. As you learn from PN’s industry-leading coaches and network with some of the sharpest minds in the industry, you’ll build the confidence to share your expertise with anyone, anytime.
• Make more money and achieve financial freedom. Whether you decide to take on the full-time role of “health coach”, or you want to expand on your current work as a health and well-being professional, health coaching is a great way to help more people.

Enrollment is currently closed. Doors will open again in April 2025.

If you’re interested, or just want more information, you should strongly consider signing up for the free no-obligation waitlist below.

And by joining the free Waitlist, you’ll get our best price, exclusive perks, and early access when registration opens.

• Pay less than everyone else. Get our biggest discount off the general public price when you sign up for the waitlist.
• Sign up 10 days before the general public. We only open the PN Master Health Coaching Certification a few times per year. Due to high demand, we expect it to sell out fast. But when you sign up for the waitlist, we’ll give you the opportunity to register 10 days before anyone else.
• Receive our free Enrollment Packet—with success stories, details on Board Certification, info on curriculum, and much more

The post Three mistakes health coaches make—and the immediately actionable solutions to fix them appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

“I just bought a new BPA-free tupperware set.”

This comment, coming from my friend Anna, caught me off guard.

Anna’s a highly competent law professional. She’s a critical thinker and she fights in the heavyweight division when it comes to cutting through BS.

But the Anna I knew was falling into some painful traps that seemed to be bypassing her inner hawk-like skeptic.

She’s wanted to lose around 15lbs for some time now and came to me to share how stuck she was feeling in this goal.

She brought up an avenue she was exploring: the new BPA-free tupperware set.

“Interesting. What inspired you to focus on that?” I asked.

“Well, I’ve been reading about how microplastics in food containers can mess up our hormones and cause weight gain,” she said.

I squinted.

To backtrack, this is right after she told me how she’d been struggling to be consistent at the gym, had been relying on takeout too often, and had been sacrificing boring old sleep for adrenaline-inducing doom scrolling.

So I asked:

“What about trying to get more consistent with your workouts, or prepping more homemade meals during the week?”

And Anna said:

“Yeah, but I’ve tried that a thousand times. If it were that simple, it would have worked already.”

We’ve all done this before.

Ignored or delayed those hard-but-worthwhile habit changes in favor of some ultra-specific, niche magic bullet that’s supposed to “change everything.”

Spent hours of research on the ultimate, most optimal workout instead of devoting those hours to just doing the basic workout you already know how to do.

Waited to feel more inspired, motivated, or just less busy.

Why do we do this?

Buying new gear or a popular supplement feels like making progress.

Consuming YouTube videos or articles about stuff you can change feels like you’re doing something.

And waiting until the “right time” feels, well, right.

Except, nothing actually changes until we take real, consistent action.

We’re clever, us humans. And we’ve come up with lots of sneaky ways to avoid the basic, unsexy, difficult actions we need to take that actually drive change.

In this article, we’ll explore how to take an honest and compassionate look at why you might be distracting yourself from taking impactful action.

You’ll learn:

• What the most impactful health habits actually are
• Three common barriers to making sustainable progress
• A 4-step process you can apply to start taking positive, productive action
• How to keep yourself consistent—and achieve your goals

The stuff you know you should do (but probably aren’t doing consistently)

We all know what those basic, fundamental health habits are:

Exercising, ideally 30 minutes a day, putting in moderate-to-vigorous amounts of effort, with a mix of aerobic and resistance training.

Eating mostly nutritious, minimally-processed foods. If 80 percent of your diet comes from whole or minimally-processed foods, you’re doing an excellent job. (Translation: “Perfection” isn’t required; pizza can be part of a healthy diet.)

Eating enough protein to support muscle mass, appetite regulation, and body recomposition goals, if you have them. Aim for about 1.2 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (for most people, this adds up to about 4-6 palm-sized portions of lean protein per day).

Prioritizing getting seven to eight hours of quality sleep. You can’t always control how well you sleep, but having some wind-down time before bed can help, as can waking up at the same time every day.

Avoiding or at least reducing excessive consumption of alcohol or drugs, including cigarettes. No fun, we know. But it’s for a good cause.

Easily, we could add stuff like prioritizing positive, nurturing social relationships, managing stress, and probably others, but just the above list is uncommonly met.

In fact, only six percent of Americans perform all five of the following basic health behaviors:¹

• Meet physical activity recommendations
• Don’t smoke
• Consume alcohol in moderation (or not at all)
• Sleep at least seven hours
• Maintain a “normal” BMI

If you’re doing the math, that means close to 94 percent of Americans aren’t doing the basics.

Yet, these foundational behaviors also help us achieve a long list of common goals, whether that’s reaching a healthy weight, improving athletic ability, or just living a longer, healthier life.

So why do we struggle so much to do them?

Here are three common barriers we see among clients (and coaches!), plus potential solutions to overcome them.

Basics Barrier #1: You have ambition overload.

Maybe you’ve decided you want to be healthier. So you declare that, starting Monday, you’re going to exercise for an hour everyday and “eat clean” at every meal and sleep eight hours every night.

(Currently, you don’t have a regular exercise habit, don’t particularly like vegetables, and regularly stay up past midnight.)

Now, let’s be honest: You’re asking yourself to change a lot of stuff at once.

And the last time you created an elaborate plan for overhauling your life…

… Did it work?

Probably not.

(And that’s okay.)

When we feel frustrated or stuck in our current situation, making a plan filled with idealistic dreams can provide us temporary relief.

And our brain has several (normal) cognitive biases that prevent us from judging the future accurately.

We often think we’ll have more time, energy, attention, and motivation in the future than we really do.^{2 3 4 5}

There’s a powerful, instantaneous comfort that comes with overloading our future self. (Because after all, we won’t start the plan until Monday.)

The problem with this is:

Big, complex plans often don’t fit into our already busy, complex lives.

We under-estimate how many smaller tasks are hidden in the bigger plans.

When we (almost inevitably) are unable to execute these ambitious goals, we blame ourselves, our personality traits, our “willpower” or “discipline,” and build a pitiable story about how we “struggle with consistency.” Or how living this way is “impossible”.

Then, sadly, we fulfill that prophecy.

Basics Barrier #2: You think only hardcore, “industry-secret,” or “cutting-edge” stuff works.

This barrier comes from the following common belief:

“If getting healthy just took eating, sleeping, and exercising moderately well, then everyone would be healthy.”

Because everyone knows they should eat their vegetables, get seven to eight hours of sleep per night, and stay active, right?

(We’d agree.)

But let’s go back to the previously mentioned statistic:

Only 6 percent of Americans are consistently performing the most basic health and fitness behaviors.

If we add on slightly more advanced—but still very basic—behaviors like eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, optimizing protein intake, and effectively managing stress, that number would shrink significantly.

So, the first thing is to believe that these simple behaviors work. Because they do. It’s just that most people (probably close to 99 percent of us) are not doing them all simultaneously and consistently.

The second thing is to accept that these simple behaviors are a little bit boring. Because they are. Part of the reason we’re attracted to new diets or “magical” supplements is because we just want something more interesting to try.

That’s especially true if we’ve already sort of tried the “eat more vegetables” thing and it didn’t “work” for us in the way we expected.

With something new and cutting-edge, there’s also the possibility of a new outcome, a new us.

And of course, that’s incredibly appealing.

Thing is, most hardcore, “industry secret,” or “cutting edge” tools and strategies are, respectively: unsustainable, inaccessible, or ineffective (or unproven).

They’ll take your effort, your time, and often your money, but without giving you a good return on your investment—all the while distracting you from the stuff that actually works.

Basics Barrier #3: You think your efforts (and your results) have to be perfect.

Another lie in the health and fitness industry is that you have to be “perfect” to maintain great health. You know, eat only organic salads and chia seeds, be able to run a marathon, and wake up at 5 am every day to meditate and write in your gratitude journal.

The truth is, perfection definitely isn’t required.

Depending on how you look at this, this could be a relief to hear, or a disappointment.

On the one hand, it’s nice to know that you don’t have to have it “all together” to be healthy—even above-average healthy.

On the other hand, many of us pursue better health with the belief that our optimal or even “perfect” self will one day, with the right plan or routine, be attainable.

But “perfect” health is an illusion.

Humans, even exceptionally healthy ones, get sick, get weird rashes, have digestive problems, need reading glasses, get into slumps, or just otherwise have a series of bad days.

None of us are “safe” from those life events, and accepting that can feel a little… vulnerable.

It’s much more comfortable to believe that if you just take this powdered algae supplement, or follow this specific morning routine, you’ll be immune to any kind of painful human experience.

The irony is, to achieve your realistic “best self,” you probably have to accommodate your “worst self” too. You know, the one who’d rather watch another episode of Love is Blind than work out, or eat a party-size bag of Doritos and call it dinner.

Because life happens.

Work gets busy.

Or your kid goes through a “phase.”

Or it’s pie season.

Any number of obstacles, distractions, and competing demands make it impossible for perfection to be maintained with any kind of consistency.

Which is why we need to let go of the illusion that a “perfect” self exists—the one who always has the energy, will, and option to make the ideal choice—and support what our real self wants and needs.

We’ve got four steps below to help you.

4 steps to start taking effective (and realistic) action

Now that we know what’s potentially getting in the way of taking productive action, here are four steps to get unstuck.

Step #1: Explore the why before the how.

Before you (or a client) start undertaking something you want to change, it’s helpful to understand your deeper motivations first.

Do a little investigating by asking questions like:

• What about this change is important to you?
• How serious or pressing is this for you?
• Why not continue doing what you’re already doing?

You can also go through one of our favorite motivation-mining exercises, The 5 Whys.

When you know why you want to change something, and you’re clear on the consequences of not taking action, you’ll be more likely to feel that deeper, more sustaining push to keep going, even when things get tough.

Step #2: Prioritize the most effective actions.

We can do all the things!! Really!! We just can’t do all the things… all at once.

Effective change means being able to realistically:

• Identify all the tasks, trade-offs, and commitments involved
• Prioritize what matters for the results you want
• Figure out what to do first

What are the essentials in relation to your goal? Regardless of all goals, they likely include a movement practice, a nutrition practice, and/or a recovery practice.

If you want some guidance on how to select the most effective action for your goal, check out our Skills, Practices, and Daily Actions Cheat Sheet.

Here’s how to use it:

Start with the domain you’re most interested in improving (such as “Nutrition” or “Stress”).

Then, get specific about what skill within that domain you’d like to improve (for example, “Eat well intuitively”), plus the practice that most appeals to you within that skill (say, “Eat to satisfied”).

Lastly, choose a daily action from the list of examples under your chosen practice. (For example, “Record hunger and fullness levels at the start and end of meals.”)

Once you choose your action, make it work for you by following step 3, below.

Step #3: Make sure you can take action, even on your worst day.

“I like to challenge a client to set a pathetic goal. If it’s so pathetic, then obviously you can do it, right?” says Kate Solovieva, PN Super Coach and Director of Community Engagement.

Sound inspiring?

Maybe not.

But if you’ve been struggling with consistency, it’s exactly where to start.

Ask yourself:

• What can I do on my absolutely worst day where everything goes wrong? How much time, effort, or enthusiasm will I realistically have?

Five minutes of walking? 10 push-ups? One extra portion of veggies? Three conscious deep breaths before every meal? Nothing is too small; it just has to be something.

Now you’ve got your floor.

Then ask yourself:

• What can I do on my best day, when I feel on top of the world and circumstances are on my side? How much time, effort, or enthusiasm will I realistically have?

One-hour of all-out effort at the gym? Two hours of meal prep that will feed you and your family for the next three days? A 45-minute guided meditation?

This is your ceiling.

Now that you’ve identified your “floor” and your “ceiling,” you’ve defined a flexible range of actions that can adapt to your fluctuating, unpredictable, real life.

But applying this range requires a paradigm shift:

Your health habits aren’t an “on” or “off” switch; they’re on a dial.

When life is sweet and smooth, you can turn your exercise, nutrition, and sleep dials way up—if you want. Bust through your PRs at the gym, eat all the arugula, meditate like a monk.

But if life gets nuts, you don’t have to switch off completely.

Just turn the dial down a little.

The below is a visual representation of how this might work for exercise, but you can apply this same thinking to your nutrition, sleep, stress management, or whatever you’re working on.

The important part: Even if you do your “floor” or “dial level 1” action—even if it’s for days on end—it still “counts.”

You still get the gold star.

Doing the bare minimum isn’t failing.

It’s succeeding, in the context of a real, messy, beautiful life.

Step #4: Create an ecosystem that supports you.

Health and fitness professionals often forget how different their lives are from their clients.

For example, many coaches work at gyms, enjoy being physically active, and hang out with other active people. Exercising regularly is almost easier to do than not do, because, as Coach Kate says, “they’ve built a life that makes that habit seamless.”

So if you want to make your health goals more likely, Coach Kate offers this advice:

“Build an ecosystem that makes failing nearly impossible.”

When they want to make a change, many people assume that good intentions and willpower will be enough to carry them through. (And when they fail, naturally, they blame themselves for being “bad” or “weak.”)

We often forget about the context and environment that shapes our behaviors—making certain actions more likely or less likely to occur.

A recent review from Nature Reviews Psychology ranked different behavior change strategies and found that access was the number one influencer of people’s behaviors. (People who lived in neighborhoods with affordable grocers close by ate better, just like people who had to drive a long distance to the closest gym were less likely to exercise.⁶)

Not everyone can change neighborhoods, but most people have some degree of control over their more immediate environments, and can leverage this power to shape desired behaviors.

One example is the “kitchen makeover,” where you make sure foods you want to eat are washed, prepped, and at the front of the fridge, ready to eat on a whim. Meanwhile, foods that don’t support your goals get tossed, or relegated to the highest cupboard. (When you need a stepladder from the basement to reach the cookies, you might find you eat them less.)

(If you want to try it out, check out our Kitchen Set-up Assessment worksheet.)

Think about the goal you want to achieve, and the behaviors that support it. Then, evaluate how you might make small changes to your environment by:

• Using a trigger: Sometimes called a “cue” or a “prompt,” a trigger is simply a reminder to do a desired action. For example, you might block the door of your home office with a kettlebell, reminding you that, every time you leave or enter the office, you have to do ten kettlebell swings. If you’re trying to cut down on mindless phone time, you can install an app that reminds you to shut things down after 20 minutes on social media.
• Decreasing “friction”: Supermarkets put candy next to the checkout, making it easy to slip that chocolate bar into your cart while you’re standing in line, likely bored and hungry. You can be equally sneaky about encouraging positive behaviors too, such as putting fruit on your counter, ready for a quick snack, or packing your gym bag the night before, so it’s ready to grab on your way out the door before you change your mind.
• Constraining available options: Whether it’s deleting time-sucking apps off your phone, removing foods you know you lose control around from your kitchen, or heck, creating a capsule wardrobe so you waste less time in the morning getting dressed, constraint can actually free up a lot of time, brain power, and energy.

Invest your energy building the ecosystem that nudges you to make desired actions the obvious choice. This requires a little more work on the front end, but the payoff will be greater for less overall work.

Embrace C+ effort.

If you’re a perfectionist, or a former straight-A student, that line hurt to read.

(Don’t worry. This C+ won’t result in your parents telling you that they’re disappointed.)

But what all of the above barriers and solutions have in common, is that they recognize and work with our inherent imperfection.

None of us is perfect, and expecting as much often results in failure (or at best, short bursts of success, followed by a crash).

Adopt an attitude of compassion and acceptance towards your human self—who’s most likely trying their hardest—and work with your vulnerabilities, instead of constantly expecting yourself to grit your teeth against them.

There will be times you’re getting “A’s” in fitness. That’s awesome. And you also don’t need to aim for C+. Just don’t think of yourself as a failure when you have to dial it down.

Living a healthy, meaningful life means constantly striving to do our best—while also allowing for flexibility, mistakes, and bad days (or seasons).

You’ll be surprised at how much better “good enough” is than nothing. Especially in the long run.

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References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.

The post How to overcome barriers to better health appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Helen Kollias, PhD and Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

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At some point in my mid-40s, the scale started climbing.

A pound or two turned into five, then 10, then 20.

It seemed as if I was doing all the right things: Eating less, moving more, rinse, repeat. Yet, the harder I worked, the less the scale seemed to respond.

Had perimenopause destroyed my metabolism?

It sure felt like it.

However, after asking my doctor to run a series of tests, I learned that my metabolism was, in fact, fine. Instead, like the vast majority of midlife women, the true causes of my weight gain stemmed from several subtle issues that I would have sworn, at the time, didn’t apply to me.

If, like me, you or your client are currently stuck in what feels like an eat less, gain more cycle, this article is here to help.

In this story, you’ll discover:

• Several reasons women gain weight at midlife that have nothing to do with a “slower metabolism”
• Why intense exercise and strict diets can backfire after menopause
• 11 crafty ways to get a handle on midlife weight gain

First, what is menopause?

