Week 10/9/23-10/16/23

Week 3 of our weekly journaling prompt to help you on your relentless journey to becoming your best self. Take 10 minutes to stop and journal anything that comes to mind on the topics listed. Get as deep and open into the prompt as possible. This is your chance to check in with yourself and really open up. It just might help you work through some issues, solve some problems, or at least get things off your chest. So lets get started.

10/9 What are my top priorities for the day? What’s something I can do to make today amazing?

10/10 What challenges did I face today? How did I overcome them? What can I learn from these experiences?

10/11 What are the decisions I need to make? When do I need to make this decision? What is the desired outcome I hope to achieve? Is this the best decision or do I just want it? Does it make me and others better or worse?

10/12 What does the perfect day look like for you?

10/13 If fear wasn’t holding you back, what would you do? What is the worst case scenario when it comes to your fear?

10/14 Who do you look up to most in life? Why? How can you cultivate those qualities in yourself?

10/15 What does the perfect day look like? Be as detailed as possible.

10/16 What have you done to make your closest friends happy and better? What could you do?

Week 10/2/23-10/8/23

Week 2 of our weekly journaling prompt to help you on your relentless journey to becoming your best self. Take 10 minutes to stop and journal anything that comes to mind on the topics listed. Get as deep and open into the prompt as possible. This is your chance to check in with yourself and really open up. It just might help you work through some issues, solve some problems, or at least get things off your chest. So lets get started.

10/2 What were your wins last week? What did you do to get those wins? What wins do you want to see this week? How are you going to make sure you achieve them?

10/3 What are my top priorities for the day? Out of those, what are the top 3? What steps do you need to do to accomplish those priorities? What will you do once you finish your top priorities? Go execute!

10/4 What’s something you can do to make today amazing? How can you prioritize yourself today?

10/5 How am I feeling today? How does my body feel? How does my mind and emotional state feel? What are -3 things that you are thankful for? What are 1-3 things you can do for yourself today?

10/6 How did I help lead others and make others better this week? What could I do to raise up others around me? What can I do to be a better leader?

10/7 Are you living to your full potential? Why or why not? What can you do to live to your fullest potential or help other around you to do that?

10/8 How can I make tomorrow and next week even better?

Week 9/25/23-1/30/23

Weekly Journal Prompt

This is the start of our weekly journaling prompt to help you on your relentless journey to becoming your best self. Take 10 minutes to stop and journal anything that comes to mind on the topics listed. Get as deep and open into the prompt as possible. This is your chance to check in with yourself and really open up. It just might help you work through some issues, solve some problems, or at least get things off your chest. So lets get started.

9/25 What are your core values and what do they mean to you and how you live your life?

9/26 What are your goals for the week, month, next 6 months, next year. What action steps does it take to reach these goals

9/27 What are some ways I can prioritize my physical health and well-being? What is stopping you? How will you overcome these issues?

9/28 What can you commit to doing for the next two weeks that will lead you to being more aligned with your core values? Why do you want to do this? How are you going to do this? Check back in 10/12 if you had success or not.

9/29 Our goal is to become the best version of ourselves. What does that person look like? How do they live, dress, eat, treat others, when do they wake up, go to bed, live, who do they hang out with, what are their hobbies, what impact do they have on others?

9/30 What are some things that you could do or remove to become more like your optimal self this weekend?

1/30 Who do you look up to the most in life? Why? How can you be more like them? What are the action steps to achieve that change?

Remember, it is important to check in with yourself daily. Make it a priority at some point to get to a quiet place and really dive deep into these questions. Try to write for the full 10 minutes and let it all out!
Stay Relentless

Prioritize and Execute: Your Daily Guide To Being Relentless

This journal is here to not only help you stay on track and help you to execute daily but to also keep you mindful and honest of your progress. You can use this as a daily tracking tool and a log book where you can go back later to see what was or wasn’t working, what changed, etc. Our goal with this notebook is to show you that there is enough time in the day, build success habits, and keep your mind and body healthy. We are doing this by being consistent with our workouts, meditation/mindfulness time, and planning out our days before hand so we can prioritize what needs to get done and execute on those tasks.

How to use the Journal

Take 5 minutes before your morning routine to wake up and plan the day (or night before as seen below)

• Write out top 3 things to get done today

• Mark them off after completing them

• Reevaluate and mark down up to 2 more major tasks if needed

              (Understand that other things will come up but these are non-negotiable to do tasks. We don’t want to work on 20 tasks and finish none)

After your workout, take up to 5 mins to write thoughts from:

• Your meditation (if you did one already) and your workout

  • How did you feel? Did you take the easy path? Did you leave anything on the table?

  • Did you have any ideas or thoughts in your mindfulness/meditation time?

  • Journal your workout here if you want

    • write out exercises, sets, and reps.

