HOW TO MANAGE YOUR DIET ON VACATION

Vacations are wonderful. 

They give us an opportunity to let go of all the things that tear us down during our every day lives. They give us time to reflect. They give us a chance to simply let go and just be. 

Vacations are a joy, but they can also be a real downer if you’re worried about gaining body fat or losing all the progress you’ve made up to that point. I don’t know about you but I don’t want my vacations to be full of thoughts like “Gosh, I don’t think I should have the glass of wine, I may get fat”, or “I should probably skip the dessert on all the dinners that way I can keep my figure.”

F*&$ that. 

The thing is, all of this is easier said than done. It’s easier to say that you’ll not stress on vacation that actually not stressing on vacations. There almost always seems to be that little voice in the back of our minds telling us “eh, you probably shouldn’t eat that.”

So what do we do? How can we truly enjoy vacations without worrying about derailing everything we’ve worked so hard for?

I believe we can free ourselves by working on some practices both at home, and at the resort. 

MAKE A HABIT OF EXERCISING AT HOME

As you know, exercise should be a part of your daily life if you want to live a long, healthy, and happy life. But, did you know that there is one form of exercise that you should be doing that will create more freedom for you at home as well as on vacation?

It’s resistance training. Weight training. Lifting weights. Whatever you want to call it. 

The reason we’re get our panties in a bunch on vacation is because we tend to move a lot less, and eat a LOT more. Eating more and moving less could potentially lead to weight gain. 

In order for us to gain weight, we need to be taking in more calories than we are burning in the day. In order for us to lose weight, we need to be burning more calories than we are taking in during the day. 

After hearing that statement, you may be thinking “wow, sounds like I need to start running my ass off and eating a lot less.” 

You could, but I would advise against that. 

You see, there are many different factors that come into play when it comes to the amount of calories you burn in the day. One of the biggest factors that contributes to calories burned is our metabolism. In fact, we burn about 60-80% of our total calories through our metabolism. The remainder of the calories are burned through exercise, digestion, and more. 

So it’s safe to say that it would be wise to invest some time and energy into speeding up our metabolisms, given that it burns the large majority of our total calories. 

Lifting weights can do that. Lifting weights can literally increase the amount of calories you burn in the day. In fact, lifting weights delivers the best of both worlds. It allows you to burning calories while lifting weights, as well as increase your body’s ability to burn calories throughout the day, even when you’re not exercising. 

Let’s take a step back and bring this together.

We need to be burning more calories in the day than we are taking in to lose weight. The immediate thought is to move and exercise like a maniac, and starve yourself. 

But when we thing about what lifting weights does to our metabolism, we realize that taking time to speed up our metabolism is the better option. When we have a faster metabolism, we can enjoy more food on vacation. We can stress less about having to get a workout in. 

Now I want to be clear. Two different people can lift weights and only one may end up with a faster metabolism. It’s all about how you lift those weights. Begin weight lifting with the goal of getting stronger. Lift heavier, rest a little bit longer, push your limits, find out what you’re truly capable of. 

Oh, and download this ebook for free for a detailed step-by-step guide on how to speed up your metabolism. 

DON’T EAT LIKE AN ASSHOLE

Too many people eat like assholes when they’re on vacation. They treat vacation like a kid treats halloween night. We’re all adults. We need to act like adults when it comes to our food. 

There are some practices that I have my clients implement when they are on vacation. It helps them enjoy it without acting like a child that is going coo-coo for coco puffs.

#1 SLOW DOWN

When you are eating your food, slow the freaking heck down. Eating too fast is a surefire way to binge eat and leave your vacation with an extra pound or two of body fat. 

When we eat too fast, we don’t give our body the opportunity it needs to tell us it is satisfied. When we don’t know when we’re satisfied, we keep going and end up being too stuffed. 

There are several ways you can slow down. A few ways I like to slow down is by chewing at least 30 times per bite, putting my utensil down in between bites, and using my opposite hand to eat. Try one or a combo of those and notice how much you slow down. 

