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What if I were to tell you there was an exercise that could actually help you get better at what you do, both in the gym and while performing your daily tasks?

Imagine: better balance, more overall strength, more muscle mass in your glutes and hamstrings… and mental benefits as well. Sounds amazing, right?

Enter the single-leg Romanian deadlift. A fantastic vertical hip-hinge exercise, the single-leg Romanian deadlift will help improve not only your strength and balance but also your mobility and coordination.

Whether you’re new to the single-leg Romanian deadlift or have found it to be a frustrating exercise in the past, this step-by-step guide will help you feel confident with the movement in no time.

In this article, you’ll find:

• Detailed instructions on how to master the single-leg Romanian deadlift.
• 6 technique tips to help you get the most out of the exercise while minimizing your risk of injury.
• 2 modifications you can take advantage of as you’re learning.
• Video demonstrations so you know exactly what to do each step of the way.

You’ll also learn how to incorporate this movement into your training sessions (and why you should!). Plus, make sure you read all the way through to the end so you don’t miss your two free bonus workouts.

Let’s dive in, starting with…

What Is a Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift?

The single-leg Romanian deadlift (single-leg RDL) is a vertical hip-hinge exercise in which you balance on one leg, hinge at the hips, lower your torso until it’s almost parallel with the floor, and then reverse the movement to return to your starting position.

The single-leg RDL with bodyweight works the posterior chain, including your hamstrings, glutes, back, and calves. Add weight, and you’ll also challenge your lats, traps, and forearms as well as increase strength in your erectors, scapula stabilizers, and anterior core. Additionally, the single-leg RDL requires a lot of stability in the ankles, knees, hips, and core.

What Are the Benefits of Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts?

Performing single-leg RDLs will improve your balance and proprioception (your awareness of your body’s position and movement in space), both of which will have excellent carryover to other unilateral exercises, such as split squats, step-ups, and pistol squats. Additionally, single-leg RDLs can expose deficits or imbalances between your legs that bilateral exercises (e.g., standard Romanian deadlift) may mask.

Mastering the single-leg RDL provides you with unique opportunities to:

• Improve your single-leg stability, which is important when it comes to reducing your risk of injury as well as enhancing performance in many sports.
• Increase strength in your hamstrings, glutes, back, calves, and core.
• Improve stability and strength in your feet and ankles.
• Even out muscle imbalances and improve muscle symmetry.
• Increase your speed and power, which is beneficial to running, jumping, and other sport-specific movements.
• Improve your flexibility and mobility.
• Experiment with lots of different variations, which will keep your strength training fun and exciting.

Plus, being able to balance on one leg while performing an exercise will help you feel confident, capable, and strong!

But the benefits go even further. At Girls Gone Strong, we’re huge fans of having a growth mindset — or in other words, believing that your abilities and skills can be developed, improved upon, and cultivated through effort and practice.

Working on something that’s initially challenging — like a single-leg RDL — and seeing yourself improve with practice is incredibly gratifying.

Interested in a new performance goal? Learn exactly how to perform a proper pistol squat.

Step-by-Step Guide to Doing a Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Now you understand what a single-leg RDL is and why it’s beneficial to add to your training toolbox, it’s time to break down each step of the exercise so you know exactly what to do. After I go through the instructions, I’ll share six technique tips you can use to practice proper form until you’ve mastered the movement pattern.

How to Do a Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

• Stand tall and tight (imagine holding your body in a plank, only standing).
• Root the foot of your right leg down into the floor by pressing evenly through your toes and your heel.
• Create a slight bend in your right knee.
• Extend your right arm to the side and make a fist; this will help you maintain tension in your upper body, balance through the movement, and keep your shoulders square.
• Slowly hinge at your hips, reaching your glutes toward the wall behind you.
• As you’re hinging your hips, lower your torso forward and then down, making sure not to bring your torso past parallel with the floor.
• Let your left leg raise only as far as is comfortable while making sure to maintain a neutral spine.
• Keep the hips and shoulders square (i.e., facing directly in front of you throughout the whole movement).
• Exhale with a tension breath, and press your right foot into the floor as you extend your hips to return to standing.
• Repeat on the other side.

6 Tips for Perfecting Your Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift Form

When it comes to the single-leg RDL, being very mindful of your alignment and form is paramount. Use the following tips to make sure you’re dialing in on these to get the most of the exercise.

Tip #1: Practice the Hip Hinge

Before you dive into the single-leg RDL, you need to know how to perform a proper hip hinge with both feet on the ground. Take some time to practice your hip hinge in a conventional deadlift or Romanian deadlift before you attempt to do it on one leg.

Tip #2: Practice the Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift Barefoot

Performing the single-leg RDL barefoot will help you root your foot down into the floor, making it easier to balance.

Tip #3: Practice With a Dowel to Ensure Proper Alignment

During a single-leg RDL, proper alignment is incredibly important. If you were to run a dowel or broomstick down your back during the exercise, it should touch in three spots:

• The back of your head
• Your upper back
• Your tailbone

By practicing with a dowel or broomstick, you’ll learn proper alignment. It’ll also help prevent you from rounding through your back, which is a common mistake.

Tip #4: Don’t Let Your Knee Collapse

It’s very common for the knee of the working leg to want to collapse inward when performing single-leg exercises like this. Make sure your knee tracks in the same direction as your toes through each and every rep.

Tip #5: Keep a Soft Bend in the Knee of the Working Leg

While it’s really tempting to lock out the knee of the working leg, this puts a lot of pressure on your joint and makes it more challenging to balance. Be sure to keep a soft bend in the knee of the working leg.

Tip #6: Keep Your Hips “Closed”

One of the most common mistakes we see with single-Leg RDLs is that folks want to “open up” their hip to the side. An easy fix for this is to flex the foot of your non-working leg and point your toes down toward the ground. This will help keep your hips square.

Are you ready for great results? Get the truth about 5 common fitness myths — and learn exactly what to do instead to reach your goals.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift Modifications

As you start working on your single-leg RDLs, you still might need a little extra support as you work on building your strength and balance. Here are two modified variations you can incorporate that will provide some assistance.

(Both of these are also wonderful variations for intermediate and advanced lifters who want to lift heavy but either need a little support or don’t want to worry about balance.)

Modification #1: Assisted Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Simply hold on to the side of a squat rack, the edge of a countertop, or anything else that is sturdy to help provide you with balance assistance.