    • Track weight used and reps completed

At the end of day, take 5-10 mins to:

• Write out tasks for next day if you are doing this at night

• Write out how you felt throughout the day and any notes from mindfulness time if done later or twice.

  • How was your nutrition?

  • Did you win the day?

  • What did you do excellent on and what could you have done better?

  • How are you sleeping?

  • Are you noticing any changes?

After using your notebook, write a W or an L on the top of the page so you can easily see if you won or lost the day when you look back. This can be used to help you reflect on what is making you win or what is keeping you from it.

Journal Guide Disclaimer

This starter guide is just that, a guide to help you get started with your personal fitness journey. Keep in mind that the contents of this guide are made to fit nobody in particular and are not programmed for your specific goals, these are just some ideas to get the ball rolling. Also please know that these exercises if performed incorrectly could be dangerous and lead to injury, use these workouts at your own risk. There are loads of major factors missing from this guide as well that cannot be included to a general guide. These in-depth topics rely on information regarding the specific individual and their goals as well as A LOT of time explaining the enormous world of nutrition and fitness as it pertains to you and your specific goals.

For most of us the hardest part is starting, after that keeping the momentum. This guide might get you started but keeping your momentum requires lifestyle change. Unfortunately, it isn't the coolest or flashiest answer to your problems like a "fat blasting pill" or "the new best diet fad" but when it comes down to it, they mean nothing, and real change means everything! Therefore they are the base of both the fitness and nutrition pyramids. If you look at the people that were on the biggest loser now, you will see that most are back to their old habits and have gained their weight back. This is unfortunate after all the work they put it but the fact is that they forgot to work on lifestyle change leading to going home and doing the same old things they used to do. If you are still not convinced look at the rate of people that gain weight back after having a weight loss surgery like lap band. The fact is that you can't cheat when it comes to overall health. You have to adopt healthy and sustainable strategies for nutrition and fitness to be, feel, and look healthy inside and out. Period.

Health is a life long journey that can lead us to being healthy and mobile many years past our friends who do not take care of their health and end up immobile, sick, and can lead to early death. We have one life, we get one shot, we should make it the best and most fulfilling life that we possibly can. We can never turn back time and try again. Let that scare the shit out of you, accept it, and make a change. You can do this!

For more information, please contact me at relentlessfitnessllc@gmail.com

Nutrition basics

Nutrition

Nutrition is often what people refer to as “Diet” but I am not the biggest fan of the word diet because it implies something that is not a lifestyle, it implies something that is a fad or something that you are doing just for now. Nutrition is key to success in meeting your goals and it can, in most cases, be more important than the exercise portion of your health and fitness. If you can’t stick to your nutrition, then we need to figure out what it is that is keeping you from staying with it. If your nutrition is too limiting, as most peoples is when they are “on a diet”, it causes them to fall off and usually binge and end up worse than when they started. Finding a nutrition plan that you can stick to that meets your nutritional needs is the key to success. To help show you how we need to start looking at our nutrition I am going to show you the Nutrition Pyramid, and no it’s not the government fruits, veggies, ten tons of grains, meat, and dairy one. This one is all about what the government guidelines leaves out, calories, macros, micros, timing, and supplements.

As you can see this isn’t your normal government issued food pyramid, this is a more important pyramid that tells you how you should look at your nutrition. As with most pyramids we start at the bottom with the most important facts. As you can see behavior and lifestyle are at the very bottom and holding the whole thing together. This means that your behavior/adherence and lifestyle change are key to making your nutritional changes work. At the base we see energy balance AKA calories as the foundation of pyramid. After that we have your Macronutrients (Macros). Macronutrients are your Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats. These are where you are getting your calories from (as well as from alcohol for some of us). If your calories aren’t at the right amount the macros don’t matter but once your calories are correct then you can start looking at your macro breakdown. If you are hitting your macros then we look at your micronutrients, your vitamins and minerals. Once you are hitting those bottom three then we can look at meal timing such as when you break your fast, eating before and after a workout, and eating before bed. Then at the very top we have supplements. I bet most of you thought it would be lower on the pyramid, and that’s totally normal with how much advertising we get for supplements. The sad reality is that they do little to nothing, especially if we don’t have everything else on track. Let’s take a look back at those calories, the foundation of our nutrition, and see how we can use them.