#2 BE PRESENT

Being present is a part of slowing down. When you slow down, you don’t have a choice but to be present with the people around you and the food you are eating. When you’re present, you appreciate things more. You learn how to truly enjoy the taste for what it is, rather than eating it like you’ll never get food again. 

The idea is to enjoy your food, not cram it down your throat. Let’s face the reality here. You can binge eat any time you want to at home. The point of vacation is to have foods that you normally wouldn’t, to experience things you normally wouldn’t. So don’t eat like you’ve been deprived your whole entire life and you’ll never get a chance to eat again. Eat like you are eating with the purpose of enjoying the taste, texture and experience. You don’t need 10 pieces of cake to enjoy the taste, texture, and experience when all that comes in the first piece you ordered. 

#3 HAVE AN INTERNAL DIALOGUE

As you slow down, tell yourself what you’re enjoying about the food. Talk to yourself (in your head) or maybe even tell the people what you’re enjoying. 

“Wow, the cake is so soft, nothing like I’ve experienced before.”

“I love how refreshing the sorbet is. It’s so good!”

Don’t eat with an empty head. Eat mindfully. Be present. 

MOVE YOUR BODY 

Listen, no one is expecting you to get after in the gym while you’re on vacation. If you’re like me and you enjoy it and want to get a lift in almost every day, do it! But if the thought of exercising on vacation doesn’t appeal to you, THAT’S OK. 

You can still move. 

Go on walks in between meals, stretch, take a yoga class, walk up and down the beach, play some volleyball, or throw the frisbee around. 

Walking may not be the exact same as formal exercise, but getting your steps in can make a BIG difference. 

Relax and enjoy your time away, but move a little. Don’t be a blob that lays on the chair for 10 hours each day. 

CHILL OUT

I understand that the part of the brain that handles emotion will almost always overcome the logic side of the brain, but I still want to take you through some numbers anyway. 

A pound of body fat is roughly 3500 calories. To gain an extra pound of body fat in a week, you would need to eat an extra 700 calories per day while on vacation. If you listen to your body’s natural hunger and satiety signals, eating an extra 700 calories per day won’t be as effortless as you may think.

Speaking of effortless, I know how effortless it can be to get 1,000 more steps in each day. If you’re doing absolutely nothing but laying on your back and eating all day long, you will gain some body fat. If you’re moving, and implementing the above practices, you’ll probably be ok. 

And if you gain a pound of body fat on your vacation, WHO CARES!?

You can get rid of that body fat when you get home and get back to your routine. It’s not stuck with you forever unless you choose to let it be your buddy. 

ENJOY YOUR VACATION

In order to truly enjoy your vacation without the stress of derailing your health and fitness, do what your body wants you to do. 

Begin lifting weights regularly for a faster metabolism. Get some movement in during your trip. Slow down and be present when you eat. 

Relax, and let go. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.

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3 Reasons Guys Aren't Seeing Results

In the last article, I went over 3 reasons girls aren’t seeing results. The article got quite a bit of attention, and helped quite a few girls see what they needed to be doing in their health and fitness in order to see results. So I thought, “Hey, let’s write one for guys! There are a ton of things guys can be doing better in order to see progress and results.”

So here we are.

Before I get into the nitty gritty, I would like to get something off my chest. If you are a guy and you are reading this article, DO NOT BE A DINGUS. What I mean by “do not be a dingus” is, do not read this article, say to yourself, “those are good ideas”, and then continue training and eating like you have been. You’re better than that. You’re smarter than that. Take these principles and apply them! I dare you. See what happens. The only thing you’re risking is a bit of effort for a huge reward. Why wouldn’t you give them a try, right?!

Right.

So, knowing that you’ll not only read this article, but apply the principles I tell you about, let’s move along.

There are many different reasons people don’t see results. The list goes on and on and on and on. However, some of those things aren’t as important as others. Having said that, this article contains only 3 of those reasons, as these 3 reasons are major reasons guys aren’t seeing results. Here they are.

