Live

Tips for our lifestyles and making the changes that get big results.

Making the Change

We are creatures of habit. Why? Why do we tend to fall into daily patterns of monotony? Because change is scary. Human nature resists change. Instinctually we feel like change may jeopardize our safety. We can thank our ancestors for this. Change was usually a life or death situation for them, like changing environmental conditions, famines, floods, and meteorological disasters.
As miserable as we might be, we feel comfortable staying in our everyday patterns. There’s an old saying that goes:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to change. To elicit a change from your life, we need to impose a change upon it
But here’s the great part: When we accept change we become capable of doing great things!
Please try this exercise.  It can really put things into perspective for you.

1. Are you happy with your current quality of life? Write out three things you would change (health, life, finances, etc).
2. What’s stopping you? Write the three main things that are stopping you from achieving those goals (i.e. no time, no money, etc).

Now it’s time to do some soul-searching. Keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers in this. It’s just a matter of your happiness. If you are happy living your life the way it is and plan to continue for the rest of your life, then keep doing what you’ve always done. However, if you’re ready to explore the incredible possibilities of what you are truly capable of, then make the decision. Make it wholeheartedly, and put it into action.

Structure, Structure, Structure…

Most of us live a lifestyle in which we achieve “results by coincidence.” We eat when we can, we exercise when we can, and there is no structure to our chaos. We try to lose weight through some funky combination of hittin’ the weights, cardio all over the place, lowering calories, no carbs, no fats, maybe hi fats, all protein, vegetable-based mumbo jumbo. We get results for a little bit and then plateau. What was it that was working? Was it the exercise? Was it the nutrition? Did my body plateau from too much exercise, or am I in a “starvation state” and crash my metabolism? Finding the answer is as chaotic as your lifestyle!
When starting a journey with a transformation goal, we must strive for “results by design.” Fortunately, this isn’t rocket science. We need a structured nutrition program and structure light exercise. With a structure designed to meet your goal, you can troubleshoot any obstacle you encounter. Plateau?  No problem. Adjust the pattern and you’ll easily break through the plateau. Knowing that you can and will have continued success as long as you keep some structure… that really is priceless.

What’s my ‘Bodyshape’?

A “bodyshape” is a classification tool we can use to better customize our weight loss techniques to our individual bodies. More specifically, it is a way for us to recognize what special combination of genes our ancestors have handed down to us. Have you ever bought a “one size fits all” piece of clothing? If so, you’ve probably noticed that “one size fits all” most of the time actually means “one size fits nobody!” By understanding our own individual bodyshapes, we are avoiding the “one size fits all” approach to our weight loss journey. 

Here at Reshape the Nation, we have classified bodyshapes into three main types: MesoShape, EndoShape, and EctoShape. While entire books could be written about each of these body types, here are some quick, basic descriptions:

• MesoShape: Athletic, muscular build. Gains and loses weight rather easily. Often looks overly mature and grows muscle quickly.
• EndoShape: Softer body which adapts quickly for survival. Extremely sensitive to carbohydrates and generally has difficulty shedding weight.
• EctoShape: Often tall, lightly muscled, with a young appearance. Thrives on high carb/low fat diets. Has difficulty gaining weight or muscle mass.

(Note: ANY Bodyshape can carry excess fat on top of the musculature. David for example, is a perfect EctoShape. His bodyshape is typically long and lean, but his lifestyle caused a massive fat gain. His weight loss was maximized during the high carb/low fat patterns of our journey.)

No specific bodyshape is universally better or worse than the others. Rather than actually fitting into one category over another, you’ll gain more by understanding your body shape. Once we understand which bodyshape we fit into, we can begin to build much more effective weight-loss routines that capitalize on our individual strengths and focus on our weaknesses. 

“Chrisfucious” says: Every unique problem needs a unique solution!