Modification #2: Kickstand Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Shift your weight to your right foot, then pick up the heel of your left foot and slide it directly back by about 12 inches. Focus on keeping the majority of your weight in your right foot, and only enough weight in your left foot to assist with your balance. Complete all of your reps on the right side, and then repeat the same steps for the left leg.

How to Incorporate Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts into Your Training

If you’re new to single-leg RDLs, I’d like to encourage you to work them into your training at least twice per week, preferably at the beginning of your workout. Single-leg RDLs are challenging and require a lot of muscle recruitment, and practicing them early in your workout will ensure you’re fresh and will get more out of your practice.

Start with bodyweight only, and aim for 2–3 sets of 6–8 reps per side to start. Once you’re able to perform those with excellent form, you can move on to perform this exercise with dumbbells, kettlebells, a barbell, or a resistance band or cable. Always begin using lighter loads to make sure your technique remains on point.

Bonus: To make it even easier for you to try out single-leg RDLs, here are two complete workouts (no equipment needed!) you can try next time you’re ready to train.

15 Minute Full-Body Workout

Here’s your circuit:

• Bodyweight Single-Leg RDL
• Bear Crawl
• Lateral Lunge
• Side Plank
• Glute Bridge

And here’s exactly how you do it:

• Set a timer for 15 minutes
• Perform 8–10 reps of each exercise, resting as needed between exercises
• Complete the circuit as many times as you can in 15 minutes

That’s it!

20 Minute Lower-Body Workout

This workout is formatted a little differently. Instead of going through a single circuit, you’ll be working with supersets.

Superset 1

• Bodyweight Squat x 8–10 reps each side
• Bodyweight Single-Leg RDL x 8–10 reps each side

Superset 2

• Lunge x 10–12 reps each side
• Glute Bridge x 10–12 reps

Superset 3

• Front Plank x 3-5 reps, holding each rep for 5-10 seconds per rep,
• Side Plank x 3–5 reps, holding each rep for 5–10 seconds per side

Here’s how to do it:

• Perform 3–5 rounds of Superset 1.
• Rest 60 seconds.
• Perform 3–5 rounds of Superset 2.
• Rest 60 seconds.
• Perform 3–5 rounds of Superset 3.
• Celebrate and drink some water! You’re done!

And if you want to see even more workouts and exercise demos, make sure you follow Girls Gone Strong on Instagram (@thegirlsgonestrong).

The post How to Do a Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners appeared first on Girls Gone Strong.

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Research of the Week

Stories persuade more than facts.

Numeracy at age 4 predicts future math mastery.

Runner’s high depends on cannabinoids, not opioids.

Living near a street lamp may increase the risk of thyroid cancer. Rather specific, isn’t it?

Date seed tea increases T.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 469: Ben Ivey: Host Elle Russ chats with Ben Ivey about The Entrepreneur Lifestyle.

Health Coach Radio: Michelle Mansueto talks about finding your voice at the table.

Media, Schmedia

Is China building a gene-edited race of hyperintelligent soldiers?

Much baby food, even organic stuff, contains high levels of heavy metals.

Interesting Blog Posts

When and where did modern humans originate? The answer isn’t so simple.

Does creatine reduce the amount of sleep you need?

Social Notes

Reminder: Brad Kearns and I are premiering our new video at 10 AM Pacific today. We’ll also be there available to chat.

What they’ve gotten wrong.

Everything Else

Scientists analyze ancient Neanderthal poop.

Environmental exposures early in life and risk of obesity.

RIP.

Calf: the second heart?

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

I am not surprised: “Evolutionary history” has an effect on the risk of disease.

Interesting idea: Unfermented pasteurized milk drives aging, fermented milk reduces it.

Famous last words: “Breaking the link between animals and meat is a solution to this problem.”

Important result: Teens living in high sound environments have worse sleep.

Fascinating argument: Not all hunter-gatherers were nomadic.

Question I’m Asking

Who’s lining up to eat this monstrosity?

Recipe Corner

• Gluten free chocolate lava cake. Not a staple, but a fine treat.
• I’d eat this jalapeño popper soup.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Feb 5 – Feb 11)

• 4 Scenarios Where Detailed Testing Makes Sense – Well, where?
• Keto FAQs: Top 30 Most Common Keto Questions Answered – Before asking, check the FAQ.

Comment of the Week

“With an Irish mother and a Greek father that leaves me between milk and baklava….”

-Could be worse, Eelbrood.

The post Weekly Link Love — Edition 117 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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When strung together, we should say these three words with our tail between our legs and a strong shimmy to our confidence. I’m not going to get on my high horse and go through some Pinterest list of virtuous bullet points on how personal growth starts here and how courage is found in these moments, blah blah blah.

My reason for writing this is because I have been wrong a lot.

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Hi folks! Welcome back for another round of Ask a Health Coach. In today’s post, Erin will be answering questions about what to cook for quick weekday breakfasts, how to end the stigma of cravings, and why we’re still teaching outdated nutrition principles in school. We love getting your questions, so post yours in the comments below or over in our Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook Group.

Francine asked:
“I need quick grab and go breakfast ideas. On the weekends I have time for a more elaborate meal like eggs and bacon, but what are your recommendations for weekday mornings?”

I actually get this question fairly often, so I’m glad you asked. As a society, we are busier than ever.¹⁵ And it sounds like weekdays mornings are so busy for you that making time for a healthy, supportive meal is totally off the table. Many of my clients want super quick breakfasts they can eat on the run. Something to replace their standard grab-and-go yogurt and banana routine.

My answer typically to them begins with a follow-up question like, “how fast do you need it to be?” I want to know how much time you’re planning on devoting to this pretty important act of self-care¹⁶ And yes, feeding yourself well is a fundamental form of taking care of yourself.

When people tell me they only have a few minutes to make breakfast, all I hear is “I don’t value myself.” Somehow, they’ve decided that getting out the door or onto their first Zoom call of the day is more important than fueling themselves appropriately. They’d rather sacrifice their metabolism and blood sugar than take a few extra minutes cooking up a satiating, satisfying breakfast.

Really then, it all comes down to priorities. By not making time for a proper meal, you’re essentially saying that your health isn’t a priority. Again, I get it — you’re busy!! But I’m assuming if you don’t have time to make a plate of eggs and bacon, you also don’t have time to:

• Stop mid-morning to look for a snack
• Shop for bigger pants due to added weight gain
• Manage diabetes or other chronic conditions

Need more food for thought? A recent study showed that participants who had their largest meal at breakfast ended up losing significantly more weight than those who ate their biggest meal later in the day.¹⁷

Seriously though, why would you limit taking care of yourself to the weekends? Give yourself that time every day and your body will thank you. It doesn’t even require that extra much time. I’m fairly certain you can scramble a few eggs in three minutes or less. You can cook a sheet of bacon in the oven while you’re showering — or bake it in advance and store it in the fridge. You can even yank the leg off of a whole rotisserie chicken in under 10 seconds.