Reason #1: Improper Nutrition

If you just read the reason and thought to yourself “That’s not me, I hit my macros every day!”, then this segment definitely applies to you.

When I first started coaching people, it was right as the surge of IIFYM came out. If you’re unaware of what that acronym stands for, it stands for “If It Fits Your Macros”. IIFYM is a way of eating that allows poor food choices as long as they fit your daily budget for protein, carbs, and fat. Basically, it doesn’t matter if you eat 100 grams of carbs from pop-tarts, or 100 grams of carbs from rice, carbs are carbs and 100 grams are 100 grams. This is when the whole “a calorie is a calorie” thing came about.

This thought process is insane and is keeping you from better health and fitness.

Sure, calories are calories, and 100 grams of carbs from pop tarts is the same in energy as 100 grams of rice. However, both of those sources of carbs play a very different role in your internal health. Your body’s internal systems and health will react in a very negative manner to 100 grams of pop tarts. Your blood sugar will spike with a guaranteed hard crash to come. The processed sugars will cause you to crave like crazy. The processed carbs in pop tarts are not satiating, making you feel like you’re still hungry. Your gut will hate you and your digestion will suffer.

Get the point?

Macronutrients are extremely important when it comes to health, building muscle, and burning fat. However, micronutrients as well as wholesome sources of macronutrients are just as important. When you are internally healthy, your external fitness (getting jacked and having a six pack) has far greater potential. When your internal health is garbage, you can get so far.

A good rule to follow when it comes to fueling yourself well is the 80/20 rule. 80% of your daily food intake must come from whole, natural sources and contain plenty of micronutrients. Do you need some steak and eggs to reach your protein and fat goal? Great, but throw some spinach in there too so your gut and digestion will thank you.

20% percent of your daily intake can come from poo-poo sources like Girl Scout Cookies (tis the season!) and cereal. I will say this, though. Although the 80/20 rule is a good rule to follow, I believe it’s a little lenient. I would recommend taking it to 90/10 in order to heavily prioritize your body’s internal health and digestion.

Reason #2: Not Enough Sleep

I’d say that sleep is the number one reason many people are seeing their health slowly deteriorate week by week. Sleep is hands down one the most important things we need as humans. It allows our body to rest, repair, and grow. Without sleep, we have nothing.

When it comes to guys, a lack of sleep is an epidemic. After training tons of people for years, I’ve come to the assumption that the average working man gets 5-6 hours of sleep per night. If someone comes to me for coaching and tells me they get 7 hours of sleep each night, I am completely blown away.

Here is the truth. You MUST be getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep each and every night. If you get a night of 7 hours of sleep or less, it is a sign that you better get yourself in check and get more the next night. Without sleep, your body will not reap the benefits from all your hard work. Not only will extra sleep get you your results, but it will also allow you to be a better person. Your mood will be better, you will be more attentive, and your friends, co-workers, and family will be relieved to not be around a total ass all the time.

There are a few things that you can be doing to get plenty of sleep.

First off, create a nightly routine. Our bodies absolutely love routine, especially when it comes to sleep. Find the time at which you will begin your nightly routine, and stick with it on a consistent basis.

Second, get rid of all electronics a few hours before bed. I know, this one is a struggle for me, too. But I tell you what, the nights where I choose to turn my electronics off and keep them away from me for a few hours before hitting the hay, I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow and I am out like a rock all night long, feeling completely renewed in the morning. Find a place where you can put away your electronics as well. Charge your phone in another room other than the bedroom. Out of sight, out of mind.

Lastly, make your bedroom a place where sleep is bound to happen. Keep it dark and cool. No electronics in this place. Do not read in this place. Do not do anything other than sleeping in this place. Your bedroom is a sleeping place, ok?

One other thing, if you are absolutely putting your foot down on electronics, you can get some blue blocking glasses to aid your eyes while you’re answering emails late at night. It’s not nearly the same as being off electronics, but it can help.