Cleaning The Pipes

Have you ever heard the saying “A healthy body starts with a healthy gut?” Well, it’s absolutely true! Our digestive systems can impact our bodies in amazing ways, both positively when we take care of them, and negatively when we don’t. It’s crucial to our overall wellness that we keep our digestive systems clean and healthy. While recently “colon cleansing” and other similar quick fix methods have become a popular trend, no real research supports these methods.  Instead, true digestive health is achieved by an overall lifestyle of healthy choices like these:

• Manage your diet: Many common foods are great for keeping your digestive system healthy. Whole grain foods are high in fiber and great for digestion.  Other good options are fresh fruit, fish, and lean cuts of meat.
• Eat natural foods: The more artificial ingredients in a food, the more likely it will stay in your digestive system for longer than it should.
• Drink lots of water: Water is the only all-natural cleanser for your digestive system!  Drinking plenty of water will reduce and eliminate unhealthy build-ups in your intestines.
• Manage stress: Do you ever wonder why you get a stomach ache when you’re stressed out? It’s because your digestive system, like your brain, is full of nerves and responds to your emotions. By learning to manage stress through healthy outlets like exercise and communication, you’ll be doing your stomach a huge favor!

 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

For all those non-believers out there, pull out your mega pixels! The ‘proof is in the pudding’, and you should have the pictures to back it up. We, at Reshape the Nation, believe that one of the most wonderful gifts you can give yourself during this transformation is the proof of progression! Not only will this show off where exactly you came from, but also it will give yourself a more ‘objective’ perspective of your own body. Naturally, our eyes play tricks on us - what we see in the mirror is NOT reality!!

Here are a few photo pointers to help you out:

1. Remember that these pics are just for YOU - unless, of course, you want to share them.
2. Wear clothing that will give you a FULL view of your body to allow you to SEE where the transformation is happening! Since you will be the only one seeing these, shorts and a sports bra may do the trick for ya.
3. Snap shots from a few different angles - I personally like a front shot and a side/profile shot.
4. Use these pictures as daily reminders by placing printed copies of the pictures in a visible spot.  Try inside your fridge, on your bathroom mirror, in your room, or the bottom of a drawer that is used often. And if you’re REALLY proud to show them off, use it as your screen saver!
5. Take weekly pictures. You won’t be able to see the changes on a day-to-day basis, but when the weekly pictures are lined up, you will be amazed at the transformation you are achieving.

Have fun clicking away! This will give you a whole new appreciation for how incredible your body REALLY is.

Patience is a Virtue

Ahhhhh… patience… What ever happened to it? It seems like everything moves so quickly these days. In today’s advanced world, we can get almost anything with a click of a button.

Information? Google it.

Need to talk? Cell phone.

Food? Drive thru, of course.

Well, there is one thing we own that doesn’t move at the speed of technology… our bodies! Even trendy fitness and diet solutions have always had names like the “90 day transformation” or “Six week makeover” program. In other words, changing our bodies takes time, and they’re trying to capitalize on taking less time than other methods. I’m not knocking those programs… they can give some pretty good information. But long term, permanent weight loss is a process…a lifestyle. It doesn’t even happen in a seemingly long 90 days.

Don’t worry, you will get incredible results with your Reshape the Nation lifestyle change. In fact, many folks drop 10 or so pounds a week starting off (some body fat, and lots of water weight from bloating), and the larger you are, the faster you lose!!! 

But keep in mind that the tissues of your body need to move in slow motion. As we cycle through the days we will feed your muscle and burn your fat ONE DAY AT A TIME. 

“Chrisfucius” says…every weight loss journey begins with a single meal

Bulk Prep: The Efficient Way to Eat Healthy

One problem with eating healthy is the time required to prepare healthy meals. However, I’ve got a solution for that problem. Give me one hour of your day and I’ll give you three days of success.  I’m serious.
You want transformation?  It’s all about the food you put into your body.  Exercise is awesome, and will greatly accelerate your progress, but nutrition is ALWAYS the base.

Whatcha gonna do?

Success just doesn’t happen; you must prepare for it. Our body needs to eat whole, nutritious food every three hours. When that time is up, we’ve got three options:

• You can eat nothing and crash your metabolism;
• You can eat the wrong foods, packed with empty calories and triggering stronger cravings;
• Or you can eat a perfectly portioned combination of foods to get you one meal closer to success.
• People who are truly serious about their new lifestyle and transformation will choose the third option…

Here’s the catch:  Three hours go by pretty darn fast. We don’t have the time or energy to cook and prepare food every three hours. We’ve gotta be ready for it.

Solution: Prepare our food in bulk.

This is how it works:

• We pick two days of the week to prep our food in advance.  I prefer my Sundays and Wednesdays, but choose whatever days work best for you.
• All of the bulk recipes can be prepared in less than an hour – and the recipes are completely scalable so you can prep as little as one meal or as much as three days of food.  Food prep tools make it so much easier, too!
• We store the food in the fridge and pack your STAX at the beginning of each day… and now we’ve created a solid nutrition lifestyle for success.