Which leads me to another interesting perspective. What if breakfast food didn’t have to look like traditional breakfast food? Leftovers from last night’s dinner make a darn good breakfast — anything from burgers to brussels sprouts.

Jenny asked:
“My middle schooler came home with a food pyramid chart that goes against everything I know is right. You know, the whole 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, and pasta on the bottom tier with fats categorized with sugar at the top. I’m fuming!! How do I educate my son with the correct information without starting something with his teacher?”

Honestly, I’d be fuming too. I’m also not surprised. This US-based food pyramid has been around forever. Even though it was replaced a few years back by My Plate (which is just slightly better) and fairly similar to Canada’s guidelines, it’s still making the rounds at grade schools, which unfortunately is teaching our kids a whole lot of garbage that they’ll need to unlearn later on in life if they want to be free of chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

That being said, knowing where the food pyramid came from actually sheds some light on why it’s so controversial. According to this research, it was designed as a marketing tool for the USDA — and completely ignored the advice given to them by their own team of nutritional experts.¹⁸

Originally, the food pyramid featured fruits and vegetables as the biggest category of foods. However, that version was dismissed and revised to encourage people to eat more refined grains, not coincidentally subsidized by the USDA.

So, it’s a problem on a lot of levels. The biggest one being that it’s obviously still being taught in school. I’m lucky enough to have had a few conversations with teachers in the Mark’s Daily Apple community and although their lesson plans support the Food Pyramid, they’ve taken it upon themselves to educate their students on the history of the Food Pyramid and My Plate guidelines, plus provide science-based information on the health benefits of avoiding a processed food diet (and not just the ones in the 6-11 servings category). And I encourage you to do the same. The more accurate information you can share with the next generation, the better off they’ll be now and as they get older.

Jason asked:
“Can we talk cravings? I realize that a lot of it has to do with childhood and our coping mechanisms, but I’m sick of carrying around an extra 10 pounds because I can’t control myself. I’d love your advice on this.”

You’re absolutely right, Jason. Your cravings could be how you cope with stress or boredom, they could stem from something from your childhood (i.e. being rewarded with food for good grades, eating when you’re sad, remembering grandma’s snickerdoodle cookies, etc), or a multitude of other psychological reasons.

Cravings can also come from the type of food you’re eating. Most processed food is engineered to make you want to scarf down more of it.¹⁹ Food manufacturers work hard to make their food more attractive to consumers whether it’s in the combo of highly-addictive fat and sugar or the highly-targeted marketing that makes you suddenly feel starving at 10pm.

The problem with cravings though isn’t in the craving itself, but how we perceive it. I see a lot of health coaches and nutritionists out there acting like craving *forbidden foods* is a huge problem that needs to be solved. They put a layer of shame and guilt on it that doesn’t need to be there.

Listen, it’s in our nature to want a quick source of energy²⁰It’s also in our nature to appreciate the fact that food brings us joy. I’m not saying it’s healthy to polish off a bag of cookies every night. But feeling bad about it isn’t the answer either.

When you remove the emotional layer from eating and see it through the lens of biology, you can start to tear down the rules that have been served up to us via diet culture. The rules that say you’re only good if you eat *good foods* and bad when you eat *bad foods* are total nonsense. Not only that, they create a lot of angst and emotional conflict around eating that’s really unhelpful.

Instead of thinking that you can’t control yourself, be curious about your relationship with certain foods. You might ask:

• When do your cravings come on?
• Are you physically hungry?
• Do you need something on an emotional level?
• How do you feel when you eat the foods you crave?
• How do you feel afterward?

Notice patterns in your beliefs and behaviors without judging yourself. You might discover that you crave certain foods if you didn’t eat enough protein that day or if you were particularly stressed out. You might realize that you love potato chips and decide that allowing yourself to have them more regularly prevents obsessing over them. Or you might figure out that you just can’t keep them in the house. No one knows your body better than you, so take the time to evaluate your actions and honor your choices, judgement-free.

Got anything to add? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments.

The post Ask a Health Coach: Quick Breakfasts, Cravings, and Breaking Down the Food Pyramid appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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For most people, the push-up seems like the simplest movement of all. You get down in the prone position and use your hands to push yourself away from the ground, then lower yourself until the chest touches, and repeat. Not everyone has the strength or technique to do them, but everyone pretty much knows what a push-up looks like. There’s no real mystery around it.

How To Do the Basic Pushup

1. Assume the pushup position: elbows locked; hands about shoulder width apart, flat against the ground; toes on the ground; torso and legs straight, core tight; body parallel to the floor.
2. Lower yourself to the ground, touching your chest to it.
3. Push yourself back up, squeezing your pectoral muscles and completing the full range of motion.
4. At the top, continue until your elbows are completely locked and your shoulder blades are fully protracted.
5. Repeat.

But here’s the thing: most people are doing them wrong. Doing them wrong doesn’t just shortchange your results. It can also increase your risk of injury.

If you want to get the most out of your push-ups and come out of them stronger, healthier, and fitter, read on for some form fixes.

Be a stiff lever.

When you’re doing a push-up, you’re a single cohesive slab of human. You are a plank. You are a lever, and your toes are the fulcrum. To be a good lever, you have to tighten up everything: abs (all trunk muscles, in fact), lumbar muscles, glutes, quads. Everything. Make sure you maintain a tight, rigid body. Think of your legs, hips, and torso as if they formed a straight line (they should). Maintain that plank throughout the exercise; maintain the lever.

If you don’t stay tight throughout the movement, you’ll shortchange your results. You won’t generate as much power. Imagine trying to use a floppy crowbar to pry off a baseboard. It just wouldn’t work as well.

Mind your head position.

Rather than looking ahead, you should be looking down at the ground right in front of you. This places your neck in a neutral position and maintains the straight line from head to foot.

Don’t look ahead. Look down.

Elbows in, not flared out.

Flaring out your elbows places your shoulders in an internally-rotated position, which is a major cause of shoulder pain during the exercise. Your average person who claims “push-ups hurt my shoulders” is doing them with flared elbows and severe internal rotation.

