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#96 - 75 Hard Update: Lessons & Reminders So Far
30 Plays1 month ago
I'm halfway through the popular challenge known as 75 Hard and giving you an update on my results, my struggles, and the lessons I've learned so far. Some takeaways you'll get from this one:
- The power of high-leverage health habits
- Why something as simple as drinking water can improve so many other health areas
- Why the scale is so unpredictable and how to deal with that
- One thing people get wrong about getting good sleep
I hope you enjoy this one!
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Transcript
Introduction to the Fitish Project
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome back to the Fitish project with your host as always Latham Bass, where we make fitness and health simple for regular people like you and I. We have another episode coming at you this week. ah Before we get into that, as always, if you can leave a review, share this with people who you think might need this information. I really appreciate that. Just continue to get this out to the people who need it.
Lessons from the 75 Hard Challenge
00:00:25
Speaker
But this week's topic, I wanted to give a little bit of an update. So I've been doing 75 hard and I'm actually just about to the halfway point and so I wanted to give a little bit of an update and also just talk about some things that I've had good reminders on and provide you with just some good tips that I have.
00:00:43
Speaker
encountered as I have gone through this journey of 75 hard and I think that challenges can be a really good way to just learn some new things. It's a good way to pick up some new skills, pick up some new tools that maybe you can use and I think the challenge of it is is actually finding a way to use some of these things that you do learn and implement them into your everyday life because something like 75 hard obviously isn't something that you're going to continue for the rest of your life. You're not going to work out two times every single day for the rest of your life. That's not something that you're going to do hopefully because you're not going to enjoy life too much if you're doing that every single day. But I think there's a lot of value in doing some of these types of challenges just because like I said, you do learn some good things. You pick up some good habits and then it's just about how you can implement those things into your everyday life so you can
00:01:32
Speaker
get some good value out of those things and help you move towards all those goals that you have, looking better, feeling better, and just living your best life. And so in this episode, I just wanted to talk about some of those things that I have been reminded of and just some tips that I've picked up on and hopefully give you something that you can start implementing within your daily routine as well. So as I said, I'm about halfway through this. So I'm on day 36 at the time of this recording. So just about halfway through, I think The first couple of weeks was probably the most difficult just because you're getting into the routine. And a lot of it is just like a planning and prioritization thing. Like it just, it's time consuming, right? You have to work out twice for 45 minutes every single day. You have to. drink a gallon of water, which like if you're not on top of that, that can kind of sneak up on you. You have to make some time to read each and every day. ah You have to make sure that you're getting your progress pictures in. And then you also have to follow some sort of diet. And if you're not used to dieting, that also takes some extra planning, that takes some extra thinking and just making sure that you are set on that. And so it just takes some time, which I think is something that a lot of us sometimes will overlook when it comes to implementing some new things into our routine as like,
00:02:46
Speaker
We know that we're going to have to change and we're going to have to, you know, make some time and prioritize certain things. But sometimes we underestimate the time that it takes. And so taking a little bit of time out of your day, out of your week to make sure that you have a good plan going forward, I think is a really big thing. And so that would probably be one of the first things that I would just remind you of.
00:03:04
Speaker
Is just the power of just planning ahead of time and it doesn't have to be anything crazy But if you take a couple of minutes the night before the day before Even at the beginning of the week to like plan out your workouts plan out your meals those sorts of things They can really go a long way and just helping to keep you on track because as we all know life gets really busy and it gets stressful and sometimes it's overwhelming things pop up you have family things to do you have a work things to do. And like if you don't have a solid plan going into your week, going into your day, it makes it really easy to fall off track. And as we start to fall off track, it's hard to get back on track, consistency can become an
Realistic Expectations in Fitness Routines
00:03:40
Speaker
issue. And so having a little bit of a plan going into your day or your week can be a huge help when you're trying to accomplish these certain type of fitness goals or just get healthier in general. And so
00:03:52
Speaker
With that being said, like, you know, the first couple of weeks were probably the hardest, but now I've gotten into a good routine. But I think it's also good to remember, like, anytime you start something new, anytime you are changing, it's going to be difficult at first. No matter how motivated you are, no matter how much you're ready to change, no matter how excited you are about this certain challenge or thing or new habit or new goal, like it's going to be a little bit difficult at first. But I think sometimes people really screw up when they have these certain expectations going into this certain thing.