Many women refer to midlife hot flashes and inconsistent menstruation as “being in menopause” or “menopausal.”

However, menopause isn’t a phase as much as a transitional moment that separates menstruation from non-menstruation.

Once you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a period, you’ve reached menopause. For most people, that moment arrives somewhere between ages 46 and 56.

The hot-and-dewy months and years leading up to that 12th missed period are technically known as “perimenopause.” 

Perimenopause means “around menopause.”

Some people refer to this time as the menopause transition. This is when estrogen levels fluctuate. Menstrual cycles lengthen and shorten and, at times, disappear, only to return a few months later. For many people, this marks the beginning of symptoms like hot flashes, sleep issues, vaginal dryness, mood changes, and, yes, creeping weight gain.

(For a thorough overview of the many changes that can happen during this time, read: ‘What’s happening to my body!?’ 6 lifestyle strategies to try after menopause)

How much weight do women gain during menopause?

Many women think of menopause and weight gain the same way many young parents think of two-year-olds and tantrums: Inevitable.

However, not all women gain weight during the menopause transition, explains Helen Kollias, PhD, who is an expert on physiology and molecular biology, and a science advisor at Precision Nutrition and Girls Gone Strong.

On average, in the West, women gain four to six pounds during the three-and-a-half years of perimenopause, or about one to two pounds a year.^{1 2}

That’s double the rate of weight gain in pre-menopausal women, though it’s roughly the same amount men gain at midlife, notes Dr. Kollias.

In other words, the menopause transition may not be solely to blame for those extra pounds on the scale. Aging may play a significant role, as we explore below.

The real reasons the scale climbs

Several factors conspire to add pounds to your frame during the menopause transition.

You’re not sleeping as well.

Maybe this sounds familiar: You wake repeatedly with sweat pooling under your breasts and sheets that are uncomfortably damp (or soaked).

Even if you don’t have night sweats, plenty of other issues might keep you awake.

First, there’s worry—over aging parents, teenagers with car keys, money needed to replace that leaking roof, some strange bodily sensation you’re worried might be cancer, the colonoscopy or mammogram you don’t want to schedule but also don’t not want to schedule, the sex you’re not having, and so many others.

Plus, if you’re like me and you have osteoarthritis in multiple joints, your body hurts. Or your skin might itch. Or your legs are restless. Or you’re bloated.^{3 4 5 6}

My point: Problems that make sleep uncomfortable can multiply with age.

Because of this, I’ll sometimes wake four or more times a night, as the red sections of this readout from my smartwatch show.

These bad nights often set up a vicious cycle:

The following day, I feel as if I’m two inhales away from death. So, I keep myself going with caffeine, which makes the next night just as bad or worse.

Lack of sleep indirectly adds pounds to your frame in several ways:

• When you’re sleep-deprived, it’s harder to cope with negative emotions, which may mean you turn to food for solace.
• In addition, your decision-making gets compromised, so it’s harder to choose an apple when a chocolate chip cookie is also available.
• Plus, sleep deprivation intensify both appetite and cravings (which we’ll discuss more in the next section)

(Want to get a handle on some of the sleep challenges unique to this transition? Check out: How menopause affects sleep, and what you can do about it)

You’re hungry, and not for celery.

True story: When I was in my early 30s, someone once told me about her intense cravings, and I thought, “Cravings? What are those exactly?”

(Don’t hate me.)

Those days now feel foreign to me. Post-menopause, I spend most of my morning wondering how soon I can eat lunch, what I might have for lunch, whether it’s okay to have a snack now, and, if so, what it should be.

After lunch, I go on to spend the afternoon thinking about dinner.

It’s as if my appetite never flips off.

For the longest time, I thought something was wrong with my brain or metabolism.

It didn’t occur to me that the increased hunger, appetite, and cravings likely stemmed from my repeated awakenings each night.

Until I checked out the research.

In one study, people who were sleep-deprived reported higher levels of hunger and a stronger desire to eat. When provided access to snacks, they consumed twice as much fat compared to days when they weren’t sleep-deprived.⁷

In another study, when healthy, young study participants slept four hours a night, they consumed 350 more calories the following day.⁸

You’re moving less.

As humans age, we develop chronic low-grade inflammation and weakened immune function. When combined with the crummy sleep we mentioned earlier, along with other biological changes, this can interfere with the body’s ability to recover from intense exercise.

The result: If you do too many vigorous workouts too close together, you’ll start to feel run down, sore, and unmotivated.^{12 13 14}

Other issues that crop up around midlife can also interfere with movement, like chronic injuries or joint pain.

(A personal example: Due to osteoarthritis in my feet and spine, I switched from running to walking. This is easier on my body, but isn’t as efficient at burning calories.)

Finally, due to those pesky time-sucks known as full-time jobs and caregiving responsibilities, you might not be as active in your 40s and 50s as you were during your 20s. Plus, over the past few decades, multiple inventions (hello, binge-watching) have conspired to keep people on the couch and off our feet.

So, can you blame your hormones for anything?

Other than messing with your sleep which, in turn, messes with your appetite and energy levels, fluctuating estrogen and progesterone likely aren’t behind your extra pounds—at least, not directly.

If they were, menopause hormone therapy would help people stop or reverse weight gain. (It doesn’t.¹⁵⁾

However, shifting hormonal levels are responsible for where those extra pounds appear on your body. As estrogen levels drop, body fat tends to migrate away from the thighs and hips and toward the abdomen, even if you don’t gain weight

Old tactics may stop working after menopause

The “Rocky” weight loss method was my go-to when I was younger.

Whenever I wanted to drop a few pounds, I imagined I was a character in one of those “couch potato gets super fit” movies.

In addition to walking and running, I embraced the sweat-til-you-vomit workout du jour. (Remember Tae Bo?) I also cut out foods, food groups, or entire macronutrients. A couple of times a week, I skipped lunch or dinner.

It worked.

Until, of course, it didn’t.

Now, whenever I push too hard in the gym, I either get injured or feel so unbelievably tired that I must take four days off from all forms of movement. If I try to do anything extreme with my diet, I eventually eat every crunchy or sweet thing I can find, including stale crackers.

For these reasons, after midlife and beyond, the countermeasures for weight gain aren’t strict diets (looking at you, intermittent fasting) or barfy workouts.

Instead, to limit weight gain after menopause, you need to get wise about finding ways to tip calorie balance in your favor without triggering overpowering hunger, cravings, and fatigue.

Regardless of age or stage, fundamental nutrition and fitness strategies still apply—and work.

What changes after menopause is how you tackle these fundamentals.

Experiment your way to better results

The best menopause plan will look different for each person.

That’s why experiments are so important.

Precision Nutrition coaches often use experiments to help clients discover essential clues about what they need (and don’t need) to reach their goals. Based on the results you get from each experiment, you can make tiny tweaks, test them, and decide whether they work for you—until you find something that does work for you.

How to run an experiment

Health experiments are no different from the scientific method you learned about in middle school.

• Choose a question to answer, such as, “Would I feel less munchy at night if I ate a protein-rich snack every afternoon?”
• Run an experiment to test your question. In the above example, you’d track your hunger and cravings before adding the snack—to get a baseline—and then continue to track them for a couple weeks after adding the snack.
• Assess what you learned. Did your ratings of hunger and cravings drop? Remain the same? Go up? What about your actual nighttime food consumption? This information can help you determine your next steps.

Below are 11 experiments worth trying during and after menopause. We’ve separated them into three categories: sleep, hunger, and energy.

(And if those 11 options aren’t enough, we’ve got more ideas here: Three diet experiments that can change your eating habits)

Experiments for improved sleep

Below, you’ll find a mere smidge of the many sleep tweaks you can try and test. For more ideas on potential sleep experiments, check out our 14-day-sleep plan and story about cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia.

Experiment #1: Reset your body’s circadian clock

As you age, your body starts to behave like an old clock that continually runs slow.

Even if you used to be a morning person, you might wake groggy, as if your body doesn’t know it’s morning. Or, your body might tell you “time for bed” at weird times, like the middle of the afternoon. Then, after spending several hours fighting the urge to nod off during work meetings, you find that, when it actually is bedtime, you’re staring at the ceiling in the dark.

This is why it’s helpful to experiment with zeitgebers, which are environmental and behavioral time cues that help to set your body’s internal circadian clock.

These experiments might include the following:

• Get up at the same time every day, regardless of how you slept the night before.
• Spend 10-20 minutes in the sunlight as soon as possible after you wake.
• Take a cold shower at the same time each morning or a hot shower or bath at the same time each evening.
• Get outside frequently during the day, especially whenever you feel sleepy.
• Exercise at the same time daily. Try first thing in the morning or 4 to 6 hours before bed. Bonus points if you do it outdoors.
• Eat meals, especially breakfast, at the same time every day.

Experiment #2: Remove “I’m uncomfortable” from your sleep vocabulary

How you run this experiment will depend on what’s causing discomfort. We’ve listed a few possibilities below.

• If you tend to wake feeling uncomfortably hot: Experiment with cooling technology. This might range from the very affordable, such as turning the thermostat a degree or two cooler or using a fan, to the more expensive, such as cooling electric mattress pads.
• If you wake feeling bloated: If you’re constipated, try some prunes, a small daily serving of beans, a little psyllium fiber, or just extra water to get things moving. Or, you might try consuming a smaller meal or avoiding fatty foods in the evening.
• If an uncomfortable “I need to move” sensation creeps into your legs at night: Talk to your doctor about restless legs syndrome, a condition that tends to worsen with age and/or iron deficiency. A physician may also give you ideas to cope if itchy skin or joint pain is keeping you up.

Experiment #3: Time caffeine strategically

We know we’re almost picking a fight with this suggestion. However, it’s worth investigating, especially if you consume caffeine in the afternoon or evening.

If you’re like most people, it will take your body about five hours to clear half the caffeine from your system. That means about half of your 4 p.m. latte is still energizing your system at 9 p.m.

But here’s the thing: Some people metabolize caffeine much more slowly than others, taking roughly twice as long to clear it from their bloodstream.¹⁶

Interestingly, even if you had no issues with caffeine when you were younger, you might have issues now, as caffeine clearance tends to slow over time.¹⁷

To see if caffeine is a problem, you’ve got a couple of options.

• Try slowly shifting your consumption earlier by 30 to 60 minutes. (If you usually have your last coffee at 4 p.m., cut yourself off at 3 p.m., then 2 p.m., then 1 p.m., then noon.)
• Switch to a lower caffeine source. (Try a bean blend that’s half decaffeinated. Or, you could switch to a lower-caffeine beverage such as green tea or maté.)

(Yet more solutions to common problems: The five top reasons you can’t sleep)

Experiments to reign in hunger

The tactics below likely won’t surprise you. After all, they form the bedrock for solid nutrition and good overall health.

However, before you disregard them with a “been there, done that!” consider: How many of the below are you actually doing consistently?

Experiment #1: Add a protein serving

It may seem counterintuitive to add a serving of food to your meals when you’re trying to eat less.

However, this one tactic may help reign in appetite and hunger.

Protein takes longer to digest than does carbohydrate or fat, so it helps you feel full and satisfied for longer.

In addition, you may find, as I did, that you’re not consuming anywhere near as much protein as you think. (Find out how much you need here: ‘How much protein should I eat?’ Choose the right amount for fat loss, muscle, and health)

Try one or both of the following:

• Consume at least 1 to 2 portions of lean protein at every single meal
• Prioritize snacks that contain protein—hard-boiled eggs, turkey sausage links, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese—instead sweets or chips.

Experiment #2: Choose high-fiber carbohydrates over lower-fiber ones

Fibrous plant foods can help fill you up with fewer calories.

To see the difference, you might monitor how you feel after consuming a near-zero-fiber food, such as your favorite assortment of snack chips. The following day, when it’s time for the same snack or side dish, opt for something with more fiber, such as roasted nuts, a side of beans, a salad, or a piece of fruit. Notice how the fiber-rich option affects your appetite and hunger for the next few hours.

Another experiment worth trying: Include one to two portions of produce with every meal you consume. Track your sensations of hunger to see if they make a dent.

Experiment #3: Log between-meal indulgences

You may be reaching for more snacky foods and beverages than you realize.

These foods don’t need to be 100 percent off-limits; you just want to be intentional about your consumption and portion sizes.

For a couple of weeks, keep track of alcohol, sweets, and treats that you eat between intentional meals and snacks.

Review your notes at the end of each day to see if these more impulsive or less mindful eating episodes align with your memory of what and how much you consumed.

Experiment #4: Move after meals

Increased inflammation coupled with decreased muscle mass, among other factors, leads many people to become more insulin-resistant with age.¹⁸ Cells don’t respond as readily to the hormone, which means more glucose stays in the bloodstream rather than entering cells that can use it for energy.

Through a complex set of mechanisms, this can drive up hunger and overall appetite.

Consuming protein- and fiber-rich meals will help, as we mentioned earlier.

So will movement. Walking for as little as two minutes after meals can help your body process the carbohydrates you consumed, improving blood sugar levels, finds research.^{19 20}

In addition, by removing yourself from your kitchen, you create a habit that helps to psychologically shift you away from “eating” and over to “the kitchen is closed.”

Experiments for more energy

To address midlife brain fog and fatigue, you’ll want to do all you can to encourage good sleep. In addition, see if the below suggestions make a difference.

Experiment #1: Prioritize strength training over intense cardio

This was a hard lesson for me because I love intense cardio.

However, now in my 50s, if I try to fit in two weekly strength training sessions and two weekly spin sessions, I feel drugged—as if someone spiked my coffee with tranquilizers.

When my Precision Nutrition health coach suggested I dial back on the cardio for a couple of weeks, I won’t lie. I thought about firing her.

But then I took her advice and rediscovered what it felt like to be alert.

Don’t get me wrong: I still do cardio. But I’m smart about it. I now know that I can’t do everything, at peak intensity, and expect to feel rested and alert daily. There’s a balance.

Strength training is increasingly important at midlife to protect bone strength and maintain muscle mass. Aim for at least two weekly sessions. Then, fit in cardio around those sessions.

If you feel worn out, experiment with doing low- or moderate-intensity cardio (like brisk walking, slow cycling, or swimming) over higher-intensity cardio (like an hour-long spin class).

Or, if you love higher intensities, keep doing them, but shorten your duration.

Or, just save those vigorous sessions for when you got great sleep the night before.

Experiment #2: Try active recovery

Active recovery can help increase blood circulation and the removal of waste products that may have built up in your muscles during intense exercise sessions.²¹

This can include light activities such as walking, swimming, yoga, or stretching. You can also try massage, foam rolling, or a long, hot bath.

Experiment #3: Consider creatine

Lots of folks think of creatine monohydrate as something people take to get jacked.

However, more and more evidence points to creatine’s benefits for people in midlife and beyond.

The supplement may be especially helpful for muscle recovery.

In research that pooled the data from 23 studies, study participants who took creatine experienced fewer indicators of muscle damage 48 to 90 hours after intense training than participants who didn’t supplement.²²

The supplement may also help you to think clearly, especially after a bad night of sleep, finds other research.²³

Finally, by promoting cellular energy throughout the body (including the brain), creatine may help to blunt fatigue and boost mood.^{24 25}

A daily dose of three to five grams works for most people.

The winning midlife mindset

There’s one final experiment that I want to tell you about.

It has to do with embracing a mindset of acceptance.

Think back to other difficult phases of your life. For me, parenting an infant with colic comes to mind. Gosh, I was so tired back then that I likely would have forked over my entire 401k in exchange for one solid night of sleep.

However, I knew that the stage was temporary. That knowledge helped to keep me going.

Midlife can be similar.

You likely won’t weigh at 55 what you did at 25. That’s okay. However, the night sweats, brain fog, and fatigue are all fleeting. You will eventually establish a new normal.

In the meantime, see if you can accept that your body may look and feel different now. Shift your focus away from trying to look and feel like your younger self and toward consistently embracing new behaviors that will help you age with strength, vitality, and contentment.

After all, you have much more control over your behavior than the number on the scale.

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References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.

The post Weight gain and menopause: It’s not in your head (but it might not be caused by what you think) appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Denise Asafu-Adjei, M.D., MPH

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A few years back, PN co-founder John Berardi, PhD, posted a shirtless photo of himself on his 47th birthday.

He called it his “anti-regress pic” and thanked 30 years of squats, deadlifts, presses, and chin-ups—among other exercises—for his chiseled six-pack, pumped chest, and bulging biceps.

The question many commenters posed:

“Are you on testosterone?”

Dr. Berardi explained in a follow-up post that while he wasn’t against testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for people who needed it, he himself was not on this therapy, and his testosterone levels were boringly “normal.” He also offered some thought-provoking ideas about testosterone and aging.Dr. Berardi’s take is the opposite of what you generally hear, especially these days when…

• The mainstream opinion seems to be that declining testosterone is a harbinger of aging, frailty, and impotence—not to mention a threat to masculinity.
• Increasing numbers of middle-aged men are ditching traditional medical checkups for men’s-focused telehealth clinics that specialize in testosterone enhancement.¹
• Reddit communities have popped up solely to obsess over neuroscientist Andrew Huberman’s supplement recommendations for optimizing testosterone.
• Media outlets pump out story after story about “testosterone boosting” foods to eat and “testosterone lowering” foods to avoid.

