Speaker 1: 0:01

Hey friends, welcome to the Uncommon Freedom Show.

Speaker 2: 0:03

I'm Kevin And I'm Becca, and we're your hosts. We're here every week to help you reach your potential and maximize your impact in every area that matters. So let's get started.

Speaker 1: 0:12

Yeah, almost every week. That's the goal here, but I know some of you who are very literal, like I can be at times. That's not a perfectly true statement, but we're working on it. But Becca today is going to be an exciting show.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Yes, it absolutely is. We're kicking off our brand new series It's called the Summer Health Challenge, which I know you love, Kevin, because you're just a little bit competitive.

Speaker 1: 0:35

Maybe just a little, but I also married a very kindred spirit when it comes to competition. But the reality is, should we talk?

Speaker 2: 0:41

about our early. Oh my gosh. I said, almost said pickleball, but what's the sport we played in college?

Speaker 1: 0:46

together. Racketball Yes racketball.

Speaker 2: 0:49

Let's take it back for a second before we get on with our What's an R?

Speaker 1: 0:53

Well, just because it was kind of like the Aspen Preservation Society, Okay, little dumb and dumber throwback there.

Speaker 2: 1:02

So we're both competitive, we're both fairly type A firstborns, and so let's see, i didn't know how to play racketball. My parents had played racketball and handball growing up and they always talked about how fun it was. Where did you learn to play racketball? With my dad?

Speaker 1: 1:16

My dad loved racketball. He played it growing up And when I was a teenager, my dad was a part-time professor at, I believe, Tri-C, which is where you started your college career.

Speaker 2: 1:27

Tri-High, tri-high, shout out to.

Speaker 1: 1:29

And they had racketball courts, so my dad would occasionally take David and I with him and he kicked our butts, but we learned how to play racketball.

Speaker 2: 1:37

Very cool, yeah. So when we first got married, we were 21. We lived in Corvallis, oregon. We were going to college and we We call it living on love. We did not have any money. We were both working and you were.

Speaker 1: 1:49

No, we had some money, just enough to pay our bills.

Speaker 2: 1:51

Just a tiny bit of money, right. We were very much living on love, so our social life was very simple, but it was actually really awesome. So the apartment complex we lived in had a racketball court beneath the office. I mean it's just kind of crazy, as old as those apartments were, that that was something that they had there, but they had the racketball courts and frequently we'd go on the weekends, right, because Yeah, Friday or Saturday night or both. Nobody else potentially wanted to play racketball on a Friday or Saturday night, but we did.

Speaker 2: 2:17

And you taught me how to play and we had a lot of fun And it also was a good way to work out some challenges in our marriage, some kinks in our marriage. Some conflict resolution Conflict resolution Yes, before we could afford counseling, we just played racketball together.

Speaker 1: 2:30

Well, we also learned that it's very important to wear protective eye gear when you play racketball.

Speaker 2: 2:35

Yep. It's also important to duck when your partner's swinging towards the ball and your back's in the way.

Speaker 1: 2:39

Or the preferred method is that you'd not hit other people with the racket.

Speaker 2: 2:44

Well, when said person is in the way and the ball is there and you're competitive and you want to hit the ball, then the other person has to move. So I think you need to work on your cat-like reflexes.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Well, like a good racketball player, I had my eyes on the wall in front of me instead of looking behind me.

Speaker 2: 2:57

Wait a minute. I was a good racketball player because I was watching the ball when it hit me in the eyeball that one time and I almost became blind because you didn't tell me how to play the game properly.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Okay.

Speaker 2: 3:07

We'll take extreme ownership. I had a lot to learn And it was very irritating to me once we got going and we really got into a groove that I could not beat Kevin, and a couple of times I got pretty close And then at one point along the way you actually switched hands and admitted to me you were playing with your weak hand, which just literally pissed me off more So, but it was a very fun way to spend time together and we exuded a ton of energy. But yes, i did hit Kevin with the racket in the back.

Speaker 1: 3:32

Maybe Many times, mostly in the back. Yeah, arms back Couple times.

Speaker 2: 3:36

Anyway, he's a tough guy. He made it into the Marine Corps. After that I was getting him ready for Marine Corps. I was prepping him And then I did get hit in the eyeball with the racket ball, which really hurts, and luckily I didn't go blind And after that we did start wearing goggles.

