To All My LBM Experiment Participants:
Just over one month ago, I decided it was time to hire my own nutrition coach. At the same time, we were having a new baby. I know, perfect timing right?
Well, I’m firmly in the camp that the people who say they’ll “get to it tomorrow” will never actually get stuff done. There will never be a perfect time to start a new workout plan, and there will never be a perfect time to change your nutritional habits. Holidays, birthday and office parties, yadda yadda yadda. Life always goes on.
Why did I choose to hire one? Well, quite frankly I wanted/needed someone to tell me EXACTLY how to fuel my body for the goals I have for myself. And when it comes to coaching/programming things for yourself, you will never be as honest as someone else will.
So, I got her all the information she needed and she sent me back exactly what I gave to you all as well – a set of macros to hit with a bit of general direction on how to do it. From there, it was about taking it seriously and making sure that I hit those numbers day in and day out.
It was an EXPERIMENT.
At first, it was tough. Really tough. And it was quite humbling for me. For as much as I know about nutrition, there were little things that were making a HUGE impact (negative) on my fitness that she quickly pointed out.
But you know what was most refreshing? The tough love she gave me when I asked for her help when I kept coming up short on certain macros while overshooting others. After taking a look at my MFP log for a couple of days I had trouble with, the next text message that came across was like that scene in Tommy Boy where he gets hit with a 2×4 square across the face: https://youtu.be/n1lbpj6868o?t=1m23s
Nicole: “Do u have a food scale?”
Me: “Sadly no. I told my wife thats the first thing I need to get next time I’m out.”
Nicole: “Yes sir. Because honestly that may be your biggest problem. For example, you were 36 carbs short on Tuesday. But I see two things in here that could be mis-recorded because of lack of a scale. I know it seems tedious. But you can’t say that you’re having an issue if you actually don’t know what the size of your portions are, ya know. You may not have an issue.”
Since getting the scale and hitting my macros, I’ve seen great results. My body composition has improved and, more importantly to me, my performance in the box has improved.
So, in case you forgot, or failed, to read the rules of this experiment again, here is the link: https://crossfitforglory.com/lean-body-mass-experiment/ Please pay particular attention to the requirements to be eligible for the prize pool!!
And let me make a few things clear – if you choose NOT to weigh your food portions, you are out of the running for the prize pool. If you choose not to meet your macros, you are out of the running.
Measure EVERYTHING! I jumped into Nicole’s food diary the other day and saw that she logged two sticks of gum that she had – GUM!
That is the measure of commitment it takes.
It doesn’t matter what you have…so long as you weigh it, enter/track it, and meet your macros.
Remember, I said this would be hard. But nothing worth having comes easy.
And one final note geared towards all of you who gave me the HUGE EYES when I tossed out your calorie number – this past Wednesday (1/14), I tweaked Heather’s numbers a bit and told her she needed to be eating an extra 700 (!) calories more that she was already eating. She was not pleased. Until she got dunked on Friday night – in that week and a half, she was down another 5lb. Read that again folks…eating an extra 700cal and down another 5lb. In a week and a half.
Starving yourself is just as bad as overeating. It’s about eating the right proportions of the right foods – your macros.
Now, get on with your experiment and remember you’ve got a BUNCH of people in your corner, ready to help in an instant!