Whether you’re a coach who fields the “How do I optimize testosterone?” question from clients—or just a regular dude hoping to age well—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and confused by the conflicting information.

Are declining testosterone levels normal?

Do testosterone-boosting supplement regimens actually work?

Who benefits from testosterone therapy—and who doesn’t?

In this story, we’ll explore those questions and more.

What is testosterone?

Secreted by the testes, testosterone is the sex hormone responsible for male sexual characteristics such as big muscles, deep voices, and hairy chests. It’s a chemical messenger that plays a key role in various processes throughout the body, including sperm production and bone density.

(In women, who also need testosterone to keep various processes humming, testosterone is secreted by the ovaries and adrenal glands. Their bodies just make much less of it; about 10 to 20 times less than men.)

Possibly because of its relationship with muscle growth and sex drive, a lot of cisgender men think of testosterone in binary terms, with lower testosterone being bad and higher testosterone being good.

However, it’s more accurate to think of the relationship between testosterone and health as a continuum that goes from too low (problematic) to too high (also problematic), with the healthy range falling between the two extremes, says Denise Asafu-Adjei, MD, MPH, urologist, men’s health expert, and assistant professor of urology at Loyola University Chicago-Stritch School of Medicine.

As the chart below shows, the dangers of extremely low testosterone are similar to the risks of extremely high amounts (typically only achievable with the use of anabolic steroids).

Problems associated with extremely LOW testosterone	Problems associated with extremely HIGH testosterone
Brittle bones Reduced body and facial hair Loss of muscle mass Low libido (sex drive) Shrunken testicles Erectile dysfunction Low sperm count Gynecomastia (increased breast tissue) Irritability Poor concentration Fatigue Depression	Blood clots Heart damage High blood pressure Shrunken testicles Low sperm count Enlarged prostate Acne Fluid retention Increased appetite Insomnia Headaches Irritability Mood swings Impaired judgment

Low testosterone vs. lower testosterone

Testosterone levels naturally ebb with age, with most men losing about 1 to 2 percent annually starting around age 40. By age 75, most men have 30 percent less of the hormone than they did at age 25.²

(Fun fact: Between ages 25 and 80, men can expect their testicles to shrink 15 percent.³)

However, age-related drops in testosterone are not the same thing as “low testosterone.”

Hypogonadism is the medical term for low testosterone levels, and it affects about 35 percent of men older than 45 and 30 to 50 percent of men who have obesity or type 2 diabetes, according to the Endocrine Society, one of the professional public health organizations that sets hypogonadism treatment guidelines.

Not only can overly low testosterone make you feel fatigued and do a serious number on your sex drive, but it can also harm your bone and cardiovascular health, says Dr. Asafu-Adjei.

“You need testosterone for good bone strength,” says Dr. Asafu-Adjei. “As you get older, you’re already dealing with weaker bones, so having lowered testosterone isn’t going to help.”

Alternatively, bringing levels up to normal seems to offer cardiovascular benefits, she says. (The big caveat here is up to normal—not far above it.)

The importance of referring out

What if you or your client have most of the hallmark symptoms of hypogonadism but still have blood levels of testosterone in the normal range?

“Many men over 30 who feel down or low energy will now automatically blame their testosterone,” says Dr. Asafu-Adjei. “Their symptoms might be related to testosterone, but they also could be related to not sleeping, stress, or some other factor.”

That’s why seeing a healthcare professional specializing in men’s health and testosterone management is so important.

Such a physician can screen you or your client for dozens of other problems (like stress and poor sleep) and conditions (like diabetes, obesity, or sleep apnea) that either mimic the symptoms of hypogonadism or interfere with the production or signaling of testosterone.

In other words, supplemental testosterone is the answer for some men with symptoms of hypogonadism, but not all of them. An extensive workup is required.

“There are overlapping symptoms with low testosterone as well as a lot of nuances around hormone treatment,” says Dr. Asafu-Adjei.

“For example, outside of your total testosterone, we also look at your testosterone-to-estrogen ratio and other related hormones. That’s why it’s so important to go to someone who knows what they’re doing. They’ll take a deeper dive to figure out the root of the problem.”

So, if you specialize in coaching middle-aged and older men, get a urologist or endocrinologist in your referral network.

7 evidence-based ways to optimize testosterone… naturally

On the Internet, if you look for ways to boost testosterone through lifestyle, you’ll quickly become inundated with supplement recommendations and lists of T-boosting and T-harming foods.

However, research-supported ways to optimize testosterone generally center on the fundamental dietary and lifestyle measures you’ve long heard are good for you.

They include the following:

Testosterone optimizer #1: Make sure you’re eating enough.

Your body prioritizes thinking (your brain) and movement (your muscles) above sex (your reproductive organs).

Think about it this way: If there was a famine, the last thing you’d need is another mouth to feed.

So, when you chronically burn more calories than you consume, hormone levels generally drop. (This is true in both men and women.)

“A lot of men in their 20s and 30s come to me about their low testosterone levels and their low testosterone symptoms,” says Dr. Berardi. “These are mostly guys who prioritize exercise. They work out a lot and watch what they eat. In other words, they are men experiencing mid- to long-term negative energy balance.”

Dr. Berardi’s advice is often not what men expect.

If their eating and exercise routines suggest they’re in a chronic negative energy situation, he simply recommends they eat an extra healthy snack or two a day.

“In situations like this, adding a couple hundred extra calories of high-quality protein and carbohydrate often fixes everything,” he says.

Those added calories could come from a couple scoops of whey protein mixed in milk with a nut butter and banana sandwich on the side, he says.

Another favorite snack of Dr. Berardi’s: A bowl of steel-cut oats with protein powder, cacao powder, dates, raw nuts, and nut butter.

Keep in mind: Eating too much (and gaining fat) can also affect testosterone, as we’ll cover soon. Use our FREE nutrition calculator to ensure you’re consuming the right amount of calories and nutrients to support hormone production.

Testosterone optimizer #2: Prioritize sleep.

Testosterone production has its own circadian rhythm: It’s higher in the morning and lower at the end of the day.

As you sleep, levels rise again, peaking during your first segment of rapid eye movement. This may explain why various sleep disorders—including sleep apnea—are associated with testosterone deficiency.⁷

A handful of small studies have looked at what happens to hormone levels when men skimp on sleep.⁸ In one of these studies, participants slept just five hours a night for eight days, resulting in a 10 to 15 percent drop in daytime testosterone levels. ⁹

The right amount of sleep varies from one person to another. However, if you routinely get fewer than seven hours and wake feeling exhausted, it’s a good bet you’re not getting enough. If you wake unrefreshed or struggle to sleep soundly, our 14-day sleep plan can help.

Testosterone optimizer #3: Maintain healthy body fat levels.

Body fat secretes aromatase, an enzyme that can convert some testosterone into estrogen.

According to some research, men categorized as overweight or obese tend to have slightly higher levels of estrogen, as well as the stress hormone cortisol. ^{10 11}

More research is needed to know whether these slightly higher estrogen levels are enough to contribute to hypogonadism.

In the meantime, however, a healthy body composition is vital for overall good health and may also help to optimize testosterone.

Keep in mind, as we said above, that too little body fat can also negatively affect testosterone levels. To ensure your body fat levels are in the optimal zone, use our FREE body fat calculator.

Testosterone optimizer #4: Get moving.

Regular exercise is associated with elevations in testosterone. It can also help you sleep more restfully and keep body fat in check.

Resistance training offers more of a testosterone boost than endurance exercise. (Two to three sessions a week is a great benchmark.)

However, endurance exercise can also help, providing you exercise at the right intensity, finds research. (That’s 30 minutes of rigorous activity, four to five times a week.¹²)

Overtraining without enough recovery can lead to the opposite effect though, potentially causing gains to plateau and suppressing testosterone.¹³

(See our FREE exercise library for 400+ expert how-to videos and a 14-day at-home workout program.)

Testosterone optimizer #5: Consume a well-rounded, healthy diet.

In addition to helping you avoid nutrient deficiencies that can drive down testosterone levels, a healthy diet protects your blood vessels.

That’s crucial for getting erections.

A study of 21,469 men found that those who consumed foods consistent with the Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of developing erectile dysfunction over ten years compared to men who didn’t follow the diet.¹⁴

“Mediterranean diets are also known to promote heart health,” says Dr. Asafu-Adjei.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, and healthy fats from foods like olive oil, eggs, and fatty fish. It de-emphasizes red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sodium.

However, eating patterns that center on minimally processed whole foods likely offer the same benefits.

Many fruits, veggies, and other minimally processed whole foods are rich sources of flavonoids, a plant chemical that helps to improve blood flow and testosterone production.

(This visual eating guide can help you choose the best foods for your body.)

Testosterone optimizer #6: Avoid chronic emotional stress.

When you’re under stress, your body produces cortisol and other hormones that prepare you to fight, flee, or freeze. As these stress hormones flood your body, they suppress the production of reproductive hormones like testosterone.¹⁵

This high-cortisol, low-testosterone phenomenon is a likely consequence of millions of years of evolution.

Early humans who were more interested in mating than fleeing from sharp-clawed wild animals didn’t usually live long enough to pass their genes to the next generation.

However, not all short-term stressors dampen testosterone. Some can raise it temporarily, including exam stress or exercise.¹⁶

So, aim for the stress sweet spot where you feel energized and engaged with life but not so busy and harried that you have no time to relax, sleep, or enjoy life.

(Learn more: How to tell the difference between good stress and bad stress.)

Testosterone optimizer #7: Prevent zinc deficiency.

As a certified health coach, it’s out of your scope of practice to recommend supplements to treat a condition like hypogonadism.

In addition, the boost someone might get from a supplement pales in comparison to the six pieces of advice above, or to testosterone therapy.

With that important caveat out of the way…

There is a correlation between low zinc intake and low testosterone levels.^{17 18}

However, to benefit from supplementation, someone must truly be deficient in the mineral. Simply topping off someone’s already adequate zinc stores likely won’t lead to a testosterone boost, and may even cause harm.

Checking for and treating a mineral deficiency requires the expertise of someone trained in medical nutrition therapy. If you lack this training, encourage clients with low testosterone to talk to their healthcare professionals about whether a zinc supplement might help.

Use the Deep Health lens

Let’s circle back to Dr. Berardi’s hypothesis, first mentioned at the beginning of this story:

Some evolutionary biologists have indeed theorized that men evolved to have higher testosterone levels when they’re younger (to encourage mating) and lower levels when they’re older (to encourage parenting).¹⁹

However, this is more of a theory than a certainty.

What we can say with certainty is this: There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol for healthy testosterone levels.

When testosterone drops after middle age, some men feel lousy.

Even when they do everything right in the lifestyle department—exercising, eating a healthy diet, sleeping enough, and so on—they’re unable to raise testosterone into the normal range. For these men, a healthcare professional, thorough evaluation, and, if warranted, testosterone therapy can be life-changing.

At the same time, plenty of other men continue to thrive well into (and past!) middle age.

Sure, they may be unable to pack on muscle like they used to. But, if they’re paying attention, suggests Dr. Berardi, they might notice other pluses. Maybe they’re more patient, nurturing, and empathetic, for example.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’d be very unhappy with an inappropriate or clinically significant lowering of my hormone levels,” says Dr. Berardi. “However, if I can stay in the normal range and symptom-free with good lifestyle practices, I don’t think I have too much to worry about.”

Dr. Berardi recently turned 50.

“I’m at this stage where I see an interesting fork in the road,” he said.

“Will I gracefully accept aging and see this as a new season—or will I fight against it? I could color my hair, do hair transplants, top up my T levels, and get Botox injections. Or I could accept that there will be some eventual decline and ask, ‘What am I getting in return?’”

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References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.

The post The REAL way to optimize testosterone appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

I was 13 when I went on my first diet.

I had been struggling with my weight for about six years, and my obsession with how I looked was starting to dominate my life.

I only had two to three shirts that I felt comfortable in. The only thing that mattered was that they didn’t make me “feel fat.” Even those chosen shirts were always under my West 49 sweater, for extra coverage.

The cherry on top of this presentation was my slouched shoulders—a defense mechanism to protect against exposing my “man boobs,” the body part that had dynastic reign for being my biggest insecurity.

The way I viewed my body governed my self-worth.

I felt that my body held me back from enjoying countless moments of my life, and by the ripe age of 13, I decided I was sick of it.

I figured the only way I could change this purgatory was by changing my body.

I started exercising three to four times a day. For my first two meals a day, I drank a sludge of water mixed with “weight loss smoothie powder” (really just a glorified protein shake). Whenever I “cheated,” I punished myself the next day by eating even less or exercising even more.

In about 5 months, I lost 60 lbs. One third of my body weight to be exact.

This was how I spent the summer transitioning from elementary school to high school. Counting calories over making memories.

To no surprise, this was met with endless praise. And it felt good. Scratch that, it felt incredible.

I had experienced both sides now: One where I felt valueless because I was in a fatter body, and one where I felt accepted and prized because I was in a thinner body.

In another version of this story, I might’ve learned something from my newly widened perspective: I might’ve gained empathy, seeing the unfair stigma projected at people in larger bodies. I might’ve gained bravery, advocating for more body acceptance, regardless of someone’s size.

But instead, I participated in the problem.

I built up the identity of being a “former fat person” who is proof that “anybody can lose weight.”

However, as this script typically goes, over the next few years, I gained a lot of the weight back.

This sent me into a depression. I felt like I had lost my value; like I had won the lottery and blew through my fortune.

That was the pattern I repeated for almost 15 years.

Until I stumbled on something called “body neutrality.”

For me, adopting a more body-neutral approach created a paradigm shift—it offered a way to uncouple my appearance with my happiness. It also caused me to ask some deep questions about my body, and the kind of life I wanted.

Questions like:

“Do I want my self worth to be defined by my external appearance?”

“Do I want to continue this cycle—and potentially pass it on to any future kids I might have?”

“What would my life look like if I fought to value myself for who I am as opposed to what I look like?”

My answers weren’t immediately clear. But body neutrality created an opportunity to step off the hamster wheel of chasing aesthetic goals—and finally, truly reflect.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of adopting a more body neutral approach to your own self image and self-care.

You’ll learn:

• What body neutrality is
• How to think about your body and your health—in a way that isn’t dependent on appearance
• Five actionable, body neutral strategies you can apply today—if you want to stop letting your weight, size, or shape dictate your happiness

Let’s begin.

What is body neutrality?

Body neutrality is a mindset that encourages you to value how your body functions and feels over how it looks. This perspective helps you develop self-acceptance, while still working to care for yourself in ways that promote overall health.

In practice, this looks like:

You exercise and eat nutritiously—not because it makes you look a certain way—but because it makes you feel good.

You still have treats (because life is too short to be deprived of pizza!) but you don’t eat them to excess because they don’t make you feel the best, physically.

You wear clothes and celebrate your appearance in ways that feel authentic, but how you “display” yourself isn’t the foundation of your self-worth.

You don’t always love all aspects of your body, but you don’t let that stop you from enjoying your life; Improving your appearance doesn’t “earn” you the right to be happy.

You might still care about how you look, but you broaden your self-concept so it also includes your values and your inherent worthiness as a human.

I value seeing friends and family. I value playing rec sports. I value new experiences.

When I’ve been heavier, I’ve neglected these things in favor of isolating myself.

“I’ll do them again when I lose weight” is something I’ve uttered to myself more times than I can count.

Body neutrality helped me realize I still deserved these things—no matter how I looked.

Everyone can benefit from body neutrality.

Body neutrality isn’t just for people in larger, or otherwise marginalized bodies.

It’s also useful for people with “ideal bodies,” who’ve been the recipients of validation and privilege because of the way they look.

“I’ve worked with clients who are fairly satisfied with their appearance, but they still struggle with their body image because their self-worth relies on it,” says Shannon Beer, registered nutritionist and body image coach.

People with idealized bodies sometimes aren’t living the life they want either, because they have to exhaust their energy to maintain an image of “perfection.”

(If you want to know what kind of sacrifices it takes to meet those “ideal” standards, check out: The cost of getting lean: Is it really worth the trade-off?)

“The ‘meh’ is the magic.”

That’s a quote from Jessi Kneeland, body neutrality coach and author of Body Neutral: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Body Image Issues, when they sat down with some PN coaches to talk about body-neutrality.

(Want to listen in on the whole conversation? Watch it here: PN Coaches discuss body neutrality and negative self-talk)

The goal with body neutrality isn’t to love your body and all of its parts all of the time. Nor is it to be so toxically positive that you ignore real—and sometimes negative—feelings about your body.