Reason #3: Improper Programming

Programming is hands down one of the most underrated principles when it comes to reaching your health and fitness goals. Most of us guys think, “what’s it matter what my workout looks like, as long as I’m pushing myself, right?”

No.

Well, yes and no.

Pushing yourself in your workout is very important, but it is secondary to proper programming. A good training program is centered around the big movements like squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows, and overhead presses. A good program also includes room for volume to be increased through proper intensity and frequency.

Volume is one of the key signals that tells our bodies to build and grow. Volume is weights x sets x reps. As your training volume increases, your body will adapt, grow, and get stronger. Volume can be manipulated with intensity (how hard you’re working) as well as frequency (how often you train each muscle group). Most of the time, frequency and intensity should be inversely related. The higher your intensity is, the lower your frequency should be. The lower your intensity is, the higher your frequency should be. The key is balancing them well without doing too much frequency and too much intensity, or too little frequency and too little intensity.

Here are some guidelines that apply to different levels of trainees.

If you are a beginner and you have very little experience exerting your body with weights, you should train your entire body with full body workouts three times per week at a low intensity.

If you are an intermediate trainee, you should train your body parts two times per week with a moderatel intensity. This can look like two push and two pull workouts per week.

If you are an advanced trainee, you can train your body parts two times per week with a high intensity. This can look like two push and two pull workouts per week with extra sets and effort in your exercises.

Whatever your training program looks like, it is important that it gives you enough time to rest each muscle group between training sessions, and still provides room for volume to increase month after month without overtraining.

THE TAKEAWAYS

Here is your short version of this article.

Eat nutritious foods that contain high quality macronutrients as well as high quality micronutrients. No processed crap. Au naturel, baby.

Get an absolute minimum of 7 hours of sleep per week by turning your room into a cave, turning off electronics early, and following a routine.

Follow a training program that allows you to train each muscle group 2-3 times per week with plenty of opportunity to rest in between workouts.

If you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends and family!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.

How to Make Health and Fitness A Priority

This is one of those articles that can be great if you implement what you learn. If not, it'll just be another thing you read as you go about your day making no change to your life.

There's an intro for ya.

Last week, a friend emailed me and asked how I make health and fitness a priority in my life, and what they need to do to make it a priority for themselves.

But before I give you some advice, I'll say this:

There is no formula or step-by-step process in the entire universe that will force a change in your life. YOU have to want to make that change bad enough for yourself. If you do, you'll make it happen. If you don't, you won't. It's a simple as that. It's the brutal truth.

Be open and honest with yourself as you read this article and reflect.

#1: PLAN AHEAD

You can be on the greatest diet of all time and you can have the most effective workout program in the world, but it doesn't mean jack if you don't plan to make those things a consistent part of your life. You MUST plan ahead.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." - Ben Franklin

I like to think I am a hard worker, but I know for a fact that if I didn't take time to plan things ahead of time, they would never happen. No matter how hard you work and how determined you are, the same rule applies to you. I'm not sure what you use to plan and schedule your daily and weekly life, but whatever it is, I'm sure it helps you a ton. If you use that method to plan your meetings, work days, babysitter, appointments, and all the other crazy things you have going on in your life, why wouldn't you do the same for your health and fitness?

Put your workouts in your calendar NOW. Seriously, stop what you're doing and schedule your workouts for this week as well as the upcoming week. Do your workouts take an hour? Yes? Ok, awesome. Find an hour in your calendar, create an event, and title it "Gym Time" or "My Time" or "GO LIFT HEAVY STUFF".

"I don't have an open hour in my calendar."

Yes, you do. You just didn't look hard enough to find it. Go back and try again.

Once you're done planning and scheduling your workouts, take a look at your nutrition and ask yourself the following questions:

• Where do I succeed in my nutrition, and what do I need to do to continue that success?

• Where do I struggle, and what do I need to do to make sure those struggles are non-existent this week?

Whatever that looks like, plan it out.