Speaker 1: 3:48

It was pretty scary because we didn't have insurance back then. No, we didn't, and that was probably within our first month of playing, so it was very early on.

Speaker 2: 3:54

I can't believe I even kept playing with you. Yeah, it was bad. So then we got safety goggles. After that We did. We wised up and realized that looking cool didn't matter.

Speaker 1: 4:01

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 4:03

All right, Anyway. so yes, that was just a little bit of background on an example of how competitive we can be. We also actually played a card game. What was that called?

Speaker 1: 4:11

Rummy, rummy. Super simple card game Johnny Castleberry.

Speaker 2: 4:15

We learned how to play that Rummy when we were early married, and we literally played it for like years and years and years. We have a piece of paper that still exists today. Almost 25 years later, this piece of paper with tally marks.

Speaker 2: 4:25

Marking off all of the wins and losses for each of us, And we would just like whenever we were at home and we had some downtime we were having a meal or something We pull the cards out and play. So this is advice to all of you who are married or going to get married someday. We realized we're considered maybe old to you, but finding things to do. Were you not videotaping me?

Speaker 1: 4:43

Okay, recording now.

Speaker 2: 4:45

Sorry, everyone had to look at Kevin, the first 10 minutes of the podcast. Apparently he doesn't want me on video, so, which is annoying, because I actually got my hair done today So it looks great decent because I didn't do it myself. Shout out to dry bar and Heather Dill, my hair girl. So anyway, where was I? we digressed, you got me off track.

Speaker 1: 5:05

Rummy.

Speaker 2: 5:05

Rummy. I forgot those who are married or going to, oh yes, find activities that you like to do together, and It's way better than just going to dinner in a movie and not really having connection time. So part of the secret to our 25 years, almost 25 years of wedded bliss, i think you'll agree 100%.

Speaker 2: 5:23

Is definitely to find activities that you like to do together. Okay, back on track. So we're both competitive, and so whether you're feeling totally overwhelmed and you don't know where to start with Improving your health you've lost weight before but gained it back or maybe you're fit and fabulous and you want to stretch yourself This series is for everyone.

Speaker 1: 5:42

So we're going to guide you through the most important topics to improve your health, starting with the number one. Thing that we get asked about all the time as health coaches is how can I lose weight For good? It's one thing to lose weight, it's another thing to lose it for good. Here's the good news is that virtually anyone can do it, and it's actually very simple.

Speaker 2: 6:03

But, as we know, you know, simple does not mean easy. If it was easy, I think Americans and the world would be full of healthy people. And Unfortunately, obesity is going up in the world and especially in America, and so we've been on a mission for 12 years, and we're even more passionate now, to help turn the tide of that, especially in the next generation, because one of the things that breaks our heart as parents is to see children who Come into families and, just because of habits and lack of training or awareness or discipline, you know, end up being obese children, and then they go into adulthood and it's a really, really difficult to change habits at that point.

Speaker 1: 6:36

Statistics on childhood obesity. They are, i mean, it's almost like a death sentence. The good news is, anyone can change, but at any point, the The reality is is you're really stacking the deck against your child if you raise them as an obese child. So we're really passionate about helping parents get healthy, because parents are the biggest influence on their kids when it comes to health. But as we get started talking about today's topic, i just want to share I mean, we have so many stories that we could draw from, but I'm gonna draw from a more recent, just dramatic success story and just share a story about one of my clients, bogdan, who actually I finally got to meet in person.

Speaker 1: 7:18

I've been coaching him since before Thanksgiving of 2022. He started our plan and his down over 70 pounds He started the plan right before the holidays was super consistent and 70 pounds is a massive, massive transition. We know that there's significant benefits to losing for every 50 pounds that someone loses. The statistic we've heard is that for every 50 pounds you lose, it adds 10 years of quality life onto your life expectancy. So he's already likely enhanced quality life by more than 10 years and The one of the most awesome things for him is that he's actually at his healthiest adult weight.

Speaker 1: 8:00

He's close to 40 years old and he weighs less now as a 39 year old, i believe is where he's at right now. Then he did in middle school, which is absolutely my school.