That just isn’t realistic for most people.

Instead, an underrated goal is to feel sort of… meh.

You’re not overly glorifying or criticizing your body; its appearance just doesn’t hold that much importance.

In practice, you may love certain parts about your body—but also feel ambivalent or mildly negative about other parts.

For example, you may see your stomach and feel ashamed because you don’t like what you see.

This feeling is uncomfortable, but it’s not “right” or “wrong.” You just don’t want that feeling to dictate your behavior. (Such as seeing your stomach and then saying, “Alright, I’m not going out tonight,” or, “Diet starts tomorrow!”)

To give you a personal example:

As a dude living in North America, I feel pretty ‘meh’ about being 5’9” tall.

Would I love to be 6’2”?

Sure.

But I’m not 6’2”—and I can’t change that. My height won’t ruin my day and I surely won’t be depriving myself from the things I enjoy most in this life because of it.

5 things you can do today to be more body neutral

Congratulations: Just setting the intention to step away from an appearance-centric approach to health and fitness is a great start.

But, ultimately, it’s only action that creates deep, lasting change.

So, here are five tangible strategies you can work on immediately to develop a more body neutral approach.

Strategy #1: Do the things you love today.

Stop waiting to achieve the “ideal” body in order to be able to enjoy your life, and start doing more of what you love now.

Start with something easy that you tend to stop yourself from doing when you feel insecure about your appearance.

When I was in my worst spots, I stayed inside too much—even though I love being outside. It might sound silly but even reading outdoors in nice weather was helpful for me.

The point is: It can be that small.

Find one thing you’ve deprived yourself of in the past and do it—even if it’s a small dose, regardless of how you feel. Re-teach yourself that you don’t need a certain body shape or size to allow joy into your life.

(If you want more ideas on how to stop thinking you’re simply [insert thing you think you need] away from being happy, check out: “I’ll be happier when I lose weight” is a recipe for regret. Here’s the counterintuitive solution)

Strategy #2: Set body-neutral goals.

This is a gamechanger in my coaching experience. I’ve seen clients transform their relationship with exercise when they focus more on what they can do as opposed to how they look. “I feel so much better but I haven’t lost any weight,” is a sentence I’ve heard repeatedly.

When you’re overly appearance-centered or focused on weight, you risk missing other indicators of progress—like how good you feel.

If your fitness goals tend to be aesthetic-centric, try setting a goal that has nothing to do with how you look.

This can look like:

Setting strength and performance goals in fitness (such as beating a deadlift PR, or a sprint time)

Practicing slow, mindful eating at more meals (if you usually inhale your meals in seven minutes tops, see if you can make a meal last 20 minutes, chewing your food well and savoring each bite)

Working to develop a new a skill in the gym (like your first pull-up, or a cool Olympic lift, like a clean and jerk)

None of these depend on your appearance; They’re all focused on what you can do. (And chances are, you’ll feel more empowered than ever when you start achieving them.)

Strategy #3: Curate your environment.

Take control of the parts of your environment that feed the body-image obsessed wolf. Starve that beast wherever you can.

Here are some ideas:

Unfollow social media accounts that prey on insecurity or promote unrealistic ideals. Follow more that are body-neutral, or inspire other aspects of your personality (like comedy, or crafting).

See what it’s like to reduce your exposure to your own appearance. This can look like having fewer mirrors (or covering some up for a period of time), or turning off the self-view on Zoom.

Consider ditching the scale. Most people struggle to stay “neutral” about whatever number that shows up.

Set boundaries around body talk. Some environments are rife with commentary about body hang ups or goals. If someone begins talking about their new weight loss diet or “disgusting gut,” try changing the topic, or just exit the conversation. Eventually, people will realize you’re not the right audience.

Strategy #4: Find your people.

Body neutrality won’t be the most common approach you’ll run into in the fitness world.

But, intentionally seeking out and surrounding yourself with more body neutral folks can keep you from constantly getting sucked back into an appearance-centric mindset.

There are body neutral, body positive, or HAES (health at every size) community groups all over social media and the internet, and this can be parlayed into finding local groups near you too.

Seeking out these spaces will only provide more support—and positive momentum—as you pursue a more body neutral approach.

Strategy #5: Strive for improvement, not perfection.

You don’t need to be a body-neutral icon or master. The expectation is not that you 100 percent divest from focusing on your appearance.

Body neutrality exists on a continuum.

Assess where you are right now in terms of how appearance-centric you are when it comes to health and fitness. If all your eggs are in the “aesthetics basket,” then even taking one metaphorical egg out (and say, putting it in the “gardening” basket) is progress.

Use the list of suggestions above to set some small goals, and just begin where you can.

You might always care about your appearance (maybe even more than average), but if it’s progress from where you started, you’re winning.

What life on “the other side” looks like

Even after sharing all of this, I won’t sit here and lie to you by saying I’m pure-bred body-neutral, all the time.

But I like to think I’ve grown a lot since my days of hiding out inside during “fat days.”

I’m better at doing the things I love, even when I don’t feel confident in my body.

I’m better at wearing comfortable clothing when I don’t feel good about my body— instead of cramming myself into something that’s too tight and suffering all day.

And, I’ve expanded the way I see fitness for myself and my clients, focusing more on feel and function, rather than achieving a certain look.

For me, this is progress.

Yours might look different.

Be kind to yourself, and acknowledge that you might be working through decades of programming. Body neutrality sure isn’t a quick fix, but the lasting freedom, joy, and genuine sense of self-worth it offers is worth it.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.

The post Too focused on how you look? Body neutrality might be your key to body image freedom appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Everyone needs a team.

As a health coach, you can become an expert in multiple areas: nutrition, behavior change psychology, fitness and athletic performance, stress management and recovery, and more.

However, no matter how many certifications you earn, you’ll invariably encounter clients with progress-blocking problems you don’t have the skills, training, expertise, or legal right to solve.

Here’s the thing…

You may not be an expert at fixing marriages, treating GERD, or counseling someone with an eating disorder, but someone else is.

Here’s where a healthy referral network comes in.

By connecting your client with such a person, you get to stay within your scope of practice, give welcome business to respected colleagues, and help your client solve their problem.

(Total. Supercoach. Move.)

All of our certification programs include sections devoted to teaching coaches how to build robust referral networks of professionals skilled at solving common client problems.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to do that—by exploring the top mistakes we see coaches make. Avoid them, and you’ll be able to refer out with confidence.

First, what’s a referral network?

A referral network is a list of supplementary professionals, businesses, and resources that benefit clients.

Your network might include local or virtual:

• Medical doctors, psychologists, registered dietitians, and other professionals with the training and credentials to help clients with problems outside of your scope of practice. (For an in-depth refresher, see our Scope of Practice worksheet.)
• Fellow health coaches and personal trainers with deep knowledge in an area outside your experience. (For example, maybe a client is interested in learning yoga, but you haven’t the faintest idea of how to salute the sun.)
• Workshops, fitness groups, webinars, food services, and other resources that support clients during their behavior change journey.

To confidently refer clients to skilled practitioners with excellent reputations, you’ll want to do some legwork. That brings us to the top mistakes to avoid.

Mistake #1: You build your network before launching your business.

For recently certified health coaches, the task “create a referral network” can double as a procrastination tool, says PN’s Director of Community Engagement Kate Solovieva.

Rather than take on clients, these coaches search for an increasing number of professionals, valiantly trying to be prepared for every potential referral situation. Yet, as much as they continue to work on it, their list is never “complete.”

That’s because…

“We can’t be prepared for everything,” says Solovieva.

The solution

Take on clients as soon as you’re certified.

Yes! That might sound scary, but the best way to figure out your “gaps” is to begin your practice, and see where your clients actually need help beyond what you can offer.

Add folks to your referral network over time as you:

• Connect with professionals on LinkedIn and other virtual networking sites
• Lean into peer networks (such as the Precision Nutrition Facebook communities)
• Mingle with members of your local Chamber of Commerce
• Chat with family, friends, and clients about professionals and resources they love
• Attend health conventions and other local events where a variety of health professionals tend to congregate
• Search for (and try out!) providers based on your own health needs

Mistake #2: You assume your referral list will cover all client needs.

As we mentioned above, you’ll never be able to anticipate every referral or client question ahead of time—and that’s okay.

This is especially true if you coach virtually with clients worldwide.

(You might know three fantastic massage therapists where you live in Toronto, Canada, but that knowledge won’t help if your client is based in Wellington, New Zealand.)

Similarly, some professionals or resources might work for some clients, but not others.

(You might, for example, know of several meal delivery options, yet none are suitable for that plant-based client who’s on a strict gluten-free diet.)

The solution

Learn how to help clients find the professionals and resources they need.

You might:

• Ask clients to describe their preferences. (Do they prefer working with a specific gender? Do they want to meet in person or online? Do they like the eagerness and creativity of a newer professional, or the “I’ve seen it all” sageness of a more seasoned pro?)
• Devote a coaching session to searching online for potential professionals and services together.
• Encourage clients to contact three practitioners, ask questions, and use what they learn to pick a winner.

Mistake #3: You let social awkwardness derail networking opportunities.

Reaching out to a stranger requires some bravery. You have to put yourself out there, explain who you are and what your motives are, and risk being ignored or turned down.

This is where many coaches get stuck, says Toni Bauer, PN’s Director of Coaching and Education Operations.

As a result, many coaches may put off the conversation.

The solution

Turn networking into a challenge. Coach Solovieva calls it “Operation 100.”

• Set a goal to contact 100 professionals over 12 months.
• Work toward your goal every week for about 20 minutes.
• Follow up with each non-responder once or twice.
• Instead of expecting a “yes” from every person you approach, understand that only about 10 percent of people will get back to you.

To ease yourself into the challenge, draft your elevator pitch, suggests Bauer.

Don’t overthink this. Your pitch doesn’t have to be a multi-page persuasive essay. Nor does it have to contain magical talking points. Just be yourself.

Mistake #4: You use dated persuasion tactics.

If you use LinkedIn, then you’ve likely been on the receiving end of old-school cold sales tactics. We’re talking direct messages from strangers who clearly haven’t read anything on your profile and know nothing about you.

These spammy messages are as welcome as a stranger who sidles up to you at a bar and says, “So, wanna come back to my place?”

We’re not here to discourage you from using cold outreach. It has a place. However, to increase your response rate, we’d like to introduce you to a rarely used technique.

The solution

Get to know people before making an online ask, suggests Coach Solovieva.

Follow them, read their content, download and consume their free resources, comment on their posts, congratulate them on career wins, and become a part of their online life.

Do that, and people will remember you. More of them will respond to your messages, too. Plus, the intel you gather by forming a relationship will help you avoid…

Mistake #5: You don’t personally vet referrals.

How do you ensure you refer clients to compassionate professionals who truly know what they’re doing?

It involves more than checking someone’s website or social media profile.

If you only look at someone’s website or social media posts, “You’re just vetting their confidence and copywriting skills,” says Solovieva. “If we’re fortunate, confidence and copywriting go hand in hand with ability, but not always.”

The solution

Try out their services. Take someone’s yoga or Zumba class. Book a massage. Ask a medical professional to look at your creaky knee.

That way, you can see the professional in action.

If you’re thinking, ‘I don’t need some of the services my clients need!’ you’ve got a couple of options:

• Offer to pay a professional to meet with you for 30 to 60 minutes so you can ask some questions, get a sense of their treatment philosophy, and chat about referring clients to them.
• Interact with people in local social networking communities like NextDoor.com. Ask group members if they’ve seen a practitioner and, if so, whether they’d recommend the person.

Mistake #6: You sell clients too hard on your referrals.

When you recommend a professional you’ve personally vetted, it’s natural to want your client to take action.

However, despite your hard work, some clients just won’t make an appointment with the professional in question—and that’s okay.

“Let your clients be adults,” says Coach Bauer.

Clients have their reasons. Maybe their insurance won’t cover the service in question. Or, maybe they decided to see someone else.

“It’s not your responsibility for the relationships to be perfect or to flourish,“ says Bauer.

A cycle of support

Some coaches fear referrals because they see them as “giving business away.”

In reality, however, when you refer clients to solid pros, your clients simply feel like you have their back. (Which means they’ll be more likely to refer friends and family to you.)

Plus, when you send business towards another respected colleague, it also puts you on their radar for a cross-referral.

It’s good for your clients, good for business, and good for your community of health pros at large.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.

The post How to build a referral network with confidence appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

There’s been a growing shift in the fitness, health, and wellness industry.

The promise of “immediate results” will probably never lose its sparkle.

But, as a good portion of our population (hi, Boomers!) moves into their “silver” years, conversations around optimizing lifespan (how long you live) and healthspan (how long you live with a high quality of life) are also on the rise.

People are more interested than ever in longevity, which, these days, means the combination of a long lifespan and a long healthspan. (Historically, longevity and lifespan were synonymous.)

Trending too is the concept of biological age—essentially, how “old” your cells are, determined by their health and functioning. (Compare this to chronological age, which just refers to how many years you’ve been on this planet.)

Increasingly, people want to improve their overall health—for the long haul.

Of course, the wellness market is responding to this trend with supplements, ultra-specific diet plans, I.V. therapy, cold plunges, and other fringe modalities that promise to reduce or slow biological aging.

While some of these therapies are questionable, the movement that inspired them is great; For many of us in the health and fitness industry, the shift toward holistic health and long-term wellbeing is a welcome one.

At PN, we’ve held and promoted this expanded view of health for a while now.

We call it Deep Health

Deep Health is a “whole-person, whole-life” phenomenon that involves thriving in all dimensions of the human experience.

This framework of health includes six interdependent dimensions that influence and interact with each other.

These six dimensions are:

Physical health

The one we all know best, and what people have historically thought of when thinking about health.

This is how your body feels, functions, and performs.

We measure physical health with blood work—such as your cholesterol and hormone levels and your blood pressure—as well as performance metrics like V02 max and demonstrations of strength, and subjective measures like energy and pain levels.

Emotional health

This is about feeling a full range of emotions, but having more positive than negative feelings.

You can recognize, regulate, and appropriately express your emotions directly, maturely, and honestly. You have the resilience to recover from strong emotions, and calm yourself when you become stressed, anxious, or upset.

Environmental health

This is about being and feeling safe and secure, as well as being and feeling supported by your everyday surroundings.

You have access to resources (health care, healthy food, clean air and water, nature) that support your goals and wellbeing.

Mental or cognitive health

This is related to how well you think, learn, remember, and creatively problem-solve.

Your mind is sharp, and you’re able to be your most productive and do your best thinking.

This dimension also includes your mindset, capacity for insight, and your perspective and outlook on the world.

Existential or purposeful health

Some might think of this as spiritual or soul health.

You have a deeper “why” or purpose for your life; you feel part of a “bigger picture.”

You have a strong sense of yourself and your intrinsic self-worth. You work to fulfill your purpose by choosing behaviors that align with your identity and values.

Social or relational health

This is about connecting and interacting well with others.

You develop and maintain authentic, fulfilling relationships. You have a sense of belonging, and you feel respected, “seen,” valued, and supported by others.

If you have Deep Health, it’s almost a guarantee…

You’re experiencing a life well-lived. A vibrant, thriving life that’s healthy in every sense of the word.

Not surprisingly, such a life is also statistically more likely to last longer, with more of those years being enjoyable.

(For more on Deep Health, plus how you can use the concept to transform your own—or your clients’—health, read: The “Deep Health” coaching secret)

High-impact habits to boost Deep Health (and by extension healthspan, longevity, and biological age)

While there are many things that can impact healthspan, longevity, and biological age, the following will give you the best return on investment.

These aren’t always the “sexiest” actions, nor are they likely to sound “cutting edge” (partly because they’ve been tested by time and robustly proven by decades of research).

But—if you’re looking to maximize Deep Health for as long as possible—they’re the things worth spending your time on.

The most important thing is being active.

If there’s a “magical panacea” out there, it’s exercise.

Before you start beating yourself up for not being “a gym person”…

…Any activity helps…

…At any dose.

Whether you clean your yard, vacuum, play games with your pets or kids, or just do a little walking, tell yourself, “I’m doing great!”

Because you are. These activities make a positive, measurable difference.

If you want to level up, get in a mix of aerobic or cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and stability work (like yoga, tai chi, or balance-challenging exercises).

Again, these can be in whatever amounts you can, in ways you enjoy.

For quintuple stars, aim for at least 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic exercise (or 75 minutes of intense aerobic exercise), plus two or more strength and stability training sessions per week. (If you do these activities with friends—bonus!—now you’re boosting social health too.)

In general, the more activity the better. (So long as you enjoy it—and your body is recovering adequately.)

A thoughtful diet—and a mindful approach to other substances—is big, too.

Rather than focus on food you “shouldn’t be eating,” center your attention on the abundance of foods that serve your health and wellbeing.