For most people, the main struggle is eating healthy on a consistent basis while balancing a busy schedule. It's too easy to go out and grab fast food if you don't have anything ready at home, so make sure that doesn't happen. Do some meal prepping, and make some snacks for you to eat this week and the next, NOW. Seriously, do it now.

Put some meat in the crockpot, make a massive pot of rice, and cook up some greens that are easy for you to take on the go. That takes wayyy less time than you might think. Putting meat in the crockpot takes a couple of seconds, and the crockpot does all the work while you prep other things. Rice takes 10-2o minutes. Greens, about the same. All you need to make easy meals for the entire week is 3o minutes to an hour at the most. You have that time. Sit down and put it in your calendar, NOW.

I'm telling you, planning out the next 7-14 days is going to bring you GREAT success. You just need to do it. So sit down, think about where it's hardest for you to succeed, and schedule a game plan to make sure falling short doesn't happen.

#2: CREATE BEHAVIOR-BASED GOALS

If you've been paying attention to my content for a while, you know that I constantly talk about how important it is to know your why. Your why is the reason you're doing this. Your why tells you the importance and significance of making a change in your life. It is absolutely essential.

But what comes after the why?

Action.

Here's the thing, though. Action means nothing if there's no consistency, and the best way to build consistency is to create habits. The best way to create habits is through behavior-based goals.

Why ---> Behavior ---> Habit ---> Consistency ---> Success

It's easy for all of us to think about the outcome-based goals we want. We want to lose 5% body fat. We want to drop 20lbs. Whatever it is, we all have some sort of outcome-based goal. That's good and well, but those outcomes come from consistency that begins with behavior change. Think for a quick second on what your outcome-based goal is. Now, take that goal and break it down. Ask yourself: "If I want to achieve _______ in ____ months, what do I need to do?" If you need to train properly and eat according to your goals, your new goal is to train five days per week and eat healthy 80% of the time each day. This is just an example. It will change depending on the goal you have and what you need to do to get there. So, figure out what the process looks like, and make the behaviors in your process your new goals that you aim to achieve each day.

I have been absolutely horrible about prioritizing my mobility. I want to reach a new squat PR and improve my form, so my goal is to spend 15 minutes doing ankle mobility 3x per week. That's an example of a behavior-based goal.

Not only will behavior-based goals build consistency, but they'll also keep the big goal from feeling like this daunting, difficult, and completely out-of-reach achievement. You'll slowly begin focusing on the present, what you can do THIS day, and before you know it, you'll be at your outcome-based goal.

#3: YOU GOTTA WANT IT

This one is straight forward. If you want health and fitness to be a priority in your life, you gotta want it. If you do, you'll prioritize it. If you don't, you won't.

I can already hear the excuses I've heard over and over replaying in my head...

"I don't have any time for that."

"You don't understand, you're not a parent."

"My job is too demanding. I have too much on my plate."

STOP.

Just, STOP.

STOP lying to yourself, and take responsibility. It's perfectly fine if you don't want health and fitness to be a priority. But, it is NOT ok to tell yourself it is a top priority when you're not treating it as such.

If your health and fitness really means that much to you, you'll make it happen. You'll move things around, you'll cancel stuff. You'll find a gym that has a daycare for your kids and you'll pay extra for it. You'll wake up early. You'll ask your spouse to help you make time. You'll get a home gym.

It is plain and simple, people. You'll make it happen if you want it to. You won't if you don't. That's the brutal truth.

So, sit down and think through this.

Ask yourself: "Is health and fitness really my top priority?" If it's not, and you don't need it to be, then be at peace with that. It is absolutely not fair for you to tell yourself that it is your top priority and then treat it differently. If it IS your top priority, then make changes accordingly to treat it as such.

Be objective. Be honest. Be truthful.

THE TAKEAWAY

Making health and fitness a top priority comes down to what you want. The BEST thing you can do for yourself after reading this article is to sit down and figure out if you really do want this for yourself. If you do, plan ahead, and plan to execute your behavior-based goals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.