Speaker 1: 8:12

So and he's he really followed you know the program that we coach people with, but he's really Many of the many of the things we're going to talk about are some of the key Components that are part of the program we typically coach people with that have helped him be successful. And the really cool thing about Bogdan is that he's very focused. In fact, he was sharing with me that staying healthy can keep some up at night, like he has he's recurring almost nightmares of putting his weight back on, which, on the one hand, might sound like not like a good thing, but the what I like about it is it shows just how important it is to him, yeah, to stay healthy for the rest of his life and Super proud of him, and it's been an honor to coach him and It's a lot of fun to develop a friendship with the people that are able to help.

Speaker 2: 9:01

Absolutely. We've created lots of friendships through the years and my guess is, over time, as he habit stacks himself And he starts to see that longevity piece, he'll become not relaxed might not be the right word but more comfortable with the fact that he knows how to do it. Because, like for you And I same thing. You know, we both got healthy about 12 years ago And then now so many of the habits that we utilize are really second nature to us And so it's actually easier, much easier, to be healthier now in our mid 40s than it was to be healthy in our early 30s, late 20s.

Speaker 1: 9:31

Even 20s. I mean because the reality is the habits that we had in our 20s were basically we're young enough that our metabolism was still working for us, but it was not really setting us up for health.

Speaker 2: 9:41

Yeah, i would. I love to say that here I'm 46. I think, is that right 46? and I'm healthier and leaner now than when I trained for and ran to marathon, to pull marathons and some half marathons back in, you know, my 20s, and I look at pictures and I think, wow, you know I'm just, i'm leaner, i'm stronger and I am in better shape overall and man from a mindset standpoint No comparison.

Speaker 1: 10:02

Yeah, let's get started. So number one on our list is stop.

Speaker 2: 10:06

Yeah, we're gonna break down just to like put an overview right. We're gonna break down like about 10 rules of the people need to follow correct. Okay, so go ahead, number one.

Speaker 1: 10:15

The first is to stop eating sugar and drinking alcohol. If you want to lose weight. Sugar and alcohol are absolute killers of weight loss.

Speaker 2: 10:25

Yes, and obviously the best thing would be to do this for the rest of your life. Now, is that realistic? for some people it is, and for other people maybe not, but for sure most people are consuming excessive amounts of this, and on a consistent basis, and it's Keeping them from being able to even lose weight, because their body is constantly taking in more calories than it needs, and Empty calories, and then, when we don't use it, it gets stored as fat. So that's number one.

Speaker 1: 10:48

The. The thing to understand is that sugar is the first thing our body, first energy source our bodies use. So anytime you introduce sugar into your diet, that's what your body is gonna use first. Most of us eat too much. It gets stored ultimately as body fat and You know true confession time. This is the most challenging one for me. I do not struggle with alcohol. I actually decided at the beginning of this year, just as the more I learned about alcohol and how, what an actual poison it is That for the most part, i've eliminated. I've had very few drinks this year. If we're at our favorite restaurant I might have one, but I've just found that it's a Really. It's an easy toxin for me to eliminate, but sugar is something I really struggle with, and so we're definitely not claiming that we have alternatives figured out, but we've definitely learned from experience that they are key parts of getting healthy and staying healthy.

Speaker 2: 11:43

Absolutely. And then number two is to drink more water. Most people know they should be doing that. Some people are really good at it. I know, when we do a lot of our health assessments, you know we talk to people who are great at it, some people who do a little bit of it, and I've talked to people that barely drink any ounces of water a day And I think to myself how have you not shriveled up and just died? So there's a couple of cool things about water. I mean, really we encourage you to drink a minimum of 64 ounces per day. Obviously, consult your doctor if you have any medical issues, but pure water is so good for your body And most of the time we don't experience thirst until we have already been depleted and basically, are dehydrated, but we don't get thirsty until we're past that point.

Speaker 2: 12:23

And what's neat about starting to drink water drink more of it is it becomes one of those really good habits where now I don't go anywhere without my water bottle. I tell people it's almost like if I left the house without clothes on or without my wedding ring, i would just it would be off, which I have yet to leave without my wedding ring or clothing. Thank goodness, only shoes one time. But you know, taking my water bottle everywhere with me is how I stay hydrated, because there's times you're in the car for hours or you're gone from home. So I know for some people it's like if you don't have it with you it is hard to drink it. And someone who carries it with you everywhere you go. find a favorite water bottle. try a bunch. We've tried tons through the years. I currently have my Stanley, which is a very popular model right now and really, outside of the fact that it spills regularly, it is my favorite one but it does.

