Top 5 Secrets for Health & Fitness in 2023

Everywhere I turn someone has a top 5, 10, 50 list...so I thought I would put together one of my own to help kickoff the New Year. I decided to come up with the TOP 5 SECRETS FOR HEALTH & FITNESS FOR 2023...this list may grow as I am just starting to type. :) Use these as your top secret secrets cheat code as our next 6 Week Challenge starts next Monday, Jan 9th.

Now, let's get on with it. Drumroll please......

TOP 5 SECRETS FOR HEALTH & FITNESS FOR 2023

#1 - There are NO f@cking secrets!!!!!!!! Seriously, get off of social media and stop reading click-bait bullshit health headlines. There's only hard work and consistency.

Now that my list for the TOP 5 SECRETS is over, I want to talk about the most important word in your life....ROUTINE!!! But first...I had one more quick thing pop into my head that I wanted to mention, before I get to my soapbox on routines. There is one thing that pisses me off more than usual every New Year....DETOXING (or "cleansing" for the hippies out there). I forgot how much I hate that word and every pyramid scheme that goes along with it!

Here is the deal with DETOXING (cleansing)....you have kidneys and a liver...what the hell do you think they do? Now, if you really want a detox/cleanse that works...bring me $300, drink more water and stop eating and drinking alcohol like an asshole. Then, get two friends to get two friends to bring me $300 and you will be detoxed and your chakra and chi will be aligned and you will finally be healthy and cleansed!!

If you didn't feel the seven layer salad of sarcasm in the last two paragraphs....I can't help you. But seriously...if you have a friend, coworker, Instagram "influencer" that recommends some sort of detox/cleanse....tell them to pull their head out of their ass and save your money!!

Now, let's get to the word of the day, week, month, year...life!! ROUTINE!!

Many of us are looking to get back to a solid routine, but this takes consistency. Or does consistency create a routine? Kind of a chicken and egg question. To me, I believe a solid routine will yield more consistent results....but you have to be consistent to have a solid routine. WTF?

Some points on routine -

• Go to bed at the same time every night. Yes, have a sleep schedule and try not to deviate too far off this schedule on the weekend. And no, the cool kids don't stay up until midnight every night. (HERE is a more in depth look at sleep)

• Workout in the same timeframe daily. You body will get used to this schedule and come to expect it. Some cannot keep the gym on a set schedule due to work, but that doesn't mean you can't be moving your body more throughout the day.

• One quick addition...I cannot stress enough how important strength training is to living long AND living healthy...another email to come on the strength training subject.

• Eat meals approximately at the same time every day. Getting out of routine and skipping meals can lead to binge eating later in the day...the more you can have your meals planned out, the better choices you will make.

• Second point on eating....eat the SAME meals most days! You don't have to do this for every meal, but the more thinking you can take out of the equation, the easier it is to stick to a routine. I eat the same breakfast, lunch and snacks every damn day...less thinking and less chance of me buying ALL the Snickers from Kwik Trip!

• Movement breaks - us humans tend to sit on our butts too much...schedule walks throughout the day. Morning, noonish and after dinner. That morning sun will kick start your circadian rhythm and will keep your hormones on track.

As we progress with our daily routines, we all know what we should be doing. But I think the biggest trip up for most people would be "food clarity".

To me, food clarity isn't as much as WHAT you are eating, but understanding HOW MUCH you are eating! Remember, at the end of the day, weight gain or weight loss is a simple math equation...calories in vs calories out...you CANNOT beat the laws of physics...except maybe with a liver cleanse.

Goal for next week. Figure out your BRM...top right corner of your InBody scan, or just Google and you will get a close approximation.

Next, write down what you are eating with guesstimates on portion size. Do that for a few days and see what your net calories look like. Don't stress about completely changing your "diet" tomorrow as you will eventually fail since it is too large of a deviation from your current routine. But being cognizant of HOW MUCH you are eating, is a great first step in figuring out energy balance. This ramble leads into a quote everyone has heard...

"You can't outwork poor nutrition."

What this means is that it is almost impossible to create enough physical output during the day to makeup for all the extra fuel you shovel down your throat.

There is another quote along these lines which I can't remember exactly, so I will paraphrase...

"You can't under eat being a lazy ass."

This quote hits eating's counterpart....MOVEMENT! You can't expect to burn fuel with your truck parked in the garage!

Too much food combined with too little movement, is the crux of weight gain. HERE is a longer ramble I had on movement if you are super bored.

Now, what the hell is my point? Honestly, I am not really sure. But if I had to pick something for everyone to focus on this/next week, it would be this;

Find one small change for the week, write it down and stick to it. Maybe it is just two eggs for breakfast everyday. Maybe it is going to bed by 10pm. Maybe it is writing down everything you eat. Maybe it is showering daily, I'm not going to judge. Find one thing and make it your bitch...do this for a few weeks and that thing will eventually become part of your new routine.

Remember that if you are "out of shape", it didn't happen in six weeks...so your "ideal shape" won't happen in six weeks either.

Small changes eventually lead to big outcomes....stay the course and build your new routine!