00:04:22
Speaker
because they don't really have realistic expectations around what it's actually going to be like. And I see this with like weight loss. I see this with like fitness goals a lot. People start something with the intention that they're going to have these really, really quick results. And they realize once they get into it, like, oh man, this is actually kind of hard. And of course it's hard. Like changing is hard. Achieving new goals is hard. Like getting into a place where you feel your best, look your best. Like all that stuff is not necessarily easy and it takes time.
00:04:50
Speaker
And so having realistic expectations going into that and understanding like, okay, it is going to be pretty hard at the beginning, but also understanding that like, it's not going to be that way forever. Like now that I'm in a good groove, like it's really not that difficult. Like I know I have to get my walks in and like get outside, get my workout in, get my morning workout in, all that different kind of stuff. And it's kind of just like routine. It's habitual now. But like when you first start, when you first start anything, there's going to be some difficulty there. There's going to be some resistance.
00:05:18
Speaker
There's going to be a little bit of like, hey, why am I doing this? Like, I'm not motivated, all that type of stuff, but that doesn't last forever. And I think when people can just have that realization, like when you can just think about that, just think about it logically, like, yeah, it sucks a little bit right now in the beginning. And there's going to be different times within your life where it's going to suck a little bit. Like when things get more stressful or, you know, when you go through something, when you have some sort of injury or medical thing that pops up, when you're going through a tough time in your relationships. Like things are not always going to be easy. Life is always coming and going in these different seasons. But understanding that like all those things, they don't last forever. And so when you realize that you can take a long term approach and you can also just
00:05:58
Speaker
Give yourself a little bit of grace and not put so much pressure on yourself and just realize like, okay it sucks a little bit in the moment, but like, this isn't going to last forever. I can push through this. I can make it through this. And so I think that challenges like this and just challenges in general can be a really good reminder of that, that you can do difficult things and that you are a lot stronger than you think you are.
00:06:19
Speaker
And as you start to do these hard things, it only just compounds. So like, you go through something like this, you do 75 hard, you do some other sort of challenge, you achieve some other sort of different goal, and then you have that confidence that you're able to do hard things in the future, you're able to achieve big goals in the future. And so it's really powerful when you can go through and just accomplish something like this.
Balancing Goals and Personalization
00:06:40
Speaker
And so just having that just positive outlook and just that outlook of just understanding like it's not going to be difficult forever, I think can be really helpful as you go into these certain sorts of things. And I think it's true also
00:06:54
Speaker
that when you look at the other side of this, let's say that maybe you are trying to make a change, but like you're not necessarily doing some sort of challenge. You don't really have anybody like pushing you. You're not like doing any sort of like thing. That's like really motivating. Like you're just trying to make maybe, you know, some sort of change within your life. That's like not like this huge overbearing thing. Like just say, for example, like you want to just start implementing a little bit more activity in your day, or you want to start eating a better diet. Like from that standpoint,
00:07:20
Speaker
it's kind of on the opposite end, you're not going in, you're not doing anything extreme, you're not doing anything crazy, you're not following like some sort of challenge. And so from that standpoint, I think it's important, this is where you have to have a little bit of ability to decide like, what's the best approach, because if you try to approach every single goal with this, like, I'm just gonna like go into it full force 100%, like, I think that's also where a lot of people fall off as well. So understanding like where you're at and how you're approaching this certain thing can also dictate the things that you want to do to get this certain goal. And what I mean by that is like, let's say, you know, obviously 75 hard is its own thing. Like, you know, it's only going to last 75 days. A lot of people can get through something for 75 days, but let's say you're, you're trying to implement something that's a little bit more long-term. Like I said, maybe you're just trying to increase how much exercise you're getting.
00:08:09
Speaker
You're trying to improve your quality of your diet a little bit. Well, then maybe on that standpoint, diving into something and just completely making a 180 turn isn't the best approach. And I think it depends a little bit too on the type of person that you are and just really knowing yourself. But as we know, we're into the second month of 2025. And by this point, statistically, I think it's like 90% of people, something like that have given up on their new year's resolutions.
00:08:35
Speaker
And so we know that that approach for a lot of different things, especially when it comes to like long-term type of goals, doesn't work for a lot of people. And so I think it's really important to find like that, that Goldilocks zone, like not too stressful, not too crazy, not too extreme, but also not like so little to where you're discouraged, to where you're not seeing any progress. So you have to kind of have to find that happy medium.