Check your hand position.

A good cue for maintaining proper shoulder and elbow position is to externally rotate your hands when you place them on the floor so that your thumbs are pointing straight ahead and your fingers are pointing out to the sides. This forces your elbows to stay in against your body and protects your shoulders.

Protract your shoulder blades at the top.

At the top of the push-up, your shoulder blades should be fully protracted—moving your shoulder blades away from the spine. As you descend, they will retract—moving your shoulders blades closer to the spine, or “packed in” against the spine. This ensures full range of motion (and, again, healthy shoulders).

This is different from the bench press, where your shoulder blades stay retracted throughout the entire movement.

Quality over quantity.

Hammer this into your head until it becomes like breathing: Technique is more important than speed. Form begets function. The major problem people run into with push-ups is they’re chasing a number rather than chasing quality.

I’d take 10 good, hard, perfect push-ups over 40 sloppy, rushed, easy push-ups. The former will get you stronger. The latter will get you injured.

If you’re interested in making push-ups even harder, try thinking of your toes as a passive fulcrum:

Instead of “going down,” you rotate your body toward the ground around the fulcrum of your toes. This is a pretty subtle change, but it places an incredible amount of weight on your chest, triceps, and shoulders. It will feel like you’re “leaning forward” and your hands will feel “farther back” than usual. If you need another cue, imagine touching your shoulders to the ground.

Everything else still applies: stay in rigid plank formation (you’re a lever, remember?), press fully up, don’t do half reps, keep your elbows in, control your shoulder blades and move them mindfully.

The result is a legitimately difficult upper body exercise. You might not be able to bang out 50 pushups like this on a whim, and you’ll probably end up doing these more slowly than before, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Another benefit is they feel easier on the joints.

The post You’re Probably Doing Push-ups Wrong. How to Fix Them (with Video) appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

Electromyography (EMG) is a scientific method of testing muscle activity. It is well regarded, some say, in the non-scientific community because of the simplicity of a stronger reading means stronger muscles. However, it is neither popular or as well-studied as it could be so, the question remains as to its effectiveness.

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So you want to eat nutritious, delicious food without spending a fortune on groceries? I hear you.

You might have heard the rumor that going Primal or paleo is expensive. Yes and no. The truth is, I do spend considerably more on groceries now than I did in my pre-Primal days. However, that’s mostly because I pay more for grass-fed, pastured, and organic options when possible, which isn’t mandatory. I choose to allocate a hefty chunk of my monthly budget to food, but I’m not convinced that eating Primally has to be way more expensive than a typical grain-based diet. Not in the big picture, anyway.

Even if you do experience some supermarket sticker shock, those higher grocery bills are at least partially offset by savings elsewhere. My family rarely eats at restaurants anymore, and I don’t even know how much I used to spend driving through McDonald’s for a Diet Coke (and maybe some french fries) on my commute home from work. Also, you probably believe, as I do, that nutritious, high-quality food is an investment in your health. The money you spend now will hopefully save you money on future medical bills. The immediate savings can be impressive, too. We’ve collected hundreds of success stories from readers who were able to get off various prescriptions once they started following the Primal Blueprint.

Still, I know the theoretical future savings don’t necessarily help when you’re looking at the balance in your checking account today. Never fear, there are ways to make your dollar stretch while still avoiding grains, sugar, and dodgy oils.

Making the Most of the Meat Department

The meat department is where you can net some of the biggest savings if you shop smart. Here’s how you do it:

1. Compare the butcher case, the prepackaged meat case, and the freezer section to find the cheapest price per pound or kilo. Don’t shy away from frozen meat, poultry, or seafood. Nutritionally, they are pretty comparable to fresh.

2. If you have freezer space, stock up when things are on sale. Check out weekly specials, but also hit up the grocery stores right after major holidays. In the U.S., for example, you can get turkeys after Thanksgiving for a steal. When buying in bulk, ask the butcher to wrap individuals portions separately—two steaks or one or two pounds of ground beef per package. Before freezing meat at home, make sure it is wrapped tightly, labeled, and dated.

As a side note, if you are choosing less expensive cuts of meat, it’s probably worth it to invest in a pressure cooker that doubles as a slow cooker to get the most out of your meat.

3. Buy whole chickens, fish, and bone-in meat. Not only are they’re usually cheaper, but also, you can use the bones to make bone broth. Save carcasses, fish heads, and bones in the freezer, along with vegetable scraps, until you’re ready to start a batch.

4. Embrace offal. I know preparing liver, kidney, or tongue at home is a big hurdle for some people, but it’s so worth it—financially and nutritionally!—to push past the mental block. Beef heart is usually much more expensive than beef roasts or steaks, but it’s fantastic.

The Best Way to Save Money on Meat:

Talk to your butcher! Tell them what you want to make and get their recommendations for budget-friendly cuts or substitutions. If you find roasts at a lower price per pound/kilo than steaks, ask whether the roasts can be cut into steaks. For example, strip steaks come from boneless beef top loin, and pork chops are cut from pork loin (not tenderloin!). Your butcher will probably even be willing to cut them for you, but if not, you can do it at home with a sharp knife and a YouTube tutorial. At many stores, butchers can also cube meat for kabobs, cut up a whole chicken or turkey, debone chicken, tenderize beef, even clean and fillet whole fish. Some will also sharpen your knives!

Prevail in the Produce Section

1. First things first, in-season produce will usually be cheapest, so plan your menu accordingly. That’s if you menu plan. I typically choose whatever’s freshest and most affordable and then figure out what I can do with it when I get home.

2. Don’t buy more than you can use. Most articles about budgeting advocate for one big weekly trip, but I think going at least twice per week is better if you have time. You won’t have as many issues with produce spoiling in your fridge. Buying giant tubs of salad greens may be more economical than smaller packs, but not if half of it gets slimy before you can use it. I’d also rather buy fresh herbs a day or two before I need them, or else they’re likely to be forgotten in the back of the crisper drawer. (Growing herbs is the most economical option if you have space and, unlike me, you can keep them alive.)

3. Speaking of salad greens, look at the price per ounce/gram of a head of lettuce versus bagged salad, or a whole zucchini versus precut zucchini noodles. Decide if the convenience mark-up is worth it to you.

4. What about organic versus conventional? Buy what you can afford, and don’t stress. If you can afford some organic, prioritize the EWG’s Dirty Dozen and/or the fruits and vegetables you consume in the greatest quantities.