Speaker 1: 13:05

It actually fits in a cup holder. Because it fits in a cup holder, yes.

Speaker 2: 13:08

And it stays cold and it has a straw. Those are some of my criteria. So whatever is important to you to help you drink your water, figure that out so it becomes an easy habit that you can start and then continue.

Speaker 1: 13:18

And one visual for all of us to think about the importance of water is that when you don't drink enough water, it's like putting used oil into the engine of a car. So our bodies, you know, basically get rid of that water. but when we're not bringing, bringing in fresh water, basically our bodies recycle that water. So you would never do that to a car, don't do that to your body.

Speaker 2: 13:44

I'm thirsty, just talking about it. And the other thing I think that we learned through our habits of health, which is the material that we coach through, is that we lose water through a lot of different parts of our body, like a lot of us think. Like I lose water when I go to the bathroom or when I sweat. Those are the only two things. But you can lose water, obviously through speaking and perspiration, speaking in the bottom of our feet. I think there another place where I was shocked that it was like we lose hydration through the bottom of our feet. So there's a lot of ways that we are losing it and we don't realize it.

Speaker 1: 14:11

All right. Next one a simple role is to stop eating after 8pm, or if you are hungry in the late evening and you have to stay up is to have a small amount of protein. Do not be afraid to go to bed hungry. It's totally okay to go to bed hungry. One of the things that we encourage people to do is to go to bed earlier. We know that a significant portion of Americans consume a large amount of their calories at dinner or later.

Speaker 2: 14:39

Mostly empty calories.

Speaker 1: 14:39

Mostly empty calories. And you know this was one of the big changes for us was you know I was we almost always had a briars ice cream in our freezer and normal routine was you have dinner and then a couple hours later have for me a couple bowls of ice cream, and those are empty calories. And when you have that type of habit whether it's snacking on, you know, empty carbs through chips, crackers, pretzels, things like that, junk food, desserts, ice cream, whatever it might be those calories are going to go straight to your gut and other parts of your body in the form of stored body fat.

Speaker 2: 15:13

Correct And with you know the program that we coach. We do have people eat, usually between dinner and bedtime, because they're eating a reasonable amount of food and so they need to fuel again. But one thing we know is that you will sleep better if you go to bed with protein in your body than you will if you go to bed with carbs, especially empty or simple carbs. So just a tip it will improve your sleep, but it will also not just help you lose weight, but keep it off. Okay, Number four is to change your surroundings and influences. Boy has this been an interesting journey for us through the years, but we know that we become like the five people that we spend the most time with, and it's one of the reasons we're passionate about helping parents get healthy, And so really taking a look at where you spend your time and who you spend your time with will help you create health for the long term.

Speaker 1: 15:54

Yeah, if what we're not saying is leave your influences behind, but what we are saying is be the one to lead your friends and family to health. I mean, we've talked about this before, but you started your health journey You were motivated after you had Dylan, our third son in less than four years, and I wasn't there. I wasn't ready yet, just emotionally, mentally, i didn't have the motivation to get healthy, and you started your journey about four months before I did. I was not supportive, but you were supportive.

Speaker 2: 16:25

I just don't think you, i mean I mean you could have done more. Yeah, i mean, the reality is I continued to try and to thwart me or anything.

Speaker 1: 16:31

No, but I also could have done a much more supportive job but you decided to get healthy.

Speaker 1: 16:36

Your dad decided to get healthy, your brother-in-law, bob, decided to get healthy and then I decided to get healthy. It definitely wasn't your first client, but you started this ripple effect and then many of our friends and family ultimately have gotten healthy. Sadly, not all of them have stuck with it. It breaks our heart, but ultimately we realized that if we continued to spend most of our time with unhealthy people who had unhealthy habits and were continuing to go down that path of disease, that it would impact us. And just like, if you hang out with people who smoke cigarettes, you're probably going to end up a cigarette smoker. If you hang out with people who are bankrupt, you're probably going to end up bankrupt. Certainly, you're not going to end up wealthy because you don't have the right people influencing you. Right, it is so important. You know what we tell people is. You know, come on along for the ride, but what we're not going to do is go downstream with you Exactly.

Speaker 2: 17:26

And if your surroundings are you know you're in places where there's constant temptation and unhealthy things then it's time to change your surroundings the best you can. Maybe it's bringing something into.