00:08:57
Speaker
and really understand like what type of person you are and what type of challenges are going to help to keep you motivated to keep making progress, to keep seeing a little bit of increase in like the areas that you want to see.
Impactful Daily Habits
00:09:10
Speaker
And once you can find that, like once you can find that, that Goldilocks zone and figure out like, okay, this is a good spot where I feel like I am challenged, but it's also not like so little to where I'm like, I'm not making any progress. I'm not feeling motivated about this or in goal, but it's also not,
00:09:24
Speaker
too far on the other end where it's like, okay, I'm i' doing this, but like I'm barely holding on. Like I can only see myself maybe doing this for a couple of weeks and no longer. So find that good zone for a lot of of those like lifestyle type of habits. And that's typically the approach that I think a lot of people should take with these sorts of things. The second big reminder that I have had as I've gone through this challenge is just the power of high leverage habits.
00:09:50
Speaker
And what I mean by high leverage habits or habits where you can do these, they seem pretty small. They don't seem like anything crazy, but they create this kind of domino effect, like this big snowball effect, and they affect a lot of different areas to help you make the most progress possible and the fastest progress possible. And to give you an example of this, like with morning workouts so like i was thinking about this a little bit more and i was talking to a buddy who of mine who had also just recently started to get back into his morning workouts and was saying how he just kind of wanted to get it back into it and this is also something i talked to with clients as well like clients who
00:10:25
Speaker
workout in the mornings and like they just feel like if they can start their day with like something really positive, they feel like that momentum kind of carries them through. And I think there's a lot of merit to that. And so like this one thing such as like morning workouts, I started noticing has all these different effects downstream from just doing this one simple thing. And for example, like if I work out in the morning, like I know that I'm already going to end up drinking a bunch of water because I need to feel hydrated before my workout.
00:10:51
Speaker
I'm going to drink water during my workout and I'm probably going to drink some water after my workout. So there's a lot of mornings where like I'll start my workout, make sure I chug like 30 ounces of water before I work out. I'll chug another 30 during my hour long, 45 minute workout. And then I'll end up having more water after because I'm still thirsty. So just by working out in the morning, now I'm already almost at a gallon of water just from this one simple thing. And then.
00:11:15
Speaker
After I get done with my workout, I'm hungry and I want to follow up that workout with a high quality, healthy, high protein type of breakfast. And so, boom, there's another thing. Check that off the list. We've drank a bunch of water. We got a nice high quality protein, heavy breakfast. Got my workout in for the day. Mentally you feel better.
00:11:34
Speaker
You feel good because you woke up, like your discipline is is improving and that's that discipline and consistency muscle that you're starting to build up. And then as you work through the day, like you've already started off on such a positive high note, you want to continue that. You want to make sure that you're doing these other things that are also going to help move you forward towards your goals. Like you're focusing on getting your steps in, you're focusing on your other lunch, dinner, snacks, being quality meals.
00:11:59
Speaker
And you're probably going to want to get like a decent night's sleep so that you can do this whole thing over. So like you see from this one little thing of deciding to work out in the morning, you have all these like snowball effects of different healthy behaviors. And so that's what I mean by high leverage activities or high leverage habits.
Psychology of Habits: Endowed Progress Effect
00:12:18
Speaker
And there's actually a little bit of science about this. And ah so I was recently, I read a book called switch and it was all about like changing your behavior, like the motivation behind that, all those different kinds of things. And they talked about this exact concept, but I'd never heard it explained how they were talking about it. I just.
00:12:34
Speaker
you know, was just something that like I kind of noticed within myself, but I didn't know there was actually like some science behind this, some studies behind this. So like, it's called the endowed progress effect. And so if you think of something like you'll see this with like free trial, so like on Netflix or like different streaming services or like anything that offers you a free trial, it's doing this because it's using this certain effect on you. So like as you try something, as you kind of get invested in it, as you see the benefits in it,
00:13:02
Speaker
you're more likely to continue using that thing. So if I do a month-long free trial of this certain streaming service, like I'm more likely to stick with it after I've gotten used to using it, after I've seen the value in it, things like that. Or like you'll see this with like punch cards. like People will use punch cards at like restaurants or different stores and things like that. because After you get a couple of those punch cards, like you have those things checked off, you're more likely to come back to that store just because you want to finish out that punch door and you want to get the reward of like whatever the free thing is for that thing. Or like, you'll see this with like credit cards, like they'll offer you like 50,000 bonus points if you sign up with this credit card. And once you like go and you sign up, it's like, oh, I got all these free points. I got this like basically essentially like free money or whatever. You're more likely to stick with that.