We’re talking:

• Lean proteins (which can come from animals and/or plants, like fish, chicken, tofu, eggs, tempeh, Greek yogurt)
• A rainbow of fruits and vegetables (fact: different colors provide different nutrients and benefits, so aim to eat all of the colors regularly)
• Minimally-processed carbohydrates (whole grains, beans and lentils, starchy tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes, and winter squash)
• Healthy fats (from nuts, seeds, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, nut butters, and a little dark chocolate)

For help choosing higher-quality versions and a wide variety of the above categories, check out one of our most popular infographics: ‘What should I eat?!’ Our 3-step guide for choosing the best foods for your body

To stay hydrated, drink plenty of water. For variety, emphasize mostly zero-calorie drinks like unsweetened tea and coffee. (If you’re confused about how much fluid to drink every day, you’ll love the “pee chart” in this article: ‘How much water should I drink?’)

Avoid smoking or chewing tobacco, and if you drink alcohol, do so lightly to moderately.

And of course, getting quality sleep and regulating stress makes everything better.

Get enough quality sleep by prioritizing and protecting the time you rest.

Make your sleeping area as comfortable, quiet, and dark as possible. Figure out when you need to get to bed to get seven to eight hours of sleep, and ideally, start winding down with a relaxing bedtime ritual about half an hour to an hour before that time.

(Want to learn more about why sleep is so important—and how to get more of it? Check out our infographic: The power of sleep)

To build your emotional resilience and stress tolerance, incorporate soothing, self-regulating activities daily.

These activities are somewhat subjective (some people find it relaxing to sit and meditate, while others find it to be an opportunity for restless anxiety to boil over). However, “crowd favorites” include: breathing exercises, time in nature, various forms of self-expression (journaling, art, movement), or just a good soak in the tub.

One of the most important mindsets to adopt to help your mental and emotional health—although it can benefit all areas of life—is a growth mindset.

People with a growth mindset tend to view challenges and adversity as opportunities to grow, evolve, and learn. And turns out, this kind of perspective isn’t just good for your mental and emotional health, it boosts longevity, too.

Research shows that, compared to less optimistic individuals, those with a more positive attitude and a growth mindset about aging had a 43 percent lower risk of dying from any cause, and lived about 7.5 years longer.^{1 2}

Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of finding your people—and a purpose.

Seeking and nurturing positive, supportive relationships is one of the best things you can do for your health.

And not just for your social health. Research shows that people who are satisfied with their relationships have better emotional health,³ cognitive health,⁴ and even physical health.⁵

In fact, one of the longest studies on human health—the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which tracked participants for nearly 80 years—showed that feeling happy and satisfied in one’s relationships was one of the best predictors of overall health, happiness, and longevity.⁶

(Feel like your social health could use a boost? We’ve got three strategies to improve connection in your life, right here: Is social health the secret to total-body health?)

Having a strong sense of purpose bolsters our health and longevity too.^{7 8}

Interestingly, a sense of purpose seems to help people live longer, even when controlling for other markers of psychological well-being. So there’s something uniquely beneficial about having a strong purpose that’s different from, say, being happy.

A purpose can take time to uncover, but you can facilitate that discovery by devoting regular time to the “big questions” in life:

• Who are you, really?
• What do you want your life to be about?
• How do you want to live?
• More practically: What gets you out of bed in the morning? (Is it your family, or showing up for your clients? Or something else?)

But Deep Health isn’t just something you want to achieve—it also serves as a framework to help you make choices.

When you understand how Deep Health works, it can also help you answer the often vague and perplexing question, “How can I feel better?”

Knowing about your own Deep Health can tell you which area of your life to prioritize right now that will make the biggest impact on your overall health.

How to use Deep Health to help you prioritize next actions.

Start by assessing your current Deep Health to get a baseline status. Click on the image below to access your own free assessment.

Depending on what’s going on in your life right now, you might get a Deep Health score that looks like this:

Or like this:

Or this:

Whatever your results (and no judgment on the numbers), the distribution of your score can tell you:

• Where you’re currently thriving
• Where you have the largest opportunities for growth and improvement
• Where you might be able to make some easy improvements
• Which dimensions, if you improve them, might best help you reach (and sustain) your goals

Your personalized assessment will make some suggestions. (The below is a sample screenshot.)

But of course, it’s entirely up to you where you decide to focus, and what actions you choose to take next—if any.

Let’s walk through an example

Let’s say you’ve recently become interested in optimizing health and longevity.

You’ve been listening to podcasts, you’ve read the articles about people “reversing” their biological age, and you feel fired up about it.

You haven’t felt so passionate or inspired about your health in a long time, and you’re excited to try some of the strategies recommended in those podcasts and articles. (You want to be 27 again! At least, your cells do.)

At the beginning of this journey, let’s imagine your Deep Health looks like this:

Kind of “so-so” all around. Definitely, there’s room for improvement.

Of course, in reality, there’s infinite pathways you could take. But let’s imagine two scenarios…

Scenario A: Biohack like a beast

After seeing your Deep Health score, you decide to simply tackle everything at once:

• You subscribe to a longevity-boosting supplement program, that has you taking about 20 different tablets and powdered elixirs per day.
• You start practicing 16:8 fasting (in each 24-hour cycle, you fast for 16 hours, and eat within an 8 hour window), eating only two meals per day.
• You start eating fully plant-based, getting in tons of veggies, fruits, and legumes, and start tracking your macros meticulously.
• You incorporate four 45-minute zone 2 cardio workouts a week (you heard that’s the amount needed to see significant benefit to your mitochondria).
• You also add two 60-minute resistance training sessions a week.
• You start taking cold plunges at the gym multiple times per week, and are even considering buying a cold plunge tank for your home.

For two weeks, you feel on top of the world.

Then, not so much. (You’ve actually grown to hate that green sludgy stuff you drink every morning.)

You continue to show up anyway with a gritty determination, and for months, follow your protocol as best as you can.

You forego social events, finding yourself grouchy and irritable. (When everyone else is munching on buttery canapés, you’re counting down the hours until your next feeding window.)

Every day feels like a Sisyphean effort, and you begin to wonder what the point of all of it is. You can’t imagine doing this for the rest of your life, which you’re (now ironically) trying to extend.

Eventually, all this white-knuckling in pursuit of optimal health starts to take a toll. On you, your marriage, your social life, and your mental and emotional wellbeing. And you want to know if all of this effort and suffering are worth it.

After several grueling months, you gather some data.

Your blood work looks awesome. You’re definitely leaner. And your biological age test tells you your rate of aging has slowed and your cells have gotten younger.

You’re… winning?

You decide to reassess your Deep Health, and it looks like this:

Your physical health has gone way up, but your emotional, social, mental, and existential health have all gone down. Overall, your Deep Health is somehow worse! (Argh!)

It becomes clear to you: While your “do all the things” protocol might help you live longer—it’s definitely not helping you live better.

Scenario B: Dig deep for Deep Health

In this scenario, you take a different approach.

Seeing your Deep Health starting point, you consider that list of “high impact habits” above.

You’re not sure which one to start with though, so you take some time to think about why you’re really interested in this whole longevity thing.

What’s your deeper purpose for wanting to live a longer, healthier life?

You think about your family, and tears come to your eyes when you conjure up the thought of your children having children, and imagining yourself tumbling around with a bunch of rambunctious grandkids. You want to be healthy, strong, and capable of playing with them.

This deep purpose aligns with your identity too. You’ve always been a “family guy,” and now you add a new layer on top of that: You decide to become the kind of person who makes their health and wellbeing a priority, so they can be there for their family for as long as possible.

With this new, revised identity and a clear purpose in mind, you begin to make some changes over time.

• You focus on eating protein at most every meal, and up your fruit and vegetable game too.
• You practice self-compassion when you can’t or just don’t get in as much protein or produce as you’d like. You also work on viewing your choices on a continuum—rather than simply “good” or “bad.” This flexibility helps you feel a sense of freedom in your diet, and feels a little more realistic, long-term.
• Instead of going for the “perfect” four cardio sessions, you aim for two a week, for as long as you can fit in (which sometimes is only 20 minutes, but you do your best). Any extra sessions are a bonus.
• You’re diligent with your resistance training, but you cap them at 30-45 minutes, twice per week (occasionally you only have 20 minutes for these sessions too, but you focus on consistency over perfection).
• You begin going for outdoor walks after dinner with your partner—sometimes inviting a few neighborhood friends, too—and enjoy the deep yet fun conversations you have about work, family, and life (and, let’s be honest, some good neighborhood gossip).

After several satisfying months, you gather some data.

Your blood work has improved. You’ve leaned out a touch too. Your rate of aging has also slowed and your biological age has decreased, seemingly just as much as Scenario A.

But the biggest difference: You enjoyed this process.

You found it not only physically beneficial, but also socially enriching, mentally and emotionally enlightening, and deeply meaningful.

You reassess your Deep Health, and it looks like this:

Your physical health has gone up (though not quite as high as Scenario A), and so has your emotional, social, mental, and existential health. Your overall Deep Health is now undeniably, significantly up.

The funny thing: It didn’t even seem that hard.

Moreover, you feel more inspired and energized than ever to take even more steps to further invest in your health and wellbeing.

This is the power of Deep Health.

It’s not just about improving your biological age or increasing your healthspan (which mostly center on physical health metrics).

Striving for Deep Health means working to thrive in ALL areas of your life—not just the physical. Because no single aspect of your health functions alone.

With the push towards longevity and healthspan, and the focus on things like biological age and “biohacking” for optimal aging, it can be easy to forget that we already know the fundamentals of what it means to experience a life well lived.

The truth is, scientists don’t know everything that improves our biological age. Or even the best ways to measure it.

However, if you’re thriving in all dimensions of your health and wellbeing—in other words, achieving Deep Health—you can bet you’re doing all of the things that matter most in living a long, healthy, rewarding life.

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References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We’ll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification.

The post The PN framework that improves healthspan, longevity, and quality of life appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

If you live in a larger body, sometimes it feels like you can’t win.

If you don’t lose weight, people will criticize you for being “lazy,” “unhealthy,” or “lacking willpower.”

But if you take medication to help you, you’ll be criticized for “cheating” or “taking the easy way out,” even if you’ve tried for decades to manage your weight through diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes (sometimes extreme ones).

In this article, we’ll be talking about a highly contentious group of medicines—GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound).

And people have lots of opinions about them.

But the opinion that matters most? Yours.

At PN, we’re medication agnostic.

We’re not here to judge whether a person should or should not take medication for weight loss. Ultimately, that’s a choice left up to you, with the guidance of your primary care physician.

Either way, we’re here to support our clients and elevate their results.

Whether you take medication or not, a coach can help you optimize nutrition and satiety with the right foods, find exercises that work with your changing body, and help you navigate the emotional ups and downs that come when you attempt to tackle a big, meaningful, long-term goal.

However, we also understand that if you’re debating the pros and cons of beginning (or continuing) medication, you might have mixed feelings.

If you’re not sure if these new medicines are right for you, we have your back. In the following article, we’ll give you the honest, science-backed information you need to make a confident decision.

You’ll learn…

• Why it’s so hard to lose (and keep off) fat
• Why taking medication isn’t “cheating,” nor is it the “easy way out”
• How GLP-1 drugs work, and the health benefits they can have (aside from weight loss)
• How to determine if you’re at a “healthy weight” (it’s not just about BMI)
• What actions you can take to minimize side effects and maximize long-term health, if you do decide to take these medications

Let’s begin.

First, why is it so hard to lose fat?

Fat loss is hard. Period.

But for some people, it’s harder still—because of environmental, genetic, physiological, social, cultural, and/or behavioral factors that work against them.

Here are a few of the contributing factors that can make fat loss so challenging.

We live in an environment that encourages a caloric surplus.

Imagine life 150 years ago, before cars and public transit were invented. To get from point A to point B, you had to walk, pedal a bicycle, or ride a horse.

Food was often in short supply, too. You had to expend calories to get it, and meals would just satisfy you (but not leave you “full”).

Today, however…

“We live in an obesogenic environment that’s filled with cheap, highly-palatable, energy-dense foods [that make overeating calories easy, often unconsciously],” says Karl Nadolsky, MD, an endocrinologist and weight loss specialist at Holland Hospital and co-host of the Docs Who Lift podcast.

“We also have countless conveniences that reduce our physical activity.”

Of course, even in such an environment, we have people in lean bodies, just as we have people who struggle to stop the scale from continuously creeping up.

Why?

Genetically, some people are more predisposed to obesity.

Some genes can lead to severe obesity at a very early age. However, those are pretty rare.

Much more common is polygenic obesity—when two or more genes work together to predispose you to weight gain, especially when you’re exposed to the obesogenic environment mentioned earlier.

People who inherit one or more of these so-called obesity genes tend to have particularly persistent “I’m hungry” and “I’m not full yet” signals, says Dr. Nadolsky.

Obesity genes also seem to cause some people to experience what’s colloquially known as “food noise.”

They feel obsessed with food, continually thinking, “What am I going to eat next? When is my next meal? Can I eat now?”

Physiologically, bodies tend to resist fat loss.

If you gain a lot of fat, the hormones in your gut, fat cells, and brain can change how you experience hunger and fullness.

“It’s like a thermostat in a house, but now it’s broken,” says Dr. Nadolsky. “So when people cut calories and weight goes down, these physiologic factors work against them.”

After losing weight, your gut may continually send out the “I’m hungry” signal, even if you’ve recently eaten, and even if you have more than enough body fat to serve as a calorie reserve. It also might take more food for you to feel full than, say, someone else who’s never been at a higher weight.

Being in a larger body often means being the recipient of fat stigma and discriminatory treatment.

Until you’ve lived in a larger body, it’s hard to believe how different the world might treat you.

Our clients have told us stories about being bullied at the gym, openly judged or lectured at the grocery store, and otherwise being subjected to innumerable comments and assumptions about their body shape, health, and even worth.

Even in medical settings, people with obesity are more likely to receive poor treatment.^{1, 2} Healthcare providers may overlook or downplay symptoms, attributing health concerns solely to weight. This can lead to delayed- or missed diagnoses or just plain old inadequate care.

All of this combined can add up to an incredibly pervasive and ongoing source of stress.

This stress—in addition to being socially isolating and psychologically damaging—can further contribute to increased appetite and pleasure from high-calorie foods, decreased activity, and poorer sleep quality.³

Which is why…

Taking medication isn’t an “easy way out.”

In 2013, the American Medical Association categorized obesity as a disease.

And yet, many people still don’t treat it as such, and rather consider obesity as a willpower problem, and the consequence of simply eating too much and moving too little. (The remedy: “Just try harder.”)

In reality, people with obesity have as much willpower as anyone else.

However, for them, fat loss is harder—for all the reasons mentioned above, and more.

So, just like chemotherapy or insulin isn’t “the easy way out” of cancer or type 1 diabetes, medication isn’t “the easy way out” of obesity.

Rather, medication is a tool, ideally used alongside healthy lifestyle behaviors, that can help offset some of the genetic and physiological variances that people with obesity may have, and have little individual control over otherwise.

What you need to know about GLP-1 drugs

In 2017, semaglutide (a synthentic GLP-1 agonist) was approved in the US as an antidiabetic and anti-obesity medication.

With the emergence of this class of drugs, science offered people with obesity a relatively safe and accessible way to lose weight long-term, so long as they continued the medication.

How Ozempic and other obesity medicines work

Current weight loss medications work primarily by mimicking the function of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a hormone that performs several functions:

• In the pancreas, it triggers insulin secretion, which helps regulate blood sugar (and also helps you feel full).
• In the gut, it slows gastric emptying, affecting your sensation of fullness.
• In the brain, it reduces cravings (the desire for specific foods) and food noise (intrusive thoughts about food).

In people with obesity, the body quickly breaks down endogenous (natural) GLP-1, making it less effective. As a result, it takes longer to feel full, meals offer less staying power, and food noise becomes a near-constant companion, says Dr. Nadolsky.

Semaglutide and similar medicines flood the body with synthetically made GLP-1 that lasts much longer than the GLP-1 the body produces. This long-lasting effect helps increase feelings of fullness, reduce between-meal hunger, and muffle cravings and food noise.

Interestingly, by calming down the brain’s reward center (the part of the brain that drives cravings and even addictions), these medicines may also help people reduce addictive behaviors like compulsive drinking and gambling, says Dr. Nadolsky.

Note: Newer weight loss medicines, for example tirzepatide, mimic not only GLP-1, but also another hormone called gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). Like GLP-1, GIP also stimulates post-meal insulin secretion and reduces appetite, partly by decreasing gastrointestinal activity. Other drugs soon to come on the market, like retatrutide, mimic a third hormone, glucagon.

How effective are GLP-1 drugs?

Researchers measure a weight loss medicine’s success based on the percentage of people who reach key weight loss milestones of 5, 10, 15, or 20 percent of their weight.