Speaker 2: 17:35

you know the break room at work that just provides a healthy snack for other people and it shows them that healthy food can taste delicious. Maybe it's taking your breaks outside and going for a walk. I know, when I started spending time with friends, it was like, instead of always going out to eat, what else could we do, you know? could we go for a walk, could we go for a jog? Could we go to the coffee shop instead and just have, you know, a healthy version of coffee or something? So that's a really important one. If you don't change your surroundings, but you do make health a choice for yourself, you will struggle to swim upstream, and so it's just an important piece to invite people to come along with you along the way.

Speaker 1: 18:07

Alright. number five is to eat less calories than you burn each day. So what we've learned is that weight loss is there's an element of a mathematical equation to it, But it's not a simple, constant mathematical equation.

Speaker 1: 18:22

However, the over the long haul, the reality is, if you burn 2000 calories a day and you consume even 2050 calories a day, over time, you will put on excess weight in the form of body fat And what we've also learned, like I remember, for me, one of the big realizations that you created as you were starting your health journey was just this awareness to start looking at nutrition labels Right.

Speaker 1: 18:46

I've shared many times that for me, a regular part of my workday as a police officer was getting, you know, theater sized boxes of candy And I just never paid attention to how many empty calories was in that And I just started looking at it as like wow, it was easy to consume 1000 to 2000 calories of pure carbohydrate, junk sugar, per day.

Speaker 1: 19:06

I didn't even have an awareness of that. So paying attention, you know there's a lot of great apps out there that allow you to track your food, and I think, on the one hand, it's nice to be able to lose weight without having to track everything, but we also know if you want something to improve, it is important to track it Right, but especially while you're getting started to actually track what you're eating honestly, to have an awareness of just how many calories you're eating, and also how many calories you're eating it's coming from pure garbage food sources, and then also to understand how many, or potentially how few, calories you're actually burning. So just understanding that, because the analogy I like to use with my clients is that it's one thing to know how much money you have in your bank account, it's another thing to understand what your net worth is. So your net worth is all of your assets minus all of your liabilities.

Speaker 2: 20:02

Right.

Speaker 1: 20:02

So figuring out what your total daily energy energy expenditure is, that's kind of like knowing what your bank account is. But knowing what you're consuming is kind of like knowing your net worth.

Speaker 2: 20:14

And it's good to have realistic numbers because a lot of times we overestimate what we burn with activity and exercise and we under report what crosses our lips. So that's where most of us get into trouble. I know, sometimes when I look, i go to Orange Theory frequently And when I watch my calorie burn occasionally I'll be like, oh, my goodness, that was a pack of gum right there.

Speaker 2: 20:32

You know that was all accomplished in 30 minutes of on the treadmill or something, and it just gives you that awareness of is it really worth it and making choices that are wiser because you understand the cost.

Speaker 1: 20:42

Yeah, the, and the other thing is the majority, especially if it's not tied to a heart rate monitor that has your information programmed into it. the majority of cardio equipment is grossly over exaggerating how many calories are burning, and you know, we know, that exercise creates this entitlement for more food and calories and even treats. It's like Oh, i'm gonna reward myself. And you know so many people. they leave the gym, they hit Starbucks, they get a Frappuccino. There's very few people who actually burn enough calories to zero out that Frappuccino, so not to mention empty calories.

Speaker 1: 21:18

Exactly, exactly.

Speaker 2: 21:20

Okay, number six understand that weight loss is not the same as fat loss. So get a body fat test. You know, one of the things that we've transitioned in our own personal health is doing an in body scan. We started doing it a couple years ago at a local place. Now we have one we can use here, and we actually recommend our clients go out and do this as well along the way on their journey, because we do want to help people lose fat. Fat is what is dangerous for most people. We need some fat on our bodies. Of course, fat is good for us if there's the right amount, but there's a lot of excess body fat, especially in the adipose tissue and around the center of your body, around your organs. That can be very dangerous and can cause a lot of health issues for you at some point along the way, and so we want to reduce that fat. But we also want to have an honest look at what our muscle structure is like and you know where we're losing and is it appropriate amount?

