On this episode of The Paleo View, Stacy and Sarah discuss goal setting, a tradition that goes hand in hand with the start of the new year, and how to establish long-term, sustainable goals, as opposed to short-term challenges with end points that often comes with destructive behaviors.
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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 176, New Years Habits
- Intro (0:00)
- News and Views (0:56)
- Sarah got to see Star Wars and it was awesome
- When we put out the ‘Ask Us Anything’ call for questions we received a lot of new years related questions, so are dedicating this week’s show to that topic and those questions
- Sarah has been Paleo for a little over four years and Stacy is in her 6th year of Paleo, which is the longest either Sarah or Stacy have stuck to anything, maintained their weight-loss, continued to improve their health, etc.
- Stacy and Sarah are able to talk about habit formation from the other side
- There are still some things that both Stacy and Sarah continue to struggle with that require extra mindfulness
- When you are starting any kind of health change it can be very overwhelming, and it can feel hard and be discouraging that it feels hard – but it does get easier, and is worth the effort, and you get to the other side before you know it
- Stacy and Sarah have differing opinions on the subject of new years habits and challenges, and you will hear those differences throughout the show
- It is important that you know who you are and what works for your body and your habits
- Stacy’s feelings towards the short-term restriction habit and the cycle that it creates for her – she instead focuses on building out a focused approach on incorporating all that makes her feel her best, and making strong choices that support her health goals
- If she wants a bite of something that is not within the perfect parameters of what Stacy has defined for herself, she has that and moves forward without guilt
- This makes it easier for her to not binge on the backend
- Or to find things along the way of a restriction diet that are “within the rules” but aren’t adding value to her life
- Sarah comes from the side of not liking any healthy living habit that defines an endpoint, she instead feels like the priorities of a Paleo diet are about sustained lifelong health
- If you have an end point, then you have permission to stop doing whatever it is you are doing to achieve that health goal you set out to accomplish
- Ending worse than where you started
- Spending the length of your challenge with a rebellion mentality, trying to stretch the rules, and the mental game this creates
- Sarah wants to talk about habit formation, taking action to form those habits, and thinking about sustainability and creating an action that promote health and becomes a natural thing to do
- Not defining an end point when identifying your goals and creating habits around those goals
- For Christmas Stacy got a lifestyle thing that is like a FitBit, but for your brain – Spire
- Tracks your breathing and gives you goals
- Stacy has learned that she is really bad at being calm
- The health challenges that Stacy and Sarah continue to work through along their journey
- Sarah does not wait for a date, she identifies when things are sliding and reigns it in immediately – which is one of the biggest things she has learned in her health journey, don’t wait to pick yourself up
- The continued work on habit formation, but knowing that you are human and quickly recognizing when you are going down a road that you shouldn’t be
- Questions & Answers (21:12)
- Gale – I want to start Paleo, but every time I try something new I end up right back with my old ways of eating. What tips do you have for sticking to Paleo past January?
- Define what you are doing Paleo for and make sure it is something that really matters to you and is not just an aesthetic thing
- Identifying the little things – being aware of the cause and effect between food and your health (i.e. if I eat this I will break out)
- The only way to identify those cause and effects is to stick with it and to remind yourself that you are making the choice to do this change and that you want to follow a Paleo diet
- Create a positive mindset around the choices you are making
- 30 days is not a magic number for everyone
- If at the end of a timeframe determined by you, you would like to reintroduce certain foods, do it mindfully and with observations to see how those foods make you feel
- Honor what style of change works best to you, and look at what makes you successful when adopting change
- The cold turkey approach does not work for everyone – and 30 days does not work for habit formation (see here for more details on that)
- Creating steps in your transition and listening to yourself to figure out how Paleo fits best within your life
- Keep sustainability in mind and remember that you are working to identify the balance that will be needed to maintain this for the rest of your life
- We set ourselves up to feel deprived when we define Paleo by what we cannot eat
- Celebrate all the amazing foods you get to eat instead of mourning the foods that you do not get to eat
- Real Life Paleo has tips, details and recipes on how to transition into Paleo as opposed to being a 21 or 30 day challenge thing
- Meg – I am just starting Paleo, what are some guidelines for portion control? (30:59)
- Both Stacy and Sarah still struggle with over-eating, and this is common for many people and it is easy to overeat Paleo foods
- You could weigh or measure food for 3 to 5 days to get a feel for what servings look like and how you feel when you consume certain servings
- You could also look up tricks online (50% of your dinner plate being vegetables, palm of your hand is a serving of protein, etc.)