These medicines are still evolving, but so far, they have shown to be quite effective:

About 86 percent of people who take GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy lose at least five percent of their body weight, with about a third of them losing more than 20 percent of their body weight.^{4, 5}

And newer generation versions of these medications—such as tirzepatide, and the not-yet-FDA-approved retatrutide—are only getting better, with up to 57 percent of people losing more than 20 percent of their body weight.^{6, 7}

How do weight loss medications compare to lifestyle interventions?

In the past, weight loss interventions have focused on lifestyle modifications like calorie or macronutrient manipulation, exercise, and sometimes counseling.

Rather than pitting lifestyle changes against weight loss medicines or surgery, it’s more helpful to think of them all as compatible players.

With lifestyle modifications and coaching, the average person can expect to lose about five to 13 percent of their body weight.

When you add FDA-approved versions of GLP-1 and other weight-loss drugs to lifestyle and coaching, average weight loss jumps up another ten percent or more. ^{8, 9, 10, 11}

Fat loss often comes with powerful health benefits

For years, the medical community has told folks that losing 5 to 10 percent of their body weight was good enough.

Partly, this message was designed to right-set people’s expectations, as few lose much more than that (and keep it off) with lifestyle changes alone.

In addition, this modest weight loss also leads to measurable health improvements. Lose 5 to 10 percent of your total weight, and you’ll start to see blood sugar, cholesterol, and pressure drop.¹²

However, losing 15 to 20 percent of your weight, as people tend to do when they combine lifestyle changes with second-generation GLP-1s, and you do much more than improve your health. You can go into remission for several health problems, including:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Fatty liver disease
• Sleep apnea

That means, by taking a GLP-1 medicine, you might be able eventually to stop taking several other drugs, says Dr. Nadolsky.

Experts suspect GLP-1s may improve health even when no weight loss occurs.

“The medicines seem to offer additive benefits beyond just weight reduction,” says Dr. Nadolsky.

Research indicates that GLP-1s may reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events (heart attacks and strokes) in people with diabetes or heart disease.^{13, 14, 15} In people with diabetes, they seem to improve kidney function, too.¹⁶

The theory is that organs throughout the body have GLP-1 receptors on their cells. When the GLP-1s attach to these receptors in the kidneys and heart, they seem to protect these organs from damage.

For this reason, in 2023, the American Heart Association listed GLP-1 receptor agonists as one of the year’s top advances in cardiovascular disease.

7 strategies to make weight loss medicines more effective—and improve long-term health

Here’s what we believe:

Weight loss medicines don’t render lifestyle changes obsolete; they make them more critical.

When GLP-1 medicines muffle food noise and hunger, many find it easier to prioritize lean protein, fruits and veggies, whole grains, and other minimally processed foods. Similarly, as the scale goes down, people often feel better, so they’re more likely to embrace weight lifting and other forms of exercise.

Indeed, according to a 2024 consumer trends survey, 41 percent of GLP-1 medicine users reported that their exercise frequency increased since going on the medication. The majority of them also reported an improvement in diet quality, choosing to eat more protein, as well as fruits and vegetables.¹⁷

This is great news, because it further reinforces the idea that medication isn’t simply “the easy way out.”

(Of course, sometimes drugs are used as “the easy way out”; After going on medication, people can continue to eat poor quality food—just less of it. This increases the risk of losing critical muscle and bone, and losing less—or even no—body fat.)

When used correctly, weight loss medication is a tool that, as mentioned above, can make healthy lifestyle changes easier to accomplish, making both the drugs and the lifestyle changes more effective, and enhancing both short- and long-term success.

If you do decide to take weight loss drugs, use these strategies to get the most out of them—and preserve your long-term health.

Strategy #1: Find ways to eat nutritiously despite side effects.

The slowed stomach emptying caused by GLP-1 drugs can trigger nausea and constipation.

Fortunately, for most people, these GI woes tend to resolve within several weeks.

However, if you’re experiencing a lot of nausea, you’re not likely going to welcome salads into your life with open arms. (Think of how you feel when you have the stomach flu. A bowl of roughage doesn’t seem like it’ll “go down easy.”)

So, try to find more palatable ways to consume nutritious foods. (For example, fruits and vegetables in the form of a smoothie or pureed soup might be easier.)

Dr. Nadolsky also suggests people avoid the following common offenders:

• Big portions of any kind
• Greasy, fatty foods
• Highly processed foods
• Any strong food smells that trigger your gag reflex
• Sugar alcohols (like xylitol, erythritol, maltitol, and sorbitol, often found in diet sodas, chewing gum, and low-sugar protein bars), which can trigger diarrhea in some

Strategy #2: Prioritize strength training.

When people take GLP-1 weight loss medicines, about 30 to 40 percent of the weight they lose can come from lean mass.^{18, 19, 20}

Put another way: For every 10 pounds someone loses, about six to seven come from fat and three to four from muscle, bone, and other non-fat tissues.

However, there’s two important caveats to this statistic:

1. People with severe obesity generally have more muscle and bone mass than others. (Carrying around an extra 100+ pounds of body weight means muscles have to adapt by getting bigger and stronger.)

2. Muscle and bone loss aren’t inevitable. (As Dr. Nadolsky puts it, “Muscle loss isn’t a reason to avoid treating obesity [with medication]. It’s a reason to do more exercise.”)

To preserve muscle and bone mass, aim for at least two full-body resistance training sessions a week.

In addition, move around as much as you can. Walking and other forms of physical activity are vital for keeping metabolism healthy—and can help to move food through the gut to ease digestion.^{21, 22}

(Need inspiration for strength training? Check out our free exercise video library.)

Strategy #3: Lean into lean protein.

In addition to strength training, adequate protein consumption is vital for helping to protect muscle mass.

You can use our free macros calculator to determine the right amount of protein for you. (Spoiler: Most people will need 1 to 2 palm-sized protein portions per meal, or about 0.5 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.)

Strategy #4: Fill your plate with fruit and veggies.

Besides being good for your overall health, whole, fresh, and frozen produce fuels you with critical nutrients that can help drive down levels of inflammation.

In addition to raising your risk for disease, chronic inflammation can block protein synthesis, making it harder to maintain muscle mass.

(Didn’t know managing inflammation matters when it comes to preserving muscle? Find out more muscle-supporting strategies here: How to build muscle strength, size, and power)

Strategy #5: Choose high-fiber carbs over low-fiber carbs.

Beans, lentils, whole grains, and starchy tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes do a better job of helping you feel full and managing blood sugar than lower-fiber, more highly processed options.

(Read more about the drawbacks—and occasional benefits—of processed foods here: Minimally processed vs. highly processed foods)

Strategy #6: Choose healthy fats.

Healthy fats can help you feel full between meals and protect your overall health.

Gravitate toward fats from whole foods like avocado, seeds, nuts, and olive oil, as well as fatty fish (which is a protein too!)—using them to replace less healthy fats from highly-processed foods (like chips or donuts).

(Not sure which fats are healthy? Use our 3-step guide for choosing the best foods for your body)

Strategy #7: Consider coaching.

It may go without saying, but the above suggestions are just the start.

(There’s also: quality sleep, social support, stress management, and more.)

While many people choose to tackle these strategies on their own, many others find that the support, guidance, and creative problem-solving that a good coach can provide makes the whole process a lot easier—not to mention more enjoyable and more likely to stick.

And that’s the real gift of coaching: A coach doesn’t just help you figure out what to eat and how to move; They help you remove barriers, build skills, and create systems and routines so that habits become so natural and automatic that it’s hard to imagine not doing them.

Then, if you do want to stop taking medication, your ingrained lifestyle habits (that coaching reinforced, and medication perhaps made easier to adopt) will make it more likely that you maintain your results.

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References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

The post Considering (or currently taking) weight loss drugs? Here’s what you need to know appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

---

We all make thousands of decisions every day, large and small.

What to have for breakfast. Whether or not to exercise—or when. Which project to tackle first at work. More coffee or not.

After a while, it’s only natural that decision fatigue sets in.

Decision fatigue can happen to anyone—but it’s especially disruptive when you’re trying to change old habits and make new (healthier) choices, but you lose steam by 10 AM.

Let’s take a closer look at what decision fatigue is, what causes it, and how to shake it off so you can continue to make good, intentional choices ongoing.

What is decision fatigue, anyway?

Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made after a prolonged period of decision-making. Decision fatigue can also happen when faced with an overwhelming number of choices.

When working toward wellness goals, the mental exhaustion from constant decision-making can hinder your ability to make positive choices, especially in areas like exercise and nutrition. The constant evaluation of your workout schedules, meal choices, and other aspects of your lifestyle and routine can lead to decision fatigue.

Signs of decision fatigue

Decision fatigue can manifest in several ways. It might last days, weeks, or longer.

Here are six common signs that you might be experiencing it.

Sign #1: Procrastination and avoiding decisions

One of the primary signs of decision fatigue is procrastination and the tendency to avoid making choices. As decision fatigue sets in, you may find it increasingly challenging to initiate or conclude decision-making processes, leading to delays and lack of action.

Sign #2: Impulsivity

On the other hand, decision fatigue can also manifest as impulsivity. In an effort to expedite decision-making and alleviate mental strain, you may resort to impulsive choices, increasing the likelihood of taking less thoughtful actions.

Sign #3: Exhaustion

Decision fatigue often leads to mental exhaustion. You may feel tired and mentally drained, which may affect your overall cognitive functioning and energy levels.

Sign #4: Brain fog

A common symptom of decision fatigue is the sensation of “brain fog.” This mental cloudiness can hinder clarity of thought, making it difficult for individuals to focus, process information, and make wise choices.

Sign #5: Overwhelm

As decision fatigue accumulates, individuals may become easily overwhelmed by even minor choices. Tasks that would typically be manageable may seem daunting, contributing to heightened stress levels.

Sign #6: Irritability

Decision fatigue can lead to increased irritability and emotional sensitivity. The mental strain from continuous decision-making may impact an individual’s patience and tolerance, resulting in reactive emotional responses.

What causes decision fatigue?

A combination of factors can contribute to decision fatigue.

Cause #1: You’re always making decisions.

When you find yourself constantly making numerous decisions throughout the day, from choosing what to wear to deciding on work-related tasks, you may be prone to decision fatigue.

The cumulative effect of these daily choices can overwhelm your cognitive resources, making subsequent decisions more challenging.

Cause #2: You make a lot of decisions that impact other people.

Decisions that have a significant impact on others can contribute to decision fatigue.

When your choices carry weight and affect those around you, the mental burden intensifies. Balancing personal and professional responsibilities that influence others can lead to a heightened sense of responsibility and decision-related stress.

Cause #3: You make stressful or complex decisions.

Engaging in decision-making that is particularly stressful or complex can accelerate the onset of decision fatigue.

Evaluating intricate scenarios, especially under pressure, demands more cognitive resources, expediting mental exhaustion. High-stake decisions amplify the toll on your mental energy, making subsequent choices more taxing.

Cause #4: You’re experiencing a difficult or uncertain life situation.

Life situations characterized by difficulty or uncertainty can exacerbate decision fatigue.

Coping with unusually stressful challenges, whether personal or professional, consumes mental bandwidth. Navigating through uncertainty heightens decision-related stress, intensifying the impact of decision fatigue.

How does decision fatigue relate to your health and wellness?

Decisions related to diet, exercise, and overall health management can be overwhelming.

Constantly evaluating food choices, workout routines, and health-related decisions can challenge cognitive resources, exacerbating decision fatigue.

Further, when experiencing decision fatigue, your ability to make thoughtful, proactive health decisions diminishes. Fatigue may lead to impulsive choices, such as impulsive eating or skipping workouts, impacting your progress toward your goals.

How to overcome decision fatigue

Overcoming decision fatigue may not happen instantly, but by following these tips, you can significantly reduce its effect on your health and well-being.

All it takes is some careful planning and learning to let go.

Strategy #1: Remove choice from areas of your life where you can.

The intentional simplification of daily decisions not only streamlines your life but also enhances your cognitive capacity for more meaningful and impactful choices.

One approach is to establish routines to set some aspects of your daily life in stone—no decisions necessary. This deliberate structuring (such as predetermining what days/times you do your workouts) serves to reduce the ongoing need for decision-making in these areas.

Implementing routines also provides a psychological framework that turns repetitive decisions into automatic actions. For instance, adopting a regular weekly meal prep ritual.

Of course, this strategy is particularly beneficial for recurring activities, where predetermined choices can be consistently applied. This act of intentionally removing choices can give you back a sense of control and predictability in your daily life.

Strategy #2: Delegate where you can.

Whether in the workplace or at home, delegating decisions to others not only lightens your cognitive (and practical) burden but also promotes collaboration.

Distributing tasks at work fosters a sense of shared responsibility—and of course lightens your workload. By involving team members in decision-making processes, you not only benefit from diverse perspectives but also empower others to contribute their expertise.

Similarly, within the family or household, delegating responsibilities not only shares the cognitive load but also promotes a more supportive environment. This practice allows each family member to contribute their unique strengths, creating a more balanced distribution of decision-making responsibilities.

Strategy #4: Prioritize relaxation activities.

Relaxation activities are particularly effective in combating the effects of decision fatigue.

Quality sleep rejuvenates cognitive functions and replenishes mental energy. When you’re well-rested, you’re better equipped to face the challenges of decision-making.

In addition to sleep, try engaging in mindfulness practices, such as meditation or deep breathing exercises.

Exercise, too, not only promotes better sleep but also releases endorphins, which elevate mood and improve cognitive function.

Strategy #5: Manage stress and practice self-care.

Stress and decision fatigue are connected, so learning to manage the former will help alleviate symptoms of the latter.

Many of the relaxation techniques we previously mentioned are also great stress management tactics.

Try establishing a consistent self-care routine, like reading, taking a warm bath, or spending quality time with loved ones. These activities can provide a mental break and contribute to a positive mindset, which, in turn, helps prevent and reduce decision fatigue.

Strategy #6: Work with a coach.

By hiring a coach, you effectively delegate certain decisions to an expert.

By leveraging their knowledge, you not only streamline decision-making but also gain valuable insights and support on your journey to optimal health.

A health coach provides guidance on fitness, nutrition, sleep, stress, and recovery, and can design tailored plans to help you improve each of these areas.

Moreover, a health coach assists in establishing routines, contributing to the removal of unnecessary decisions from your daily life.

Working with a coach offers personalized support, helping you navigate health-related decisions while also enhancing accountability and motivation.

We’re here to help you reach your goals

At Precision Nutrition, our coaches are certified experts who can help you make positive decisions to improve your life. Decision fatigue ends with us, as every client receives a personalized, tailored plan designed to work with their personal preferences, lifestyle, and goals.

Learn more about how the coaches at Precision Nutrition can help you learn to live the healthier, more well-balanced life you deserve.

The post How to navigate decision fatigue when working toward your fitness goals appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

---

Once you decide you want to work with a health coach, finding the right one goes beyond checking off a list of qualifications.

How do you know if you’ve found the best health coach for you? What are the qualities of a good coach besides the obvious credentials?

We’ve listed some traits to look out for when choosing a health coach.

Essentially, it all boils down to how the two of you “vibe.” You should find someone you get along with and trust, someone who seems to truly “get” you and is as invested in your success as you are.

Let’s dive deeper into what all that means.

Why is it important to find a good health coach?

A skilled health coach serves as a personalized guide.

They’ll help you achieve your goals with tailored advice, motivation, custom nutrition plans, and exercise routines designed specifically for you.

They won’t just give you generalized or generic advice about diet and exercise. This individualized approach ensures that you maximize your full potential and make the most of your fitness journey.

7 signs you’ve found a good coach

What are the qualities of a good coach?

How do you know when you’ve found one?

These seven qualities are by no means an exhaustive list, but they can help you narrow down your options.

1. They can walk you through their process.

A good health coach should possess the skill to clearly explain the steps, strategies, and milestones integral to their approach.

This not only demonstrates their expertise but also shows that they have a structured process to help you succeed.

Even more than that, they should also be able to draw on insights gained from practical experience. Articulating lessons learned from working with other clients like you shows understanding for the issues or preferences you might have. They’ve proven that they know how to address challenges similar to yours.

2. They can provide references and testimonials.

A hallmark of a good coach is their openness to share references and testimonials without hesitation. Transparency not only reflects confidence in their ability but also underscores their commitment to client satisfaction.

Ideally, these references should be from clients in your demographic with similar goals. If you have a particular injury, for example, a good coach will have testimonials from clients they’ve worked with in the past who experienced a similar injury or physical limitation. A good coach understands the value of real-world feedback and recognizes that the experiences of past clients can speak volumes.

Moreover, the ability to connect with past clients demonstrates a coach’s confidence in the relationships they’ve built. If a coach avoids providing references, that should raise concerns about their client interactions and the impact of their coaching.

Testimonials, in particular, offer insights into the tangible benefits clients have experienced under a coach’s guidance. Positive testimonials not only validate the coach’s skills but also provide you with a glimpse of the potential results you can expect.