Speaker 1: 22:07

And when it comes to weight loss, there's a huge difference between weight loss and fat loss. So the key is to find a program or a system that's going to help you lose weight in the form primarily of body fat correct, versus just losing weight, because many of the different methods that people use to lose weight, the weight you're losing, or a significant portion of it, is actually in the form of muscle tissue, which you do not want to lose, because muscle tissue is good for you. It keeps your metabolism higher, obviously keeps you healthier, it helps to keep your bones nice and strong And you do not want to lose your weight primarily. I mean you know like, for example, one of my clients over the fall lost about 40 pounds And because he did a starting and ending body fat test with us, was able to track that he only lost one pound of muscle out of that 40 pounds, which was very easy to recover once he finished up his transition. But just understanding that there's a huge difference between weight loss and fat loss.

Speaker 2: 23:08

Correct, So number seven eat quality calories.

Speaker 1: 23:11

This is tough folks. Our bodies were programmed designed to want that quick hit of simple carbohydrates. But the reality is, until about 100 years ago, simple carbs were very difficult to get And it took a lot of work to get them.

Speaker 2: 23:27

Right, they were berries and they were, you know Exactly exactly, but you're never gonna get stuff.

Speaker 1: 23:32

Picking berries and eating them, or it's very. It takes a long time to do that And in today's world, when you can walk into virtually any store even you know hardware stores, clothing stores they have junk food at the counters And it's so easy to fill up on those calorie dense but nutrient sparse foods.

Speaker 2: 23:54

Correct. So that's one of the things we want you to think about is not just like how many calories? some of the programs out there for weight loss, you know they do the calorie in, calorie out, counting, a lot of counting, a lot of tracking. And listen, tracking is good for you, but I know I don't wanna track for the rest of my life. I just needed to build habits that then I could live off of. But you know one of these programs that has you track all the calories in and calories out. You know you can eat fewer calories, but if they're not healthy calories for you, then really you're not providing your body the nutrition it needs to run properly, and so we want you to be aware of that. So you know, maybe too many high calorie healthy foods are even being consumed, and that's where you're thinking I'm eating healthy but I'm not really losing weight. A lot of us get stuck eating lots of nuts. Coconut granola can be a quick trigger because it seems very healthy, but it has a ton of calories.

Speaker 1: 24:39

It's loaded with sugar. Yeah, i mean, granola is delicious And it's kind of branded as a healthy.

Speaker 2: 24:42

Both yogurts are full of too much sugar, so we're really cautious about the type of yogurt we buy Maybe too much red meat. Hummus was one that actually surprised me, because obviously you know lentils and legumes are good for you, but again, they carry quite a calorie load, and I saw recently that an actual serving of hummus is a quarter of a cup, and for many people when they go to a restaurant or something like that, they'll eat like a whole bowl of guacamole or a whole bowl of hummus, and so you're putting in, just again, healthy calories, but far, far too many of them, and so we want to just make sure that we're considering enough protein and enough fiber in our bodies, and you can get great fiber from things like broccoli, avocado, apples, pears and chia seeds, and protein can be found in all kinds of animal protein as well as other forms, And it's just a really good idea to make sure that you're filling most of your calories from those categories.

Speaker 1: 25:27

All right. Number eight is sleep. This one is a highly underrated habit of health. We're actually gonna spend more time talking about this on one of the upcoming episodes, but what we know is that the average man needs or male needs about eight to nine hours of sleep. The average woman needs about seven to eight, and in today's- False Sorry, that was a duet. Oh false.

Speaker 2: 25:51

That was a duet shrew from office No you might be right. I'm just saying in my perspective that's not right. Like women should get at least as much, if not more. Okay, got it, but it might not be medical science based. I'm just saying from experience.

Speaker 2: 26:03

I would love to get more sleep. The problem is they have to adjust the numbers because once you start having kids, men sleep through almost everything and women wake up for almost everything, And so I can't tell you the number of times the kids are like coming into the room. I can hear them like breathing from across the room and then they're talking to me in this really loud voice and you sleep through the entire thing And I'm thinking there's no way if they were talking to you on that side of the bed, I wouldn't have woken up and been awake for the next three hours, so there's no reason for me to get up at that point.

Speaker 2: 26:28

Okay, false, oh, another falsity, Keep going.

Speaker 1: 26:31

All right so, but sleep, it's so many of us talk about. oh, i only need four hours or six hours of sleep. We kind of wear it as a badge of honor. And the reality is it's not good for us. Our bodies heal primarily while we're sleeping. We basically process or digest stressful wounds while we're sleeping. So getting an adequate amount of sleep, the other thing that's so important is to understand the impact of all of our electronics on the quality of our sleep.