00:13:47
Speaker
thing long term. And so you can use this to your advantage by just focusing on some of these high leverage activities. Drinking water is another one that I've noticed too. And like it's something that I think a lot of people really overlook. Like I did a little research and it was saying around like 70 to 75% of the US is chronically dehydrated, which is just kind of nuts.
00:14:06
Speaker
And so drinking water can be another one of those high leverage activities because as you do it throughout the day. It's just something like you carry a water bottle around and it's kind of just a symbol. It's just a reminder of like, okay, I need to focus on drinking more water, but not just that like I'm focusing on this water, but this water is kind of a symbol of like, I'm focusing on my health. I'm prioritizing these things that make me feel good. I have these reminders that like, I'm going to get my steps in. I'm going to eat healthy meals. Like it's just as good thing to have there because it's just always just reinforcing those positive behaviors, those positive habits that you want to continue to work on and continue to engrain within just your everyday life.
00:14:43
Speaker
And not to mention, as you do start to drink more water, you are going to feel way better. You're going to drink less other high calorie or high sugary type of things. If you're drinking water all the time, you're going to have less hunger, less cravings. You're going to feel better. You're going to be more productive. Brain's going to work a little bit better. You're going to be able to focus a little bit more because any kind of dehydration, even if it's just like one to 2%.
00:15:05
Speaker
starts affecting you mentally and it can affect you physically. And so drinking water again, something so simple that like you probably don't really think that much about but it can have all these different domino effects just from doing this one simple thing.
Maintaining Consistency in Fitness Routines
00:15:19
Speaker
The third thing that I've realized or that was just kind of a good reminder to me is how nice it is just have some sort of guidelines or like rules in place or just like some clearly defined terms about the things that you want to do because we've all been in the situation. We've all been in the position where we start to like debate with ourselves on like whether or not we should do this certain thing. Like I know we have all literally been in this situation where like you want to work out in the morning, you set your alarm and then that alarm goes off and in the morning you're like,
00:15:47
Speaker
Do I get up do I do it or do I just continue to sleep? I'm a little bit sore. I'm a little bit tired Like oh maybe I could just work out after work or you know Maybe I could just work out tomorrow instead like you start playing this like this mental gymnastics in your head about whether or not you should do it and I think when you have these guidelines when you have these certain rules when you have these just clearly defined and terms about what you want to do. It takes all that guesswork out and you don't have to put all that mental effort and you don't have to use all this motivation or you don't have to use like this strict willpower to do all these things. You just know it's just something that you're going to do. Like you don't have to worry about like, okay, am I going to work out at this time? Am I going to do this? Am I going to do this? It's like, no, this is just, this is what the plan is. It's already taken care of. I've already made that decision and that's what I'm doing. And like having this challenge in place,
00:16:38
Speaker
has been exactly that because it's like, there's no variation to it. It's like, these are the rules. If you don't do these things, you fail. And you can use this to your advantage. Like I talked about recently on a podcast that I did, I kind of have like these food rules or just like these guidelines that I have around food, because I don't want to be having to make all these decisions around food every single day. Like in that podcast, I had mentioned we make around 200 choices around food every single day. And as a person who like always struggled with like overeating and like being overweight and things like that, the more often that I have to make these choices, like in the moment when I'm stressed, when I'm busy, when I'm not really like feeling it, like the more likely I am going to make poor choices. And so if you can make these choices and just have these guidelines set in place before you ever get in those situations,
00:17:25
Speaker
again, it just takes the guesswork out of it. And then it just makes the healthy choice the easy choice. And so this is something that you can easily do with yourself. I've talked about how I have these three daily non-negotiables that I focus on every day. And those things for me are like I get a certain amount of steps in, I try to get at least eight to 10,000 steps every single day. That's just a goal of mine. I try to get at least 150 grams of protein within my day, because I know that if I'm focusing on getting protein, that much protein, I have to kind of plan my meals out a little bit. But I also know if I'm eating high protein, like I'm going to be more apt to build more muscle, I'm going to be less hungry, I'm going to be more satiated, I'm going to feel better, I'm going to eat more whole foods. And then the third thing that I focus on is just making sure that I get at least four solid workouts in per week, because I know if I do those three things, a lot of these other things that
00:18:16
Speaker
are also good for me that also just help me be more healthy and help me feel better, look better, all those things. I know that I'm just going to naturally start to do those things if I can check off these three other boxes.