- Using smaller plates can also help with overeating
- Staying well hydrated, managing stress, and getting adequate sleep can also all help with calorie consumption regulation
- Calories do matter, even if you are eating nutrient dense foods
- There are many tools that you can use to track your intake
- Sarah uses CRON-O-Meter
- Stacy uses MyFitnessPal
- How Stacy and Sarah incorporate tracking
- Toying with your macros can be very tricky, and the research Stacy has done to identify what works best for her
- Kristina – how do you prepare for a successful week with a busy schedule? (41:57)
- This is going to take some trial and error to find what works best for you
- Every four or five days Sarah will cook a huge dinner, which includes several meals worth of meat and three or four different vegetables
- Sarah’s family is able to incorporate leftovers most of the time, with slight variations to the sides – she does a lot of freezing for back up options as well
- Melissa from Well Fed does a huge weekly cook up
- There are services like Once a Month Meals to help you plan out freezer batch cooking for the length of the month
- For Matt and Stacy they have go to meals for the week, and then buy meat in bulk that they have in their freezer ready to go
- Matt and Stacy have also been incorporating weekly meal planning, which you can read all about and see the menus here
- Planning in eating out meals and the restaurants that will support your health goals
- Maybe you take a combination approach – ultimately there are a lot of different options
- Kristina – I want to try CrossFit, but I am terrified. How do you pick a gym and get pass the fear? (48:53)
- Stacy wrote two posts on this that you can find here and here
- Make sure you find a place with one-on-one intro training to help you onboard with the coaching, style of movements, etc.
- What to look for in the atmosphere, coaches, stance on form, and fellow class members
- Listen to your body and don’t push yourself to hard
- Make sure you are getting proper nutrition and rest to support your workouts
- Its ok to leave a gym if you don’t find what you are looking for
- Debbie – What are your thoughts on nutritional challenges? (56:08)
- Stacy thinks they are ridiculous and an abomination to our community that we so strongly encourage them within the context of a Paleo diet
- Sarah doesn’t feel like any of them are properly designed – they all focus on what you don’t do, and all of them have a low carb bias
- If Sarah saw a challenge that had a focus on nutrient density and was more real life, she would be in support of them
- It is not a sustainable approach to work on health from a place of deprivation
- Be aware and thoughtful about how you approach this lifestyle – have goals and self-respect and self-love through this time, and make it about making the best choices possible
- Don’t miss the point of Paleo – focus on nutrient dense and low-inflammatory foods, sleep, stand walk, get exercise, work on stress management
- Jen – what kitchen tools do you find most helpful for those new to Paleo? (1:00:37)
- Good knife to chop vegetables
- Food processor
- Instant Pot
- Roasting pan
- Rimmed baking sheets
- Good frying pan
- Vegetable steamer
- Garlic press
- Micro zester
- Dutch oven
- Erika – Are there Paleo protein shakes I can incorporate to my post workout regimen? (1:05:44)
- M&H Naturals makes a protein powder that Stacy uses and loves
- Stacy also includes collagen into her shakes
- Crunchy Mama – How do you stay excited about Paleo? (1:07:08)
- Stacy stays excited about Paleo because it is something they do together as a family and feel healthier and happier because of it
- Matt and Stacy have also built a community around them that inspires them to try new recipes, meet new people living the same life, etc.
- Sarah doesn’t think about it, this is just the way she lives and eats now
- Sarah’s excitement comes from the reality that she is healthy in a way she has never been able to maintain before
- Gale – I want to start Paleo, but every time I try something new I end up right back with my old ways of eating. What tips do you have for sticking to Paleo past January?
- Sarah has a brand new e-book, Go to Bed, a complete program with 14 easy steps to healthier sleep, be sure to check it out as you tackle your health goals in the new year
- Will be available for 30% off in January only with the code ‘INEEDSLEEP’
- Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year!
- Thank you for tuning in!
- Outro (1:15:23)
Announcing the launch of Go To Bed: 14 Easy Steps to Healthier Sleep!!!!