Speaker 1: 27:00

And also caffeine. we live in an overcaffeinated culture. Caffeine is actually something that I've. I've never been a heavy user of it, but I've significantly almost reduced it from my diet right now as well, just because the more I learn about it, it's really not good for you, And we tend to consume too much too late in the day. Caffeine and electronics impact the quality of our sleep, even if you don't realize it. So things are happening at a like a cellular level while we sleep, or they're supposed to, And electronics and caffeine will interfere with those mechanisms, even if you don't realize it.

Speaker 2: 27:38

So not just the number of hours, everyone, but you know, is it restorative for your body? Correct, correct? That's good. Okay, last one, number nine Do more resistance training versus cardio. This was a hard transition for me. I have always been I call myself a runner, probably more of a jogger, but again, i've run some different events and just always enjoyed running. It was like a way to clear my head, a great way to spend time with God and get some personal development done, and so it's been a difficult transition, but one that I've definitely seen as I've shifted to more of a high intensity types of workouts, modified amount of cardio and then lots of strength training that my body's transitioned, transitioned into more muscle tone, really, and being able to just shape my body in a way that I feel comfortable in and makes me feel strong. So it's just important that we don't eliminate cardio, because your body needs it, for your heart health, of course, but most people have that direction and most people do cardio when they are overweight, and that is not healthy for your joints either.

Speaker 1: 28:34

The thing about muscle is that it weighs more than fat.

Speaker 2: 28:39

No, i'm just kidding. It does one of the things that people love to say Calories yes and fat, So it's more dense than fat. Correct, but it is not way more than fat. A pound of fat is in a pound of muscle or both a pound.

Speaker 1: 28:51

One pound is like bricks and feathers right Bricks and feathers.

Speaker 1: 28:54

But we, our bodies, naturally start to lose muscle around the age of 20. And the statistic I remember from our health program is that by the age of 40, if we are not counteracting that normal entropy that happens in our muscle, we've lost enough muscle where our metabolism is burning about 2000 fewer calories per day when you're 40 than when you were 20. Now you can pretty much counteract this with healthy diet and strength training, but if you don't, that is why you know many people we've heard about it by the time they're like all of a sudden I turned 40 and the weight started coming.

Speaker 2: 29:32

I do the same thing and I get very different results.

Speaker 1: 29:34

at that point, Yeah, exactly For many people. And the thing about cardio if you're super heavy in cardio, what you're training your body to do is to be very efficient.

Speaker 2: 29:43

Yes.

Speaker 1: 29:44

And the reality is, you know you might want a car that's efficient, but you actually don't want a body that's efficient with calories. You want a body that needs a lot of calories, Because what that does is it helps you stay healthier.

Speaker 2: 29:57

Exactly, and we're really excited for the program we coach. We're going to have some essential amino acids coming out at the end of the summer And we've been using branch chain aminos. Which are how many? Those are three of the nine essential and our new product is going to have all nine essential amino acids And those are really good for preserving muscle and building muscle, and so we're excited to be able to utilize those with our clients and coaches. And you know, again, it's just another piece of our health puzzle that we've been filling in as we continue to pursue what we want in ultra health and be an example to others. So we're excited to follow up on this series. We have more episodes coming on the summer health challenge, but we're most excited about getting about everyone getting into action. So if you're committing to 30 days of focused improvement, tag us and use the hashtag summer health challenge on social media so we can cheer you on.

Speaker 1: 30:45

Could I give a quick one line summary of all of the top 10? So the first is stop eating sugar and drinking alcohol. drink more water, at least 64 ounces a day. stop eating after 8 pm or, if you're going to eat, have a small healthy, protein loaded meal for bed, but don't be afraid to go to bed hungry. Change your surroundings and your influences. eat less calories and you burn each day. That is if you're trying to lose weight. Understand that weight loss is not the same as fat loss, and we also highly recommend that everyone gets a body fat test, and we recommend you do that at least quarterly, ideally monthly. That's a great metric Eat quality calories. but also understand that some of the health foods that are out there are also very high in calories, so be very cognizant of that. Make sure you get plenty of restorative and quality sleep and then do more resistance training versus just doing cardio.

Speaker 2: 31:42

Okay, and the last thing is if you found this show helpful, please take five seconds to leave us a review. It helps so many new people find the podcast. Now let's get after it.