3. They ask you questions.

A coach’s interest in your story is a reflection of their commitment to your success. They should ask you questions—lots of them. A quality coaching relationship is built on a foundation of understanding, and effective coaches recognize the importance of delving into your unique circumstances.

Rather than simply presenting a pre-packaged solution, a good coach should be genuinely interested in your “why.” They should want to understand your motivations, challenges, and specific goals. The questions they ask should help them tailor their coaching plan to your particular preferences and lifestyle.

4. They listen to you.

Another quality of a good coach is the ability to integrate your thoughts and feedback into the coaching process. Remember, this is a two-way, collaborative relationship.

Listening extends beyond the spoken word; it involves deciphering the nuances and subtleties of your communication. A good coach is attuned to not only what you say but how you say it.

A coach’s responsiveness to your feedback should foster an environment of trust. If you express concerns or suggest modifications to the plan, a good coach listens, understands, and adapts the program. This flexibility ensures that the coaching process remains dynamic, adjusting to your evolving needs and circumstances.

5. They communicate openly and often.

As we said, transparent and open communication is a two-way street. This element is fundamental to your success and includes how and when you and your coach touch base.

Effective coaches establish clear expectations regarding communication from the outset. Whether it’s setting regular check-ins, defining response times, or outlining preferred communication channels, a good coach is accessible to you and reliable in responding. You should feel comfortable reaching out, knowing that your coach is receptive to any questions or concerns you have.

6. They consider your health holistically.

Your well-being extends beyond isolated facets like exercise and nutrition. You’ll know you’ve found a good health coach when they also take into account your sleep quality, stress levels, past injuries, and exercise experience. They know how these factors work together and influence one another.

For instance, understanding your nutritional habits allows a coach to develop a diet plan that improves on your current eating habits, without being unrealistic. Acknowledging past injuries or exercise experiences informs workout routines that prioritize safety and effectiveness. The consideration of sleep patterns and stress levels further refines the approach, promoting overall well-being.

This holistic, multi-faceted view of well-being is called “Deep Health.” And when a Deep Health approach is applied, it means you’re more likely to create positive habits that affect every aspect of your life—for the long term.

7. They can adjust your program to fit your needs.

A good coach will adjust your program to fit your changing needs as you work to achieve your goals.

Whether you have specific dietary requirements, time constraints, or preferences in workout styles, a coach tailors the program to ensure it not only helps you make progress but also integrates seamlessly into your lifestyle—and can adapt as necessary.

Tips for finding a good health coach

Finding a good health coach goes beyond looking up online reviews or asking friends for recommendations (though those are good ways to get started).

Here are some more tips to keep in mind as you look for a health coach.

Identify your goals

Before seeking a coach, take a moment for introspection.

Ask yourself why you want to work with a health coach and what specific outcomes you aim to achieve.

Whether it’s weight loss, improved fitness, better sleep, or overall well-being, clarity on your objectives serves as a guiding compass in selecting the right coach.

However, it’s also okay not to have a specific goal, or if your goal is something general like, “I want to be healthier.” Helping you clarify and refine your goals is part of a health coach’s job. They can engage you in meaningful conversations to understand your aspirations, challenges, and motivations until the two of you shape a tailored plan together.

Talk to prospective health coaches

Once you’ve identified three to five potential health coaches, take time to meet with each one-on-one.

Prepare a list of questions and talking points to guide these discussions. Your questions should focus on things like their coaching philosophy, past experiences, and success stories. Understanding how their approach aligns with your goals is essential to making sure you truly “get” one another.

During these conversations, also pay attention to the coach’s communication style and demeanor. Consider whether you feel comfortable and genuinely heard during the conversation.

Day-to-day logistics are important as well. As you get to know each coach, ask them about their availability, preferred communication channels, and the structure of the coaching sessions. This will ensure a smooth and manageable collaboration.

Evaluate the “vibe”

Coaching is, at its core, a relationship-based service, and the personal connection you establish with your coach can profoundly impact your motivation and commitment to your health goals. A positive and supportive connection fosters a sense of trust, making the coaching relationship more enjoyable and effective.

However, recognize that there’s no “perfect” coach.

Instead, focus on finding a coach who’s “good enough” for you—someone whose approach aligns with your preferences and understands your unique circumstances. While there might be a coach who, on paper, seems to fit all your criteria, less tangible elements like a coach’s personality, communication style, and general energy are paramount. Trust your instincts and choose a coach with whom you genuinely connect.

We’re here to help you reach your goals

The health coaches at Precision Nutrition are experts in their fields. They take the time to understand your behavior and habits as they design a plan to fit your unique goals and lifestyle.

Our coaches don’t just give you advice about diet and exercise. They work closely with you so you can learn healthier, sustainable habits that will help you feel better long term.

Try our 1:1 coaching program now and achieve the results you deserve.

The post How to know you’ve found a good health coach appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

---

Once you decide you want to work with a health coach, finding the right one goes beyond checking off a list of qualifications.

How do you know if you’ve found the best health coach for you? What are the qualities of a good coach besides the obvious credentials?

We’ve listed some traits to look out for when choosing a health coach.

Essentially, it all boils down to how the two of you “vibe.” You should find someone you get along with and trust, someone who seems to truly “get” you and is as invested in your success as you are.

Let’s dive deeper into what all that means.

Why is it important to find a good health coach?

A skilled health coach serves as a personalized guide.

They’ll help you achieve your goals with tailored advice, motivation, custom nutrition plans, and exercise routines designed specifically for you.

They won’t just give you generalized or generic advice about diet and exercise. This individualized approach ensures that you maximize your full potential and make the most of your fitness journey.

7 signs you’ve found a good coach

What are the qualities of a good coach?

How do you know when you’ve found one?

These seven qualities are by no means an exhaustive list, but they can help you narrow down your options.

1. They can walk you through their process.

A good health coach should possess the skill to clearly explain the steps, strategies, and milestones integral to their approach.

This not only demonstrates their expertise but also shows that they have a structured process to help you succeed.

Even more than that, they should also be able to draw on insights gained from practical experience. Articulating lessons learned from working with other clients like you shows understanding for the issues or preferences you might have. They’ve proven that they know how to address challenges similar to yours.

2. They can provide references and testimonials.

A hallmark of a good coach is their openness to share references and testimonials without hesitation. Transparency not only reflects confidence in their ability but also underscores their commitment to client satisfaction.

Ideally, these references should be from clients in your demographic with similar goals. If you have a particular injury, for example, a good coach will have testimonials from clients they’ve worked with in the past who experienced a similar injury or physical limitation. A good coach understands the value of real-world feedback and recognizes that the experiences of past clients can speak volumes.

Moreover, the ability to connect with past clients demonstrates a coach’s confidence in the relationships they’ve built. If a coach avoids providing references, that should raise concerns about their client interactions and the impact of their coaching.

Testimonials, in particular, offer insights into the tangible benefits clients have experienced under a coach’s guidance. Positive testimonials not only validate the coach’s skills but also provide you with a glimpse of the potential results you can expect.

3. They ask you questions.

A coach’s interest in your story is a reflection of their commitment to your success. They should ask you questions—lots of them. A quality coaching relationship is built on a foundation of understanding, and effective coaches recognize the importance of delving into your unique circumstances.

Rather than simply presenting a pre-packaged solution, a good coach should be genuinely interested in your “why.” They should want to understand your motivations, challenges, and specific goals. The questions they ask should help them tailor their coaching plan to your particular preferences and lifestyle.

4. They listen to you.

Another quality of a good coach is the ability to integrate your thoughts and feedback into the coaching process. Remember, this is a two-way, collaborative relationship.

Listening extends beyond the spoken word; it involves deciphering the nuances and subtleties of your communication. A good coach is attuned to not only what you say but how you say it.

A coach’s responsiveness to your feedback should foster an environment of trust. If you express concerns or suggest modifications to the plan, a good coach listens, understands, and adapts the program. This flexibility ensures that the coaching process remains dynamic, adjusting to your evolving needs and circumstances.

5. They communicate openly and often.

As we said, transparent and open communication is a two-way street. This element is fundamental to your success and includes how and when you and your coach touch base.

Effective coaches establish clear expectations regarding communication from the outset. Whether it’s setting regular check-ins, defining response times, or outlining preferred communication channels, a good coach is accessible to you and reliable in responding. You should feel comfortable reaching out, knowing that your coach is receptive to any questions or concerns you have.

6. They consider your health holistically.

Your well-being extends beyond isolated facets like exercise and nutrition. You’ll know you’ve found a good health coach when they also take into account your sleep quality, stress levels, past injuries, and exercise experience. They know how these factors work together and influence one another.

For instance, understanding your nutritional habits allows a coach to develop a diet plan that improves on your current eating habits, without being unrealistic. Acknowledging past injuries or exercise experiences informs workout routines that prioritize safety and effectiveness. The consideration of sleep patterns and stress levels further refines the approach, promoting overall well-being.

This holistic, multi-faceted view of well-being is called “Deep Health.” And when a Deep Health approach is applied, it means you’re more likely to create positive habits that affect every aspect of your life—for the long term.

7. They can adjust your program to fit your needs.

A good coach will adjust your program to fit your changing needs as you work to achieve your goals.

Whether you have specific dietary requirements, time constraints, or preferences in workout styles, a coach tailors the program to ensure it not only helps you make progress but also integrates seamlessly into your lifestyle—and can adapt as necessary.

Tips for finding a good health coach

Finding a good health coach goes beyond looking up online reviews or asking friends for recommendations (though those are good ways to get started).

Here are some more tips to keep in mind as you look for a health coach.

Identify your goals

Before seeking a coach, take a moment for introspection.

Ask yourself why you want to work with a health coach and what specific outcomes you aim to achieve.

Whether it’s weight loss, improved fitness, better sleep, or overall well-being, clarity on your objectives serves as a guiding compass in selecting the right coach.

However, it’s also okay not to have a specific goal, or if your goal is something general like, “I want to be healthier.” Helping you clarify and refine your goals is part of a health coach’s job. They can engage you in meaningful conversations to understand your aspirations, challenges, and motivations until the two of you shape a tailored plan together.

Talk to prospective health coaches

Once you’ve identified three to five potential health coaches, take time to meet with each one-on-one.

Prepare a list of questions and talking points to guide these discussions. Your questions should focus on things like their coaching philosophy, past experiences, and success stories. Understanding how their approach aligns with your goals is essential to making sure you truly “get” one another.

During these conversations, also pay attention to the coach’s communication style and demeanor. Consider whether you feel comfortable and genuinely heard during the conversation.

Day-to-day logistics are important as well. As you get to know each coach, ask them about their availability, preferred communication channels, and the structure of the coaching sessions. This will ensure a smooth and manageable collaboration.

Evaluate the “vibe”

Coaching is, at its core, a relationship-based service, and the personal connection you establish with your coach can profoundly impact your motivation and commitment to your health goals. A positive and supportive connection fosters a sense of trust, making the coaching relationship more enjoyable and effective.

However, recognize that there’s no “perfect” coach.

Instead, focus on finding a coach who’s “good enough” for you—someone whose approach aligns with your preferences and understands your unique circumstances. While there might be a coach who, on paper, seems to fit all your criteria, less tangible elements like a coach’s personality, communication style, and general energy are paramount. Trust your instincts and choose a coach with whom you genuinely connect.

We’re here to help you reach your goals

The health coaches at Precision Nutrition are experts in their fields. They take the time to understand your behavior and habits as they design a plan to fit your unique goals and lifestyle.

Our coaches don’t just give you advice about diet and exercise. They work closely with you so you can learn healthier, sustainable habits that will help you feel better long term.

Try our 1:1 coaching program now and achieve the results you deserve.

The post Private: How to know you’ve found a good health coach appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

---

A personalized fitness and nutrition program is the antidote to one-size-fits-all, generic advice.

If you’re tired of trying programs that just don’t fit with your lifestyle or preferences, a personalized program may be what you need to get—and stay—on track.

We’ll explore what a personalized coaching program includes, as well as the many health and wellness benefits you can enjoy when you follow one.

What does it mean to have a personalized coaching program?

In a personalized coaching program, you work with a health coach who tailors a plan to fit your unique needs.

They assess your individual goals, lifestyle, and preferences to create a program that’s designed just for you.

Personalized coaching programs often include custom nutrition and exercise plans, but they also take into account factors like your current skills, history, schedule, relationships, and stressors.

What are the benefits of individualized coaching?

Let’s take a look at what you can expect from a personalized coaching program and all the ways it can help you feel better in the long term.

Specifically targets your goals

By personalizing your plan, a dedicated health coach helps you work toward specific goals while paying careful attention to your overall well-being.

Whether your aim is weight management, stress reduction, or improved sleep, a personalized program ensures that each aspect of your routine contributes to these goals. Your coach tailors not only workouts and dietary guidelines but also considers broader lifestyle factors to holistically support your health objectives.

For instance, if weight management is your primary goal, your coach doesn’t just prescribe a generic workout routine but tailors exercises that are both effective and enjoyable for you. Simultaneously, dietary recommendations are carefully customized, taking into account your preferences and expectations.

A health coach considers all elements of your daily life—your schedule, stress tolerance, health conditions—when developing your personalized program. When a health coach takes this approach, it can help shape your daily routine so it’s aligned with your goals.

Provides personal support and attention

With personalized coaching, you’re not navigating your health journey alone. Your coach is there to provide ongoing support, helping you overcome challenges and celebrate victories.

As you work together, your coach will continue adjusting your plan to meet your needs more precisely.

Moreover, the added accountability is a major advantage of personalized nutrition coaching. Regular check-ins and feedback sessions provide an opportunity for both of you to address concerns, refine strategies, and celebrate milestones.

The individualized support and attention from a coach can increase your chances of achieving—and sustaining—your health and wellness goals.

Customized learning and teaching

In a personalized nutrition coaching program—unlike generic workout classes or mass-produced fitness programs—the teaching approach can be customized to suit your unique learning style. This customization helps you integrate information more effectively while also enjoying the process.

Perhaps in the past, you’ve experienced the frustration of feeling overwhelmed or lost in a workout class due to a mismatch in teaching styles. With a personal health coach, you have the opportunity to find someone you connect with better.

This dynamic of trust between the two of you helps you both feel confident, comfortable, and excited to work together. You can ask questions, seek clarification, and engage in meaningful discussions with your coach. They, in turn, can ask questions and clarify your needs as you progress.

Incorporates your preferences and needs

A good health coach will consider your past experiences, limitations, and current values and goals to ensure that every aspect of the program is customized to you.

Whether it’s dietary choices, favorite exercises, or scheduling constraints, your coach tailors the plan to fit organically into your life. This helps maximize the chances you’ll stick with the plan.

For instance, if you have dietary restrictions or preferences, your coach can design a personal nutrition plan that accommodates those specifications. Similarly, if you have physical limitations or aptitudes in terms of exercise, they can adapt a program to include activities that you enjoy and that align with your abilities.

Your coach will also consider your mental and emotional well-being. A good health coach will not only be trained in nutrition and fitness, but also human behavior and psychology, so they can design strategies to help you address stress, motivation, and overall recovery.

Easily adjustable

One major advantage of a personalized coaching program is the flexibility it offers, allowing you to easily adjust your plan as needed. Unlike rigid, one-size-fits-all approaches, a dedicated health coach understands that life is dynamic and what works today may need adjusting tomorrow.

This adaptability is essential for long-term success. Your coach will also help you progress at a pace that works for you so you can continue to feel challenged and motivated without pushing too hard or getting bored.

If something in your plan isn’t working as expected, your coach is there to help. Open communication with a coach you trust allows you to have candid conversations about your progress, challenges, and any necessary modifications.

For instance, if you find a particular type of exercise uncomfortable or unenjoyable, your coach can make program or movement adjustments for you. Similarly, if a dietary recommendation isn’t feasible due to budgetary constraints or simply your palate, your coach can help you explore alternative options that still support your health goals.

How to pick a health coach

Select a number of health coaches that work with people who have goals like yours, and then have one-on-one conversations with each to narrow down your options.

During these discussions, pay attention to how well they listen and understand what you’re looking for. The coach you choose should have a portfolio of happy clients in or close to your specific demographic. Their experience working with clients who have similar abilities or limitations to yours lets you know they understand your unique needs.

We’re here to help you reach your goals

The certified coaches at Precision Nutrition are experts in their field and can help you make sustainable lifestyle changes to reach your goals. You’ll not only receive customized nutrition and exercise plans, but you’ll learn the skills you need to maintain your success long-term, too.

Our coaches will delve into your personal habits so you can understand why you make the choices you do—and add positive changes to your life. Learn more about our personalized, science-based coaching program today and start your journey to a healthier, happier you.

The post The importance of personalizing your fitness and nutrition program appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

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From hitting a wall with your workouts to stalled weight loss, plateaus can occur at any stage.

But all that hard work hasn’t been for nothing. Plateaus, although frustrating, can be useful.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what causes them, how to push through, and when to consider embracing the plateau and shifting into maintenance mode.