5. Finally, you shouldn’t have any qualms about buying frozen vegetables. Frozen vegetables are usually picked at the peak of ripeness and flash frozen, so they may even be nutritionally superior to produce that has been shipped from far away. Berries are usually much cheaper frozen than fresh. Frozen spinach and kale are great for smoothies. There are a few vegetables I won’t buy frozen because I don’t enjoy the texture (looking at you, Brussels sprouts), but for others, like green beans, I prefer frozen over fresh.

Eggs and Dairy

Eggs offer a nutritious source of affordable protein that you can turn into a ton of different dishes. There’s no question that farm-fresh, pasture-raised eggs have a richer color and, according to most choosy egg lovers, better flavor than conventional eggs. But, if conventional are more to your wallet’s liking, they are still a great choice.

I’m going to get potentially controversial here and say that if you’re really trying to budget, you could consider skipping the dairy section. Dairy is optional on a Primal or Primal+keto diet, and I can’t count how many people have told me that their longstanding troubles with gastrointestinal symptoms, acne, joint pain, and various autoimmune issues cleared up after they eliminated dairy.

Not interested in giving up dairy entirely?

• Buy organic or grass-fed butter in bulk when it’s on sale and freeze it.
• Look at the price difference between heavy cream and half and half or light cream. Heavy cream is the darling of keto diets because it has more fat, but don’t get sucked into the hype. The carbs are basically the same. Choose the less expensive option.
• Good cheese is costly—I treat it more like a “treat” than a staple food.
• Greek yogurt and sour cream taste good, but you don’t need them.

Mastering the Middle Aisles

1. Skip the snack foods and cereal aisle entirely.

2. Spices: Look for the bigger boxes or bags of salt that are cheaper per ounce than individual shakers. You don’t need the most expensive Himalayan pink salt. Grab Redmond Real Salt or Celtic sea salt on sale. Before buying any spice rubs or blends, check the label. If it’s mostly salt, you might be able to make a copy yourself for less money by mixing individual spices. If it’s mostly sugar, skip it. Your best bet for spices you use a lot is to look for places to order in bulk online.

3. Baking section: This is another one I recommend skipping to save money. Almond flour, coconut flour, and alternative sweeteners like monk fruit and erythritol are way more expensive than white flour and white sugar, and calorie for calorie, they aren’t worth the money compared to meat, eggs, and vegetables.

4. Condiments and cooking oils: Obviously, we have strong feelings about avoiding seed and vegetable oils like canola, corn, and safflower here. Better cooking oils like avocado, olive, and coconut do usually cost more than cheap vegetable oil, so my best advice is to stock up when you find sales. Check out Mark’s Guide to Olive Oil for tips on choosing the best one. You can also ask the butcher about getting some inexpensive beef or pork fat to render your own tallow or lard.

5. Nuts: Another optional and often expensive category that you could absolutely skip to save money. If nuts are on your list, conventional is fine, but check the label for funky oils. Look in the bulk foods section to see if they’re cheaper there.

6. Canned fish: Canned fish are tremendously nutritious, and it’s worth it to pay more for quality here, in my opinion. You don’t want the cheapest canned fish. Look for sustainably caught fish packed in water or olive oil. The good news is, these do go on sale fairly often, so grab extra cans when they are marked down.

Stretching Your Dollar

Top 9 tips for making your grocery budget go further:

1. Eat offal.
2. Make friends with your butcher. Ask them how to cut roasts into steaks. Let them tenderize or grind tougher, less expensive cuts of meat for you.
3. Buy whole birds, whole fish, and bone-in meat. Make your own broth.
4. Avoid waste by shopping more often for produce and meat.
5. Learn how to store your produce properly so it stays fresh until you eat it.
6. Bigger isn’t better if you won’t use it all, but buying in bulk can save you money. Stock up on non-perishables when they are on sale.
7. Use your freezer to save money and avoid waste. Buy frozen meat and produce, and buy meat in bulk when you can. Freeze leftovers to avoid waste.
8. Sign up for customer loyalty cards and use the coupons they send you.
9. Prioritize meat, produce, eggs, canned fish, and high-quality fats. Dairy, nuts, and grain-free baking ingredients are optional and unnecessary.

Bonus #10: Round out your Primal diet with potatoes and legumes if you want. They are budget-friendly and relatively nutritious, though they deliver too many carbs to be staples of a keto diet.

Also, bear in mind that a giant bag of rice or generic cereal is cheaper than meat or most veggies on a cost-per-serving basis, but not on a cost-to-nutrition basis. You may not be used to thinking about food in terms of nutrient-density or even energy, but how much are you really getting from that rice? Reframing in these terms can help you feel better about spending money on Primal foods.

Remember, Grocery Stores Aren’t Always Your Best Option

I might be in the minority here, but I love grocery shopping—wandering through the produce section, seeing what I can find at the meat counter. However, budget-conscious shoppers should think beyond the grocery store.

For produce, farmer’s markets and CSAs often offer better prices. Plus, you get fruits and vegetables that are locally grown and freshly picked, and you can talk to the farmers about their growing methods. The same goes for eggs and sometimes even meat, nuts, and honey.

If you have a chest freezer, it’s worth the time to investigate buying a whole cow, sheep, or pig. Consider cowpooling if you have limited space.

Shopping online can be more cost-effective, especially if you are buying in bulk or looking for specialty items. Things like loose-leaf tea, coffee, bulk spices and nuts, or cases of canned fish or coconut milk can often be cheaper online. Look into ordering directly from brands you love.

Shop around locally. Get to know the options in your town and surrounding communities, including large grocery stores, smaller and specialty markets, co-ops, warehouse stores, farm stands, and small farms that sell directly to consumers. You might decide it’s worth your time to shop at several different places to take advantage of the best prices at each. Some apps will also compare store prices for you.

Finally, consider doing even your local shopping online. Thanks to the pandemic, many stores offer online ordering and curbside pickup. That gives you the chance to browse sale items and menu plan from the comfort of your home. It also means you won’t tempted to make impulse buys as you wander the aisles.

Your turn: How do you eat healthfully without breaking the bank? What items are you willing to pay more for, and where do you cut costs? 

The post Navigating the Grocery Store on a Budget appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/

Meet Mason, a chemist from Minnesota who is currently celebrating losing over 70 pounds as a member of our Online Coaching Program.

As you can see, Mason has gone through quite the transformation.

Here’s what’s truly remarkable about this story: the time frame!

Mason found Nerd Fitness a year ago, after googling “how to make fitness like a video game” in January 2020.

