Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Beachbody Ultimate Reset - Vegan Diets, Strength training,


Tomorrow morning will be my post Beachbody Ultimate Reset physical & bloodwork. I've gotten a few private messages, emails from friends, & tweets asking about the Reset & "how hard it is", etc...

It really boils down to this: Decide, Commit, Succeed.



If you've decided to do the Reset & aren't so sure about the strength of your commitment, then minimize your distractions/temptations & print out papers with HUGE letters that say the following sentence: "Stick to the rules & keep things simple." Post them on your fridge, on the pantry, & wherever you might keep food/snacks.

Schedule as few social engagements as possible during the 21 days of your Reset. The less you're going to be "pressured" into eating, the less likely you are to cheat. But seriously, if you WANT to do something, you'll do it. If you WANT to stick to the Reset, then nothing anyone says will sway you from it. Likewise, if you aren't committed to the Reset (or whatever else), nothing anyone says will keep you to it.

Allow yourself some leeway to skip/replace a meal with intelligence & integrity. Choose something that doesn't violate the Reset principles. On days where I was teaching kettlebells or martial arts for longer stints & didn't have a cooler or fridge to keep perishable fresh food in, I brought along a protein bar with ingredients that were in keeping with the vegan concepts of the Reset. The bar I chose is available at http://bit.ly/DRproteinbars and is vegan, gluten-free, & dairy-free. Also, if you have a particular food allergy or sensitivity, modify the Reset to avoid ingredients that might set off your symptoms.

Finally, don't pay attention to the rubbish that people say about needing to eat meat to function athletically, to have energy, for their sex drive, etc... People's bodies get metabolically trained to function on a certain type of food, and because they rarely ever spend enough time training their body to be metabolically flexible, they're never really free of their dependence on that type of food. Humans evolved as opportunistic omnivores, meaning we should be able to eat whatever is naturally available to us & still function well. The majority of people that I hear screaming about needing to eat meat ALL the time don't exactly look (or move) like what I'd imagine a primordial hunting bada$$ to look like, so don't buy into the hype.

As far as the sex drive issue, that's an absolute crock. Here's a personal vignette... When I was still in college & was teaching Tai Chi at a local health club, one of the older guys who always had the attention of the ladies in the club told me that one of his secrets was to spend an entire day eating fruits & vegetables before he was going to spend the night with a woman that he was dating. He explained that the fruits & vegetables are cleaner fuel for your system & easier to digest faster, leaving more blood to supply other parts of your body. Additionally, the fruits don't create the same body odors that meats do, de-necessitating strong, artificial deodorants. So like I said before, don't believe someone else's ill-informed hype.

If you want to do something, do it all the way & finish what you start! Then enjoy the results!