Lets Talk Calories

Calories can be used for losing weight and gaining weight/muscle mass. We do this by having more or less calories that what our total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is. Say we want to lose a healthy 1 lb per week. There is an equation I will show you all or you can use calculators online to figure out your TDEE. Once you have your TDEE then you want to subtract 500 calories from that number. This will be your total daily calories. Now 1lb of fat is valued at 3500 calories, so you have to have -3500 per week to lose that 1lb per week. So if your TDEE was 3000 and we took 500 we have 2500 per day and a weekly drop of 3500 calories! Now this works to a point, but if you keep pulling down your calories your body will fight back. There is a number called your Basil Metabolic Rate or BMR and that is the total number of calories your body needs to function without you moving at all, your breathing, heartbeat, brain function, digestion, are all things that need energy to function. So what your body does when it notices you are getting less calories than it needs to survive it will lower your metabolic rate and lead to fat storage. This means YOU HAVE TO EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT! Plus, if you are eating your performance in your workouts will stay up, your hormones will stay in the proper ranges, and you will be much more mentally stable, not to mention able to do this the rest of your life! Trust me, those fit friends of yours haven’t been starving themselves the last few years, it’s not how it works. Now when you look at fitness models and competitors that is a different story and is not something that they do for life, it is something that they peak at for a day or two and then rebound back to normal. Keep that in mind.

Ok so let’s get your calories figured out. You have two options, go to http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ , or you can use this equation below.

  1. Determine Basal Metabolic Rate

(I recommend the Mifflin-St. Jeor Method for determining basal metabolic rate.)

Men: BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(y) + 5

Women: BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(y) - 161  

2. Multiply BMR by your activity levels to determine Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

This will give you your maintenance calorie intake aka your TDEE. From this point we can decide how fast we want to lose weight by using percentages. If you are overweight and new to tracking, you can take your TDEE calories and multiply them by .15 up to .25 to get the amount of calories you should cut per day. If you are pretty lean already it might be best to do .1-.15 so that you can hold on to more muscle mass as you cut the weight. Fun fact, as you cut calories and start to get lean your body will start to eat the muscle as it is not as necessary and can cause your body to burn more calories by keeping your metabolic rate up. So be sure to lift weights to combat this muscle loss and slowing of your metabolism.

We should have our calories set at this point. Now it is time for us to figure out what percentages of our calories should go to what macronutrients. This is something you will have to play with and that will change due to your metabolic typ. In this e-book I do not go into how to figure that out but I usually start myself off with 40% of my calories coming from carbs, 30% coming from protein, and 30% coming from fat. To figure this out all you have to do is multiply your total calories by .4 and that will be for your carbs. Next divide that left over number (the 60%) in half to get your calories for your protein and fats. Once you have your calories divided up into the three percentages, you will then divide the calories according to the number of calories per gram in each macronutrient. This means you will divide your carbs by four, your protein by four, and your fat by nine to find your grams for each macro nutrient. Fat is the most caloric dense so you will have the least amount of grams when it comes to fats. An example of what your macros could look like would be 3000cal carbs: 300g, protein: 225g, and fat: 100g.

I know that was a lot to take in but it is the foundation to getting your nutrition started. Other than adhering to your program for nutrition, calories and then marcros are the most important thing you can do to get you to your goals. Also be sure to get yourself a food scale so you can weigh out your food to get the most accurate measurements and track it in the app myfitnesspal. It makes it really easy to enter and keep track of your calories and macro nutrients. I don’t go over it in this book but I have information on how to get your myfitnesspal account set up to track your macronutrients and I tell you what to look for as well.

Below you will see some sample healthy, fair, and poor food choices as well as a sample day of eating. It is important to know what foods are healthy so that you can pick them up when you are shopping and substitute in the healthy for the not so healthy options. It is also important to take some time to read nutrition labels. This is key to finding out what is really in that box you throw in your cart every week. In this e-book I do not cover the labels or grocery store navigation but it is a very important part of eating clean. For now, take a look at the food options and sample day of eating listed below.

Healthy Food Choices

Studies show that those who keep journals are more

Successful in any pursuit. Study’s also reveal that

those who document their food and beverage intake

may lose more weight than those who do not.

Tips to Remember for Your Success:

-Try to walk in the morning before eating. 10-30 min.

-Drink lemon water in the morning before breakfast

-Jot down which proteins, carbs, and fats you select.

-Record the amount of water you consume each day.

-Get in the habit of checking nutrition labels and

 ingredients before purchasing items.

-General rule of thumb. No more than 7 ingredients

Protein

Meat and Poultry

Best Choices (low in saturated fat)
Beef (range fed or game)
Ground beef (Less than 10% fat)
Chicken breast, skinless
Chicken breast, deli-style
Turkey breast, skinless
Turkey breast, deli-style
Turkey, ground

Fish and Seafood
Best choices (high in O3 fats)
Bass
Bluefish
Cod
Haddock
Halibut
Lobster
Salmon
Scallops
Snapper
Swordfish
Shrimp
Trout
Tuna (steak)
Tuna, canned in water

Fair Choices (moderate in saturated fat)
Beef marbled cuts
Chicken, skinless, dark meat
Corned beef, lean
Duck
Ham, lean
Ham, deli-style
Lamb, lean
Pork
Turkey burgers
Turkey, skinless, dark mea
Veal