The fact that THIS is the search that led Mason to us makes me so dang happy.

Like many in the NF Rebellion, Mason felt right at home amongst a group of nerds trying to better themselves. After going it alone for a bit, Mason decided a NF Coach could help him reach his goals.

He recognized he had some challenges, including:

• A love of baked goods – “The THOUGHT of cutting out all desserts and sweets made me miserable.”
• Workout programs that were too advanced – “I was always told that knee push-ups were the easy variation…but I couldn’t even do those.”
• No idea on how to get going – “There’s an overwhelming amount of information when it comes to fitness. I wasn’t sure where to begin.”

Luckily, Mason decided to pick a path and course correct along the way.

365 days later, Mason feels like a new person.

Let’s dig into Mason’s journey and see what allowed him to crush life…during a pandemic!

THE 5 KEYS TO MASON’S SUCCESS

#1) MASON TOOK ACTION

At the end of 2019, Mason knew something had to give:

“After gaining another 10 lbs over Christmas, I wanted to make a change in the New Year.”

The problem?

Mason wasn’t sure what to do!

He started asking himself:

• Where do I begin?
• What diet should I follow?
• How do I start exercising?

Like many of us, Mason started googling for answers.

We’ve all been down this rabbit hole…

Luckily, Mason eventually stopped searching the internet for more information and got to work.

This is an important point: research is great, but action is more critical.

Reading books on working out is for sure helpful. However, no book will ever surpass the benefit of actually trying a work out yourself.

Takeaway: I’m glad you’re here reading Nerd Fitness to level up your life, but don’t forget the most important step: you gotta get going!

Otherwise, you may spend your time endlessly collecting underpants.

#2) MASON EMBRACED HIS EXPERIENCE LEVEL

In Mason’s own words: “Nerd Fitness was the first program that came down to my level of workouts.

When I started, my biggest struggle was doing a push-up.

I was always told that knee push-ups were the easiest variation…but I couldn’t even do those.

Even the incline push-ups were too challenging. My coach didn’t flinch at any of that though, and programmed wall push-ups first.

A few weeks later, I upgraded to an incline push-up. It then took a couple of months before I achieved my first knee push-up. That was the sweetest feeling.”

“It was the first indication that the program was working and I was making actual progress!

After two more months of training, I achieved my first full push-up.

Now, I’ve started doing diamond push-ups.”

Takeaway: All of us start from a different experience level. That’s okay! Don’t freak out if you can’t do a push-up (or even a knee push-up).

You’re going to have to beat Level 1 before going to Level 2. That’s how any decent game (or fitness program) works. However, if you put in the time, you will get to the next level.

Or as Mason says, “Understand that this is a marathon. It takes time, but consistency is key.”

#3) MASON CREATED SYSTEMS (INSTEAD OF RELYING ON MOTIVATION)

Speaking of consistency, Mason knew he didn’t want to depend on “January motivation” to make his goals.

So he created systems.

“I tried to turn fitness into a habit. That’s helped me stay consistent for the past year. I tell myself ‘Today is Monday. I work out on Mondays whether I feel like it or not.’”

A coach has also been helpful for Mason’s new system too.

“Coaching made me feel accountable to my schedule. Someone else would know if I didn’t do my workout for the day.

But I never was made to feel ashamed or guilty. It was only non-stop encouragement.”

Takeaway: When you make a goal, create a plan or system on how to get there.

Then, ask yourself, “am I doing what I set out to do?”

This course of action will propel you far longer than a single spurt of motivation ever could.

#4) MASON DIALED IN HIS NUTRITION (WHILE STILL EATING BAKED GOODS)

Like many of us, Mason LOVES cookies.

He knew that any program that would forbid them completely was doomed to fail.

So Mason makes them part of his plan:

“Learning balance and intention has been important. For example, I’ve discovered that it’s ok to have a cookie. Just not ten. Each treat is an intentional choice, instead of mindless eating.”

But it hasn’t all been “eat less of that.” On the flipside, Mason has also had to make room on his plate for other nutritious foods.

“I’ve been trying to eat more protein. It’s a big mindset shift where I’m actually trying to eat more instead of less.”

Takeaway: When someone tells us they are trying to eat healthier, generally, we don’t tell them to stop eating anything specific right away. Instead, we tell them to eat more protein (chicken/legumes) and fiber (found in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains).

As Mason says, this is a big mindset shift, as most dieting advice boils down to “stop that.”

#5) MASON ASKED FOR HELP

Here’s how Mason tells it:

“I wanted to join Nerd Fitness Coaching in order to get some structure in my fitness journey.

On my own, I was trying to piece together a plan from a ton of different sources. It was a little overwhelming.

Having a coach who can put together a workout and answer all my nutrition questions has helped me maximize my progress. They took my year-long goal and broke it down into bite-sized chunks.

When I started, my ‘big, impossible, never going to achieve this’ goal was to get under 200 lbs…

Well, I’m currently at 198 lbs and happily maintaining.”

Takeaway: It’s 100% possible to use free articles and videos to help you reach your goals! We’ve seen millions of Rebels achieve amazing feats using nothing but the free guides on Nerd Fitness as a roadmap to move forward.

However, there are also limitations on going alone. You might not even appreciate that you’ve been struggling or stalling.

So learn to ask for help when in doubt.

It could be from a trained professional like a coach. Or even just a friend who knows the way.

The important point is recognize when you’ve exhausted progress on your own.

2021 IS UP AND ROARING

I’m super proud of Mason and what he’s accomplished.

If you personally didn’t meet your fitness goals last year, don’t beat yourself over it.

Most of us felt lucky to just tread water, thanks to the Apocalypse Simulator 2020.

It seems like we’re living through the sequel too…

Regardless of what 2021 brings, if you have large goals this year, think about how you can strive for “consistency” with them.

How can you move forward, even just a little bit, each and every day?

This strategy is what allowed Mason to gain his incredible results.

Should you want some one-on-one help for some consistency in 2021, chaos is where our coaching program thrives.

We’ve found that having a plan that adapts to constantly changing situations is really valuable in times like this!

So if you think having a personal Yoda on your side can help with the challenges you’re facing (and the challenges you don’t even know about yet!), we’re here for you.