What is a plateau in fitness?

A plateau refers to a period of time where you feel like you’re no longer making progress. For anyone who’s been actively pursuing fitness for a while, you know the signs: maybe you’ve stopped losing weight or gaining muscle, you’re bored by your workouts, or you’re struggling to find energy and recovery properly.

Progress isn’t linear, and the gains you make initially aren’t sustainable at the same rate indefinitely. Newcomers to health and fitness often experience rapid initial results, which they might expect to last forever.

However, as you become more seasoned, progress becomes more challenging, and you’ll inevitably hit plateaus more often.

Does a plateau only refer to your workout routine?

Plateaus can happen in any aspect of your wellness journey. Remember that “wellness” incorporates more than exercise—it’s about your whole, multidimensional health. Also called “Deep Health,” this refers to the many aspects of your lifestyle that work together to contribute to your overall well-being, including:

• Social health
• Physical health
• Emotional health
• Mental health
• Environmental health
• Existential health

While we often talk about plateaus in the context of your workout or fitness routine—you can’t increase the weight you’re deadlifting, or lose another few pounds of body fat—it’s not the only place a plateau can happen.

Sometimes working out harder might not be the answer, and you’ll have to address one of the other dimensions of your Deep Health—whether that’s working on your sleep, mindset, or supportive relationships.

Is a plateau always a bad thing?

Contrary to what you may have heard, a plateau is not inherently negative. It’s a natural and expected phase that occurs for various reasons (which we’ll cover in more detail below).

A plateau is simply your body’s way of providing valuable feedback.

A plateau may actually signify that you’ve reached a level of fitness worth preserving. In fact, learning how to navigate and sustain a plateau is a valuable skill. It ensures that you don’t lose the progress you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Just as breaking through plateaus can be essential to keep working toward your goals, mastering the art of maintaining your current state of wellness also contributes to the overall success of your health endeavors.

Ultimately, that’s many people’s long-term goal: to be able to sustain the progress they’ve made at the apex of their achievement.

Why does a plateau happen?

The more you understand why you’ve hit the plateau, the better you’ll be able to adjust your plan accordingly to move beyond it.

We’ll list seven common reasons why you might have hit a plateau, plus some initial fixes to try.

Plateau reason #1: Repetitively performing the same workout routines

A fitness plateau can happen when you stick to the same workout routine without variety. While routine helps you build habits, your body adapts to the repetitive stress, which leads to diminished returns.

To work through this plateau: Diversify your exercises, introducing new challenges that keep your muscles engaged and responsive. For example, if you’ve primarily taken cycling classes, it might be time to include some weightlifting.

Plateau reason #2: Performing ineffective training routines

Not all exercises yield the same results for everyone. If your current routine doesn’t target specific muscle groups effectively, you might hit a workout plateau.

To work through this plateau: Focus on exercises that align with your goals and provide adequate challenges. Once you’ve determined your goals, research and select workouts that specifically target the necessary muscle groups.

Plateau reason #3: Not pushing yourself hard enough (Intensity not high enough)

In fitness, intensity matters. If you’re not pushing yourself hard enough during workouts, your body won’t experience the necessary stress to prompt muscle growth.

To work through this plateau: Gradually increase the intensity of your exercises and challenge your limits without compromising safety. This could mean increasing the weight you’re lifting or the tempo at which you’re completing your exercises. Take note of the number of reps you perform and/or the pace you move through your workouts so you can measure progress over time.

Plateau reason #4: Not progressively overloading your muscles

Muscles adapt to stress over time. If you’re not progressively increasing resistance or intensity, your muscles won’t get stronger. Plateaus can occur when your workout fails to challenge your muscles beyond their current capacity.

To work through this plateau: Regularly increase the resistance or intensity to stimulate ongoing improvements.

Plateau reason #5: Training inconsistently

Keeping a consistent workout schedule is one of the keys to fitness. Irregular workout patterns can lead to plateaus as your body doesn’t receive a consistent stimulus for growth.

To work through this plateau: Establish a regular workout schedule and stick to it to maintain steady progress.

Plateau reason #6: Needing to adjust your nutrition plan

Your eating habits can also cause plateaus. If you’re experiencing persistent fatigue or energy crashes, your nutritional intake may be falling short of your body’s needs.

Your body needs certain nutrients and enough calories for peak functionality, and if it doesn’t receive those, you might not be able to perform your workouts as well.

To work through this plateau: Try to incorporate a higher proportion of nutrient dense, minimally processed foods into your diet so you get the macronutrients and micronutrients you need to achieve your goals.

Plateau reason #7: Not paying attention to other lifestyle factors

Fitness is more than just exercise. Ignoring lifestyle factors such as nutrition, sleep, and stress can contribute to plateaus. Your body needs proper fuel, recovery, and stress management to thrive.

To work through this plateau: Try to focus on incorporating high-nutrition foods into your diet, creating an atmosphere of calm before bed, or learning healthy techniques for coping with stress.

How do you know if you’ve hit a plateau?

Here are some things to look out for.

Plateau sign #1: Your workouts feel easy

When your workouts start feeling noticeably easier than they used to, it’s a strong indicator that you might be experiencing a fitness plateau. The initial challenge that once accompanied your exercises diminishes, suggesting that your body has adapted to the current routine. Pay attention to changes in perceived effort during your workouts.

Plateau sign #2: You’re not noticing progress

Lack of progress is a clear sign of a fitness plateau. If you’re not seeing improvements in strength, endurance, or other fitness parameters over an extended period, it’s time to reassess your approach. Tracking your performance and noting any stagnation can help identify when you’ve hit a plateau.

Plateau sign #3: Hitting a standstill with a particular exercise

Whether it’s running at a consistent speed, lifting heavier weights, or performing more repetitions, a plateau becomes evident when you can’t seem to push past a certain point. If you consistently struggle to make progress in a particular aspect of your fitness routine, it may be time for an adjustment.

Plateau sign #4: You’re feeling fatigued

If you’re experiencing persistent levels of tiredness, or you feel like your energy skyrockets then drops, your wellness routine—including your workout and your nutrition plan—may not be providing your body with the support and fuel it needs.

Excessive fatigue or brain fog may point to nutrient imbalances or insufficient caloric intake. On the other hand, it might indicate that you’re training too hard and not allowing your body the rest it needs. Either way, this could lead to a plateau since your body doesn’t have the resources it needs to recover and continue making progress.

How to break through a plateau

While you don’t always need to break through a plateau, it’s often worth trying.

These seven methods can help you push through if that’s what your body needs.

Or, if they don’t work, they can let you know that it’s time to shift into maintenance mode.

Plateau breakthrough #1: Upend your routine

To overcome a workout plateau, consider a radical shift in your routine.

If cardio has been your mainstay, integrate strength training to challenge your muscles in new ways.

Conversely, if you’ve been predominantly lifting weights, experiment with machines, resistance bands, or high intensity interval training to introduce variety.

Altering the type and intensity of your workouts not only targets different muscle groups but also prevents your body from acclimating to a specific routine.

Plateau breakthrough #2: Focus on nutrition

Breaking through a plateau isn’t only about changing your exercise routine—it’s about addressing all aspects of health.

Assess your nutrition to ensure it supports your fitness goals, providing the energy and nutrients your body requires.

Experiment with meal timing and frequency to optimize energy levels throughout the day, preventing slumps and cravings.

Hydration also plays an important role in performance, so make sure you’re drinking enough water daily.

Plateau breakthrough #3: Try something completely new

Introduce novelty to shake things up.

If solo workouts have been your norm, join a group fitness class for a change of pace. If the gym is your usual setting, consider engaging in a local sports league or trying a new outdoor activity over the weekend.

The unfamiliarity of a new challenge not only sparks physical adaptation but might also rekindle your motivation.

Beyond exercise, shake up your nutrition. Experiment with different foods. Try new recipes. Explore a different dietary approach. These can all provide the nutritional variety your body needs for renewed progress.

Plateau breakthrough #4: Focus on progressive overload

If your focus is on strength training, a plateau may arise when you neglect to consistently challenge your muscles. Avoid this plateau (or push through it) by gradually increasing the resistance or intensity of your exercises.

Carefully track your current lifting capacity and strategically plan increased increments of resistance.

Aim for gradual but steady progression, whether it’s adding more weight, increasing repetitions, or adjusting the intensity of your workout.

Plateau breakthrough #5: Rest, recover, repeat

Overtraining or consistently pushing your body without adequate recovery can lead to plateaus. To break through, incorporate planned periods of rest into your routine.

During rest, the body repairs and strengthens itself, allowing muscles to recover and adapt to the stress of previous workouts. This process helps you avoid burnout, reduce the risk of injury, and ultimately overcome plateaus.

Consider incorporating active recovery days, where you engage in low-intensity activities to promote circulation and flexibility without imposing excessive stress on your body.

Always listen to your body’s signals. Rest and recovery are not signs of weakness but essential components of a well-rounded fitness routine—and life.

Plateau breakthrough #6: Practice healthy sleep hygiene

While a full eight hours a night of uninterrupted sleep may not be realistic for everyone, you can take proactive measures to help yourself get a good amount of rest.

Turn off devices well before bedtime, make your room quiet, cool, and comfortable, and try to stick to a consistent sleep-wake schedule.

Helping yourself learn healthy sleep habits can help you feel better, manage your weight, reduce stress, and improve your mood—among many other benefits.

Plateau breakthrough #7: Work with a health coach

When facing a plateau, enlisting the support of a health coach can be a game-changer.

A health coach brings expertise in nutrition, exercise, anatomy, physiology, sleep, stress, and recovery to help you uncover the reasons behind your plateau and navigate potential solutions tailored to your unique situation.

A health coach specializing in exercise and movement can design a progressive and personalized workout plan, ensuring that you’re incorporating variety and addressing potential weaknesses. They can also analyze your diet to ensure it aligns with your fitness goals. They may also help you improve other lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress management, and overall well-being.

Additionally, a health coach can help you determine whether this plateau is an opportunity for a breakthrough—or a sign that it’s time to focus on maintenance.

We’re here to help you reach your goals

The coaches at Precision Nutrition can help you make sustainable lifestyle changes to reach your goals. With one of our health coaches by your side, you’ll never be left alone to figure it all out. We provide expert nutritional and wellness advice that’s customized to your goals and lifestyle.

Learn more about our 1:1 Coaching Program and find out how we can help you transform your life for the better in a sustainable, healthy way.

The post Why you might have hit a plateau with your fitness goals appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1

Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

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You can learn everything on your own… right?

In other words, between books and free online articles and videos, what’s the point of working with a health coach?

Well, there’s a few points…

A health coach offers unique knowledge and insights that can help you in ways you can’t necessarily get on your own. They fill in the nutritional and exercise gaps you may overlook, make sure you’re adhering to your intentions, and suggest solutions (and moral support) when you hit inevitable obstacles.

In fact, hiring a health coach may be one of the best decisions you can make for your long term wellbeing.

Keep reading to find out 11 (good) reasons to work with a health coach.

First, what is a health coach?

A health coach is a dedicated wellness expert who can help you achieve your goals.

Health coaches possess expertise based on a solid foundation in exercise science, anatomy, and physiology to craft safe and effective programs. They take into account individual requirements, capabilities, and objectives to tailor wellness plans to suit your unique needs.

Health coaches may also have nutrition expertise. They’ll delve into the dietary considerations and lifestyle factors (like stress management, sleep, and recovery) that impact your overall health.

As you attempt to make and sustain changes, your health coach can also be a valuable source of encouragement and accountability. They provide guidance, monitor progress, make adjustments as needed—so you can get the results you’ve been looking for.

11 reasons to work with a health coach

Working with a health coach can help you in numerous ways, whether you’re just starting, or need some tips or tweaks along the way.

Reason #1: You’re not seeing results.

If you’ve been putting in consistent effort without seeing results, consider the expertise of a health coach.

They bring a fresh set of eyes to your habits and routines. They’ll assess what you’re currently doing and suggest tweaks or changes to make your plan more efficient and effective.

Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of fine-tuning your approach. They’ll also help you set realistic, achievable goals, ensuring you’re on the right track.

Reason #2: You don’t know where to start.

With so much information out there, how do you know where to start? A health coach can help you make sense of all the (sometimes contradictory) advice and provide you with a clear, actionable plan.

They streamline the process, break it down into manageable steps, and offer an appropriate starting point tailored to you.

They’ll introduce you to fundamental exercises, including cardio, weight training, and flexibility training. If appropriate, they might introduce you to nutrition fundamentals, including finding the right balance of macronutrients.

A health coach takes the time to understand your specific needs, capabilities, and objectives. They’ll also ensure you’re not just going through the motions but truly understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. This helps you build a solid foundation to make gradual but definite progress.

Reason #3: You have a specific goal in mind.

If you’re focused on an objective, such as weight loss, muscle building, healthier eating, or stress management, a health coach can make a difference, helping you connect the dots between what you eat, how you move, your sleep quality, and more.

Even if you have a particular area of your life you’re striving to improve, a health coach can help you see the “big picture” view, and how often one aspect of your life is connected to and affects other aspects of your life.

That way, you can understand where to focus your energy—sleep, exercise, nutrition, relationships—to help you achieve your goal.

Reason #4: You need more structure in your wellness routine.

A health coach will create a plan that optimizes both effectiveness and efficiency.

During workouts, health coaches offer direction to ensure you exercise with precision. They provide feedback, corrections, and technique guidance to make your routine more impactful.

This also applies to nutrition. A health coach can help you learn how to incorporate foods with greater nutrient value in ways that work for you, so you’re more likely to develop healthier habits in the long-term.

Reason #5: You need someone to hold you accountable.

By scheduling regular sessions and check-ins, health coaches create a structured framework for your progress.

This significantly increases the likelihood of you adhering to your workout and nutrition intentions. Without the accountability of a scheduled session, it’s easier to skip exercise or make less nutritious food choices.

Of course, there’s always a financial and temporal investment associated with health coaching. Committing to regular sessions not only safeguards your financial investment but also reaffirms the importance of allocating time for your well-being.

Reason #6: You’re having trouble staying motivated.

In addition to accountability, your health coach serves as a source of encouragement and motivation.

They celebrate your triumphs, provide reassurance during challenging moments, and offer constructive feedback. They understand the ebb and flow of progress and help you generate the motivation needed to sustain behavior changes.

A health coach will take the time to understand your aspirations, struggles, and targets so you feel heard and valued. Having a coach to cheer you on and push you past your limits can make all the difference.

Reason #7: You need an expert resource.

Working with a health coach goes beyond achieving exercise and nutrition goals—it can be a valuable learning experience.

Certified health coaches possess a deep understanding of human physiology, body mechanics, behavior change, and nutrition science, making them a valuable resource for clients seeking comprehensive knowledge on holistic wellness.

Reason #8: You need someone to make decisions for you.

Working with a health coach offers a reprieve from the constant decision-making that comes with managing your fitness and nutrition.

The multitude of choices, from exercise routines to dietary plans, can often lead to “decision fatigue,” which can then lead to frustration. You may find it a relief to have a trusted expert guide you and help narrow your options.

Reason #9: You want to enjoy taking care of yourself.

Exercise doesn’t have to feel like a chore.

A health coach can help you find ways to move your body that are enjoyable so that you look forward to taking care of yourself.

Not all exercise suits all people, but a health coach can help you find something that works—even if you’ve never exercised before.

Reason #10: You want to learn how to take care of yourself.

If your goal is to eventually create and follow your own instincts, working with a health coach can help get you there.

As we’ve said, health coaches understand exercise, nutrition and how those two things work together to create a healthier lifestyle. By dedicating yourself to learning the wellness skills and knowledge that work for you, you’ll one day be able to sustainably take care of yourself.

Reason #11: You’re looking for long-term benefits.

Anyone can start exercising or following a fad diet.

However, a health coach will help you learn how to incorporate nutrition and movement into your life in a way that’s sustainable.

This means taking into account factors such as your age, current fitness level, goals, lifestyle, and anything else that affects your health. Long-term benefits include learning how to tend to all six aspects of Deep Health (not just what you eat and how much you exercise). Those six aspects are:

• Relational health
• Existential health
• Mental health
• Physical health
• Emotional health
• Environmental health

When you take into account your psychological well-being, your ability to focus and think clearly, how well your home and work environment supports your health, your relationships with others, and your overall sense of purpose, you’ll be more likely to create a meaningful plan—and stick with it.

We’re here to help you reach your goals

You don’t have to tackle your health journey alone.

The coaches at Precision Nutrition are experts in exercise and nutrition—as well as behavior change—and can help you reach your goals effectively and safely.

With our 1:1 Coaching Program, you’ll work with a coach who’ll tailor a nutrition and wellness plan based on your lifestyle, goals, and preferences using scientifically proven methods. With help, you’ll learn how to incorporate healthy habits into your daily lifestyle for long-term success.

The post 11 reasons to work with a health coach appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Source: Health1