Poor Choices (high in saturated fat)
Bacon, pork slices
Beef, fatty cuts
Beef, ground (>20% fat)
Hot dog, beef or pork
Hot dog, chicken or turkey
Pepperoni
Salami
Sausage, pork link
Sausage, pork patties
Prepackaged deli meats

Eggs

Best Choices
Whole egg

Vegetarian
(always check package labels)
Protein powder
Soy burger patty
Soy Canadian bacon slices
Soy hotdog links
Soy hamburger crumbles
Soy sausage
Tofu

Fat

Best Choices
(rich in monounsaturated fat)
Almond butter
Almond oil
Almonds
Avocado
Cashews
Guacamole
Macadamia nut
Walnuts
Olive oil
Peanut butter, natural
Pistachios
Sesame oil
Coconut oil
Flax seed oil

Fair Choices
Canola oil
Sesame oil
Soybean oil

Poor Choices

Bacon bits, imitation
Butter
Cream (half and half)
Cream cheese (REG or even Lite)
Lard
Sour cream
Vegetable shortening

Carbohydrates

Vegetables

(Best Choices)
Artichoke
Asparagus
Beans, green
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chickpeas
Eggplant
Hummus
Kale
Leeks
Lentils
Mushrooms
Onions
Okra
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Swiss chard
Yellow squash
Zucchini

Raw Vegetables
Alfalfa sprouts
Bamboo shoots
Bean sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumber
Green or red peppers
Jalapeño peppers
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onions
Radishes
Salsa
Snow peas
Spinach
Tomato
Water chestnuts
Water cress

Vegetables
(use in moderation)
Beans, baked
Beans, refried
Beets
Butternut squash
Carrot
Corn
Lima beans
Parsnips
Peas
Pinto beans
Potato
Sweet potato

Fruits
(Best Choices)
Apple
Apricots
Blackberries
Blueberries
Cherries
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Nectarine
Orange
Peach
Pear
Plum
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tangerine

Fruits
(Fair Choices)
(use in moderation)
Banana
Cantaloupe
Cranberries
Dates
Fig
Guava
Honeydew melon
Kumquat
Mango
Papaya
Pineapple
Prunes
Raisins
Watermelon
Keep fruit juice to a minimum.

Grains
(use in moderation)
Steel cut oats
100% Whole grain/wheat bread
100%Whole grain/wheat pasta
Try to keep fiber content high if eating grains.

Grains
(poor choices)
Bagel
Biscuit
Cereal
Cornbread
Cornstarch
Couscous, dry
Cracker, graham
Cracker, saltine
Cracker, Triscuit
Croissant, plain
Crouton
Doughnut
English muffin
Granola
Grits
Melba toast
Millet, dry
Muffin
Noodles, egg, cooked
Pancake
Pasta
Pita bread
Popcorn
Rice
Rice cake
Rolls
Taco shell
Tortilla
Waffle

Others/sweets
(Avoid at all cost)
Cake
Candy bar
Chips
Cookies
Ice cream
Jam or jelly
Molasses, light
Relish, pickle
Sugar latent products
Syrup

A Sample Day

This is an example nutrition plan for a day; Use the many healthy choices for each macronutrient listed above and create your own healthy meals that will fit your lifestyle. You don’t have to eat 6 times a day. Just try to ensure you hit you calorie count everyday

Breakfast

A 3-egg omelet mixed with some green veggies and cooked in 2 teaspoons of olive oil.

Lunch

A grilled chicken spinach salad with 4 ounces of chicken breast, some olive oil and vinegar dressing, and fresh fruit for dessert.

Dinner

12 ounces of salmon covered with a tablespoon of slivered almonds, 2 cups of steamed vegetables.

Snack only if necessary. We want to keep insulin levels low as much as possible.

Drink at least 64oz of water per. 96 if exercising.

Sample recipe

Here is a good idea for breakfast or snack!

1/4 cup quick oats
1 egg (sub. 1/4 egg beaters for less calories)
small handful of blueberries
little bit of brown sugar/stevia (optional)
1 tbsp soymilk or regular milk(for added moistness!)

Mix it all up into a coffee mug!
Put it in the microwave for 1 minute, make sure it doesn’t overflow! Add an extra 30 sec if it needs to firm up. Here is a good idea for breakfast or snack!

Wrap Up and Moving on to Training

As you can see from all the information provided on Nutrition it is key to your success when it comes to reaching your health and fitness goals. Once you have your nutrition on track you will start to see results and is actually the biggest reason people reach their goals, especially weight loss. A lot of times you will see people working out very hard but using that workout to justify eating poorly and they never get results no matter how hard they train. Speaking of training let’s take a small look into how training falls in the pyramid of health and wellness.