With Nerd Fitness Coaching, you’ll gain:

• Confidence on exactly what to do. No guesswork needed, you’ll simply log into our coaching app and follow the plan laid out for you.
• A program tailored to your needs. We won’t just say “do this workout” or “eat broccoli.” You can get that for free on the internet. We’ll find out what works best for you as an individual. Plus, if it’s not working for whatever reason, NBD. We’ll absorb that information like a non-judgemental scientist would, and together we’ll create a new path forward.
• A partner to help you make your goals. Many people can set goals and hit them by themselves. But some of us can’t (I personally needed a coach to hit my fitness goals too). If you’ve been struggling by yourself, know that it’s okay to seek help from an expert who knows the way.

If you want to make the most out of 2021, we’d love to be a part of your journey.

You can schedule a call to see if we’re right for each other right here:

Learn more about Nerd Fitness Coaching!

If you decide not to try coaching, no problem. I’ll still be here offering free guides and corny jokes to help you level up your life.

But if you do decide to join, maybe it’ll be your success story I’m sharing at the end of 2021.

A similar thing happened to our friend Mason.

For the Rebellion,

-Steve

###

The post Mason lost 70 pounds. Here’s how: first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

As you probably know, I’ve been working with Brad Kearns for the past dozen years to promote the Primal Blueprint lifestyle and crank out books, online courses, and even that great binge of PrimalCon retreats from 2010-2014. After we finished books like the updated and expanded Primal Blueprint 4th edition, The Keto Reset Diet, and Keto For Life, we had a sense there was nothing more to say about healthy eating and supportive lifestyle practices. Alas, as the ancestral health movement and the science and user experiences continue to grow and refine, there always seems to be more to say! Even the most devoted primal enthusiasts have room to optimize, and all of us who have taken personal responsibility for our health have more potential to influence and role model for family and friends.

Two Meals A Day seems like a true breakthrough because it transcends niche dietary strategies like primal, paleo, keto and even plant-based to expand the focus beyond food choices and macros to simply eating less frequently and allowing stored body fat to become your primary source of energy. The program is simple, sustainable, stress-free, and appealing to anyone regardless of dietary preferences. The timing is great because market research reveals that “intermittent fasting” has surpassed the red hot “keto” as the top search term, and for good reason. You see, a revolution is afoot in the world of diet and metabolism. Emerging science is validating some shocking insights that will once and for all topple the long-standing conventional stupidity of the calories in-calories out model, and the resultant decades of epic fail that has been the mainstream approach to weight loss. As we roll into 2021, a confluence of great work from science leaders like Robb Wolf (author of Wired To Eat), Dr. Satchin Panda (author of The Circadian Code and promoter of the Time Restricted Feeding concept), Dr. Herman Pontzer (author of Burn and promoter of the Total Energy Expenditure theory) and Dr. Jason Fung (author of The Obesity Code, which cites dozens of studies revealing the folly of calories in-calories out), and Dr. Tommy Wood (“eat more healthy food!”) is pointing us in an empowering new direction.

We now have an excellent understanding on how the body really works and can finally chart an accurate direction to achieve and maintain ideal body composition and escape from the epidemic disease patterns driven by carbohydrate dependency. Here are some bullet points to summarize the emerging science:

• Calories in-calories out is a myth. Fat loss is about hormone optimization, mainly through avoiding the epidemic disease pattern of hyperinsulinemia.
• When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Too many meals and snacks—even when choosing the healthiest foods or following ketogenic macros—will compromise fat reduction goals.
• Fasting is the centerpiece of a healthy dietary strategy. Immune function, inflammation control, internal antioxidant production, cognitive function, and cell repair (autophagy²¹ and apoptosis²²are all optimized when you are in a fasted state.
• Eating fewer calories and burning more workout calories will not result in fat loss. (50,000 women in the eight-year Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Trial²³ proved this!)
• Eating more calories and exercising less will not result in significant fat gain. The body finds was to increase caloric expenditure (See The Obesity Code for details.) Diet-induced thermogenesis²⁴ is especially relevant with protein, where around 25 percent of protein calories you consume are allocated to their digestion.
• Humans have an upper limit on average daily caloric expenditure. When we try exceed it, the body finds ways to compensate. As Nourish Balance Thrive principal Chris Kelly says, “reproduction, growth, repair and locomotion are a zero sum game. Overload one [e.g., overtraining] and you will compromise the others [e.g., immune function or muscle protein synthesis]”

If all of these pillars of modern dietary strategy are shattered, what do we see when the smoke clears? We enter an empowering new paradigm that is of course aligned with the fractal eating patterns and nutrient-dense food choices of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Here is a bullet point summary of the secrets to losing excess body fat and keeping it off, avoiding the global pandemic of metabolic disease (and, ahem, increased vulnerability to other pandemics), and living a long, healthy, happy life:

• Hormone optimization: Produce an optimally minimal amount of insulin over a lifetime, mainly through making good food choices and engaging in a popular new fad I’ve coined, intermittent eating.
• Eat ancestrally: Choose nutrient-dense ancestral foods and superfoods (Check out Brad’s new Carnivore Scores Chart for a tiered ranking of the most nutritious foods on earth) that are highly nourishing and satiating. This is the natural and only reliable way to optimize appetite and caloric intake.
• Move frequently: Increasing all forms of general everyday movement ensures that stored body fat remains your preferred source of energy. Inactivity compromises fat burning and promotes carbohydrate cravings.
• Lift heavy things and sprint once in a while: These Primal Blueprint laws turbocharge fat burning and help increase or maintain adequate lean muscle mass.
• Prioritize sleep: Insufficient sleep compromises fat burning and promotes carbohydrate dependency. Good sleep makes you a good fat burner.
• Form an empowering mindset: There is an entire chapter in Two Meals A Day about mindset, because self-limiting beliefs and behavior patterns can sabotage your best laid plans for success. Any dietary or lifestyle transformation has to start with believing in yourself, and then taking consistent, habitual actions to realize your dreams.
• Eliminate the Big Three: Refined sugars, grains and industrial seed oils are the proximate causes of the global metabolic disease epidemic. Strive for a strict 21-day elimination period of the Big Threeso you can escape carbohydrate dependency and start to upregulate your fat burning genes
  Avoid chronic cardio: Repeat after me – burning more calories makes you consume more calories and become lazier and less metabolically active throughout the day. Chronic cardio will also destroy your health and your heart.
• Avoid calorie restriction: Your body will engage in assorted compensatory mechanisms to preserve energy when you restrict calories; you’ll have lower energy levels in general, and likely downregulate important thyroid, adrenal and sex hormone functions. Dr. Tommy Wood counsels fitness enthusiasts to, “eat as much nutritious food as you want until you start adding a bit of fat, then dial it back.” Robb Wolf offers an epic sound bite on the topic: “If you want to perform better and live longer, lift more weights and eat more protein.”
• Avoid hyper-palatable processed foods: Sugar and fat are never found together in nature. Combining the two to create a delicious treat hijacks the reward neuro-circuitry in your brain, compelling you to eat more and more. Ever heard of ice cream, cheesecake, buttered popcorn, chips and guacamole, pizza, milk chocolate, fast food burgers, fries and shakes, and all manner of processed crap (HoHo’s, Ding Dong’s, Twinkie’s, Big Baller Brands, Ring-a-Lings, etc.)? If you insist on indulging, a high fat, low sugar treat is recommended. If you choose to have a sugary treat now and then, do some microworkouts right afterward to mute the insulin response!
• Avoid snacking: This surprisingly destructive habit halts the burning of body fat immediately and prompts an insulin spike—yes, even if you eat a high protein or high fat snack. Enjoy meals where you consume nutritious food to your heart’s content, and give your body a break in between to optimize fat burning and stabilize appetite hormones.