00:18:27
Speaker
And so again, you can set up some of those things for yourself. You can have certain guidelines, whether it's daily guidelines, whether it's weekly guidelines, just whether it's like having some sort of just rules around food or exercise or things like that. Like it's really easy to set those things up for yourself. And then as you follow those things, like you're going to notice that you start to be more consistent in other ways as well. But you want to make sure that these things that you are choosing,
00:18:53
Speaker
again, are high leverage type of things. Like you don't want to pick a bunch of meaningless things or things that aren't important to you because like, you're not going to see the value in it. So make that you make sure that you take a little bit of time to think about like what those certain things are. Like I mentioned some of mine with workouts, with steps, with protein, you could do this with other things as well. It could be like, I mean, water, it could be another good one. Um, there's a lot of different things that you could do this with, but take a little bit of time to just think about that and like,
00:19:19
Speaker
make those things a priority within your day, within your week, and you're gonna see a lot of benefit. It could be called, you know, your non-negotiables, they could be your daily disciplines, your weekly disciplines, whatever. Just find a couple of those, two or three of those, and just really focus on being consistent with those.
Debunking Weight Loss Myths
00:19:35
Speaker
And I think if you can do that, you're gonna see a ton of value. Fourth thing that I was reminded of, and I think is always a good reminder for a lot of people out there, weight loss is not linear. And what I mean by that is that like,
00:19:50
Speaker
For a lot of people, when they first start any kind of diet, when they start to sort of lose weight, they will see a pretty quick initial drop on the scale. And I think it's important again, this goes back to the expectations thing of just having proper expectations when it comes to weight loss. That way you're not discouraged. You don't think that you're doing something wrong. You don't feel like you need to change your plan.
00:20:11
Speaker
because there's nothing worse than like not really knowing if what the things that you're doing are actually pushing you towards those goals that you have. like If you're doing all these things that you feel are right but you're not really seeing the progress because you don't really know what's going on or if you don't really have the proper expectations, you're always gonna second-guess yourself. if You're gonna question yourself. You're gonna be more likely to quit or try something different or keep switching from program to program. where Really, all you need to know is just these are this is what you can expect. like This is how weight loss works. and Again, weight loss is not linear. like you're For a lot of people, you're going to see that initial drop on the scale. I lost five pounds pretty quick when I started this. and Again, that's typically just losing a little bit of water. Anytime you start a diet, you're going to be eating less food. and When you're eating less food, you're going to drop weight pretty quickly off the jump for a lot of people. This doesn't happen for everybody, but for a lot of people, you're going to see a pretty quick initial drop on that scale. And sometimes this can be, it can be a good thing because it's motivating, but it can also be not so great thing because then people expect, oh, I dropped five pounds in the first week, or I dropped seven pounds in the first two weeks. Like this is going to be super easy. And then when it slows down, people are like, what the heck's going on? Like, do I need to cut my calories more? Do I need to work out more?
00:21:26
Speaker
Do I need to cut out this food or that food? Do I need to top to a different program? Do I need a different diet? It's like, no, you just you just need to know like what the proper expectations are around how weight loss actually works. and so like For me, like I said, I lost five pounds pretty quickly, like dropped some easy water weight.
00:21:43
Speaker
And since then I'm down like eight to nine pounds ah since I started this, which it's been five weeks. So eight, nine pounds in five weeks is pretty solid. Like anywhere in between a half a pound to two pounds a week is pretty good sustainable weight loss for anybody. But the thing is like, if you're a smaller person and you don't have as much weight to lose, you're probably going to be on the lower end of that. And even if you're not on that lower end, like you're going to have some weeks where that scale doesn't even really seem to move a whole lot.
00:22:11
Speaker
Like it might not drop a whole lot within a week or sometimes even two weeks. And so understanding that and realizing that just because that scale isn't dropping doesn't mean that you aren't losing fat because again, that is the goal here. We don't necessarily care a ton about weight loss. Like yes, weight loss is going to happen eventually.