Getting the Right Tools for Success

I’m going to let you in on one of the biggest secrets of the pros: Get the tools to make food preparation as fast and easy as possible.  Here’s why:

• Regular food preparation for a single meal or bulk meals takes a lot of time.
• Most of us live an “on the go” lifestyle and we don’t have much time to cook our food

There are food preparation tools that do all of the work for you, in little to no time at all.  Just follow some quick and easy steps, and you’ve got days of food in just minutes (or seconds).  The food prep tools do all of the work!

Some of my favorite food prep tools include:

• Plastic Shaker bottle for our protein shakes
• Rice cooker
• Foreman™ grill
• Blender
• Veggie Steamer

You can purchase any of these at your local superstore for less than $25 each.  Remember, we’re building a lifestyle here.  With these tools, once you’ve got them – they are yours for life!

Create an Environment for Success

As promised, here’s a followup list for our YouTube video on creating an environment for success.

Willpower is overrated. If it is in your house, you’re going to eat it!  Period.

To be successful in any nutrition program, we need to remove the following “Reward” foods from our house, workplace, and hiding spots. Don’t worry, you can always eat them on your Reward Day. But in order to succeed, get them out of the house. We need to create an Environment for Success!

Reward foods to remove:

• Candy
• Soda
• Juice
• Chocolate
• Breads
• Crackers
• Cookies
• Baked Goods
• Chips
• Ice Cream
• Fried Foods

And remove all foods containing the following ingredients:

• White Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Raw Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Hydrogenated Oils
• Honey
• Maple Syrup
• White Flour
• White Rice
• Beer
• Hard Alcohol
• Wine

Ahhhhh, Alcohol.

It’s a Friday night, you’ve had a rough week, and your friends are heading out to grab some drinks. You would love to go out, have some fun, and throw a few back, but you want to stick to your program. I’m not telling you you can’t, but I am advising you to keep the type of drink and amount in check. If you choose to drink, limit yourself to two or less drinks. Avoid sugary mixed drinks or high-calorie beers. Distilled spirits (vodka, tequila, whiskey, rum, gin, etc.) are the lowest in calories and can be mixed with tonic or soda water.

Here’s the “Catch 22” with alcohol: It dehydrates your body. In response, your body bloats two to three days after you drink. When your body bloats, you slow down your fat loss. To prevent bloating (and the hangover, which is caused from dehydration as well) I’m going to suggest an amazing remedy (trust me, this one has come in handy quite a few times in the past, and in the fitness industry, we swear by it).

Solution: When you are finished drinking, mix two packets of “Emergen-C” or any electrolyte mixture into one quart of water and drink the whole thing before you go to bed. You’ll be right back on track the next morning.
 


Tips: Be sure to keep alcoholic beverages to your Reward days, and try to schedule ahead of time!!
 


Examples of low-cal drinks:

1oz 80 proof Gin, Rum, Vodka or Whiskey = 64 calories

12 oz Bud Light = 110 calories, 6.6 g CHO


Helping Others

When we first began David’s transformation, I made a very simple deal with him: I would always be there for him.  I would never give up on him.  I would teach him everything I knew.  The only thing I asked in return was that once he had his new life, he must help others in need.  He must find the next “David,” girl or a guy, and he must change that person’s life.  Now a certified trainer himself, David is looking to fulfill his promise and find the next desperate soul waiting for someone to guide him through a total lifestyle transformation.

As David (and I) quickly discovered, there are about 50 million desperate souls out there.  However, instead of seeing a challenge, we saw an opportunity - the opportunity to help millions of people.  Instead of helping people one at a time like we had originally pledged, we’ve decided to reach out to those 50 million people and offer to teach them - you, the person reading this right now – about your incredible body, how to understand it, and how to listen to it so we can guide you through your own journey of transformation.

My name is Chris Powell, and I’m a Transformation Coach.  Together with David, we want to share with you our last 13 years of education, research, personal experience, and hands-on immersion in hundreds of transformations.  We promise to be there for you, to never give up on you, and to teach you everything we know.  But when we’re done, we only ask one thing: We ask that you help others in need, too.  Share your success, and share what you learn with your family, friends, and loved ones. Together, we can do a world of good.