Yes, I have just slammed you with a whirlwind of life changing, paradigm shifting information. Maybe you’re deep into this primal game and much of this is refresher course, or maybe your head is spinning and you need further guidance to unwind the brainwashing of conventional stupidity. Whatever level you’re at, I think you’ll find Two Meals A Day an informative and inspiring read. I think you’ll be particularly interested in the mindset chapter. It’s become clear to me in recent years that we have plenty of information at our fingertips, but we still struggle with the execution and/or enjoying ourselves along the way. I’m all about living awesome, and we have to make this a centerpiece of our quest to live primally in the modern world.

Here is a quick overview of what you’ll find in the book. With our partners at Grand Central Publishing, we’ve put together an attractive package of pre-order bonuses you can take advantage of on the book’s website.

Introduction: Laying the foundation of: eat less frequently, and eating the right foods. Overview of nailing the essentials in the coming chapters – ditch refined carbs and oils, emphasize ancestral foods, embrace intermittent eating, reduce meal frequency and snacking, form an empowering mindset, get lifestyle dialed. Embracing a new paradigm away from conventional stupidity. Presentation of several FDCS (flawed & dated conventional stupidity) with corresponding ENT (empowering new truths.) How we got into this mess, (flawed science, manipulative marketing), and understanding the evolutionary rationale.

Chapter 1: Clean Up Your Act
Detailed list of foods/products to eliminate in each Big Three category: grains, sweetened beverages, dairy, industrial oils, baking ingredients, condiments, fast foods, processed foods.

Chapter 2: Intermittent Eating, The Fast-est Way To Health
Fasting is the central focus, not nitpicking food choices and macronutrient profiles. Autophagy, antiflammatory, immune, mitochondrial, and disease protection benefits of fasting. Beware of trying TMAD before you have metabolic flexibility (= gluconeogenesis, stress hormone bath). Female considerations for fasting. TMAD transcends the diet wars. Time Restricted Feeding/digestive circadian rhythm.

Chapter 3: Emphasize Nutrient-Dense Ancestral Foods (And Superfoods)
Details about how to make the best choices (and things to avoid) in ancestral categories of meat, fish, fowl, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, high fat dairy, and high cacao dark chocolate. Make an effort to emphasize nutrient-dense superfoods, many of which are sorely lacking in modern diet. Superfoods include: fresh local organic produce, organ meats, bone broth, pastured eggs, oily, cold water fish, fermented foods, high cacao dark chocolate.

Chapter 4: Form An Empowering Mindset
First, obtain the necessary knowledge base/understanding what to do. Then, operate from a position of compassion and gratitude. Importance of/commitment to journaling. Identify flawed subconscious programming and learn how to overcome it. Believe in yourself and the process, get inspired! Implement plan of action and learn how to form habits (importance, mindfulness, repetition, endurance.)

Chapter 5: Follow A Fat Burning Lifestyle
Create optimal sleep environment and evening routine. Get rest, recovery, and down time in hectic daily life – discipline screen use, experience nature, nap when necessary. Increase general everyday movement (JFW, tons of workday breaks, workplace variation, formal movement practices). Conduct comfortable cardio workouts, and brief, intense strength, sprint, and microworkouts. Emphasize recovery in your workout patterns.

Chapter 6: Putting Two Meals A Day Into Play
Different strategies such as making gradual progress with no backslides; eating break-fast WHEN; a morning-evening meal pattern; and perhaps best of all, implementing an intuitive strategy.

Chapter 7: Advanced Strategies For Fat Reduction
A progression of fasted workouts, with the variables of duration of fast before, type of workout, and duration of fast after. Other strategies include extended fasting, sprinting, and exposure to cold. These practices can help you break through plateaus and further improve your metabolic flexibility.

The Twelve-Day Turbocharge
You’ll put everything together with a challenging 12-day experience featuring action items and corresponding journal exercises in each of five areas: Food, Fasting, Fitness, Mindset, and Lifestyle. This experience will allow you to custom design a sustainable long-term lifestyle strategy featuring your favorite foods, workouts and daily patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kitchen sink comin’ at ya! We’ll cover topics like:

• How do I know I’m ready for fasting?
• I enjoy snacking. I feel like it gives me an energy boost and a break from my stressful workday. Can I continue?
• If it’s not about calories in, calories out, what is the secret to shedding excess body fat?
• Does working out make any kind of contribution to my body-composition goals?
• What is the best way to lose excess body fat without causing compensation-theory rebounds?
• Is low carb just for endurance athletes, or can strength and power athletes benefit, too?
• How do I know whether my insulin production is okay or excessive?
• How can fruit be worse than other carbs when it has so many nutritional benefits?

Recipes

Enjoy over forty delicious and convenient recipes in a variety of categories that boost dietary nutrient density and make your meals a celebration.

Pre-Order Bonus Items

When you pre-order a copy from your favorite retailer, you can return to the book’s website to claim a bunch of cool bonus items: A $10 coupon to use at PrimalKitchen.com, a detailed audio summary of the entire book, and a Sneak Peek PDF with choice excerpts and recipes.

The post Two Meals A Day – The Diet Book To End All Diet Books appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Originally Posted At: https://breakingmuscle.com/feed/rss

Being a jiu-jitsu practitioner for the last ten years, I have naturally adopted the mindset to stay calm and leverage opportunities. However, it’s tough to practice the art as regularly as you would like because you start to lose muscle memory, rhythm, and accuracy.

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