00:22:29
Speaker
But we care a lot more about fat loss than we do about weight loss because those daily fluctuations are just showing you more of like what's going on inside your body in terms of like how much water you're holding onto and how much water you're releasing within your body. It doesn't tell you as much in the day to day with how much fat you're actually losing.
00:22:48
Speaker
And so realizing that and just knowing that like there is a difference between fat loss and weight loss, I think is really important as you get into a diet, as you try it to make these positive body composition goals and look a little bit better, feel a little bit better. And I think with that being said too, just like having a better picture of like what fat loss actually looks like like. If you actually know what a pound of fat looks like inside your body, like if you don't have you've never seen one of those like little fat demo things like the googly big glob thingies, just Google it. Just Google what like a pound of fat looks like or five pounds of fat looks like and you'll be shocked at how much mass it actually is. and so like
00:23:30
Speaker
When you say it out loud or like when you like look at the end of the month and you're like, oh, I only lost three pounds or I only lost four pounds or whatever. But then you actually see what visibly like what four pounds of fat actually looks like that is no longer within your body. You're like, okay, damn, that was pretty good. Like that was really solid progress. And I think a lot of times people just get so hung up on the number, like on losing five pounds or 10 pounds in a month. And it's like,
00:23:55
Speaker
When you're you losing that much, like a lot of that is not going to be fat loss. And so again, we don't care as much about those numbers. Like there's a place to use the scale and the scale is important, but what we really care about is losing that fat. As you strip away that fat, you're going to get more healthy. You're going to feel better. You're going to look better. All your health markers are going to start to improve. So that is what we really care about is getting, getting rid of some of that fat. So don't put too much stock on the scale, as I've said in multiple different other.
00:24:22
Speaker
podcast, like I'd like to use the scale as part of measuring progress, but it shouldn't be the only way that you measure progress, making sure that you're measuring on other ways with how your clothes are fitting, taking progress pictures, like measuring inches, like if you've lost inches around your waist or other different body parts, because I've noticed since I started this, like again, I've lost about eight, nine pounds, which like eight, nine pounds doesn't seem like a whole big thing. But like when I look from my day one progress picture and I look at my progress picture from today, like there's quite a big difference in that. Like I took my measurements at the very beginning and I took them again today. I've lost like an inch and a half off my waist already. I've lost an inch and a half around like my hip area. And so like, obviously I'm losing fat, like the scale is going down, my I'm losing inches, things like that. And
00:25:09
Speaker
just making sure that again, you remember that fat loss is what you want. You don't care quite as much about weight loss and weight loss is not always going to be linear. So that was just ah a good reminder for me, even somebody who's been doing this for a really long time, like essentially I've been, I mean, I really have been dieting for 15 years. Like I did my first diet when I was around 15 years old. And so I've kind of been going in different phases and I've dieted or gone through multiple cutting or fat loss phases throughout that 15-year period. and so like Even me who's still been doing this, I've stepped on the scale literally over a couple thousand times. I've been doing this for a long time. I know how all this stuff works. like When I step on the scale some days, I'm like, what the hell? like why does this Why is the scale up? Why is it doing that? or like
00:25:55
Speaker
Why do I look this way, even though I've been eating really well and like exercise and things. So I still have those same exact thoughts that you probably have if you've tried to lose weight. And so just understanding all that stuff is normal. But once you have a better picture of how this stuff actually works and what's actually going on.
00:26:10
Speaker
you can get out of your head a little bit and you're not so emotional about it. So like after I have those initial thoughts, I step on the scale. I'm like, what the hell is going on? I'm like, oh yeah, okay. I've been here before. like I know how this works. like Or I wake up one day and I'm like super waterlogged or bloated and I'm like, damn, I look like shit. But I realized it's part of the process. You're going to have those days. You're going to look in the mirror and be like,
00:26:32
Speaker
man, this is not working, but as long as you're doing the right things and you know what's actually going on, you have the right expectations, you can actually enjoy this process a little bit more and you don't have to stress about every little detail every single day or every time you step on the scale because you're doing the right things, eventually you're going to see the progress that
The Role of Sleep in Health
00:26:50
Speaker
you want to see. So just something to keep in mind.
00:26:53
Speaker
And then the last thing that I would say that I've been reminded of and something that I just really need to make more of a focus and I would encourage you to make a big focus if you are currently not, it's just the importance of sleep.
00:27:05
Speaker
I know I've talked about this on other podcasts. I know you've probably heard a lot of other people talk about this, but man, it's just crazy. Again, this is another one of those just high leverage habits, like one of those healthy things that you do that just has such a huge effect on everything else, just from how you feel and like your energy, your focus, your workouts are better, like all those different things. But I've also seen some just physical, like some of my physical health markers improving quite a bit just from prioritizing my sleep again, like my HRV, which is basically a way to measure like, if you're getting more fit, if you're getting more in shape, has gone up quite a bit since I've been focusing on sleep again, my resting heart rate has gone down about five beats, which is kind of nuts within 35 days or five weeks, it's gone down into like the really low 40s, like 40, 41. I've had a couple days where it's been like 39.
00:27:55
Speaker
So my resting heart rate has improved quite a bit just from focusing on sleep. My soreness, which like working out twice a day, if you're not getting enough sleep, like your soreness is going to be off the frickin charts. and The best thing you can do for your recovery, for your soreness, for your physical body and just your mental body is to get good sleep. Like there's no supplement, there's no recovery protocol, there's no sauna or cold plunge or massage or like anything that's going to increase your recovery and make you feel as good as you can feel as just getting a really good night's sleep. And so making sure that you're prioritizing that and one thing that's really helped me just with
00:28:32
Speaker
getting back into a good routine is just focusing or having some sort of bedtime routine. Like I said, i've I set an alarm for before bed and that alarm goes off and I know it's start time to start winding down. And then the other thing is just like keeping a consistent sleep schedule. So even if you're not getting as much sleep as you would like, maybe you're not quite getting up to your seven hours or eight hours. like being in that area that we really want to be. If you can keep a consistent sleep schedule, you're still going to have more benefits than people who are like all over the place with their sleep schedule. And they've done some different studies to prove this, like people who stay on a more routine schedule when it comes to their sleep, they have better health outcomes. And your body just gets kind of used to it, it gets habituated to it. And if you've ever gone through a period where like,
00:29:17
Speaker
you don't get very good sleep like you're getting like five hours of sleep but you're on a consistent schedule you know what I mean like you can function it wouldn't be as good as if you were getting you know seven eight hours of sleep but like your body kind of gets used to what you give it and so being in that consistent routine can really help a lot so that's that's where I would start for sure if you're struggling with sleep like get some sort of bedtime routine doesn't have to mean anything crazy or extensive but like get some sort of routine in place all that routine and go to bed at the same time and try to wake up at a similar time give or take like 30 minutes or so but if you can stay in that range like you're going to start to get in a better routine and you'll start to get some of those benefits because
00:29:57
Speaker
man, I feel so much better like this last month, January, just my energy and and all that stuff just felt so much better as I've been prioritizing my sleep
Conclusion and Coaching Offer
00:30:06
Speaker
again. So I want you to feel as good as I've been feeling this last month. And so If you're not right now currently, definitely start to ah try to implement some of those ways to improve your sleep. But with that being said, that's kind of like my takeaway so far. ah I'll probably do one more of these at the very end, just kind of update on some other things that I've learned and my final results with like weight loss and you know some other different things that I've gained from this challenge. and
00:30:33
Speaker
things like that. So I thought that again, I just give a little bit of update. Hopefully, ah you know, you got a nugget or two out of there. You got a good reminder out of something that you could start implementing because a lot of times we don't always need to learn these new things. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of some of these things that we should be doing. I know that's the case for me. Like I feel like I come back to these certain lessons over and over and over again. And you would think like,
00:30:56
Speaker
By this point, like I would have some of these things down packed. But the truth of the matter is like, we're all busy. We all have a lot of things going on. We all have these different projects and thoughts and things that we're invested in. And sometimes we just need a good reminder. So hopefully some of these things in here were some good reminders for you. You got a little bit of value out of this. If you did, you can always share it with somebody. Continue to get this out to people who need it.
00:31:17
Speaker
But with that being said as always just a one-on-one coaching spots at the time that I'm recording this podcast Looking for a couple people to take on this month. so if you're interested in some weight loss goals, if you want to start to achieve some of those things that you've been maybe working on yourself and not really seeing the progress that you want to see. Maybe you need a actual plan that fits within your lifestyle, or maybe you just need somebody to walk you through this, hold you accountable who's been there before. You can check the link in the show notes. That is exactly what I do. So we'll see if you're a good fit. But otherwise, I appreciate you listening and we will see you next