CrossFit South Bend

In this video we sit down with Carolyn and discuss her journey back to optimal health and weight. Carolyn is one the most committed people I've ever worked with. I can't say enough good things about how well she did. She was nice enough to type up her reflections on her time doing one-on-one coaching, and we've shared them below. In addition to these amazing scale-based victories he also had a bunch of non-scale victories, which I'll let her tell you in her own words. -Biggest Revelations: 1.) Winter / Spring don’t always have to mean illness. For the past decade or so, I have accepted that in the winter and spring months, I will battle sinus infections, pneumonia, the flu, etc. I simply expected it, blaming the circumstance on the time of year rather than the dozens of decisions I was making. I started working with Robby in February and have yet (hope I’m not jinxing it here) to be sick with anything. This is unbelievable to me. Robby gave me permission to prioritize my health, which sounds silly, but I needed that. It was the combination of getting my sleep up from 5 hours a night to 7 1⁄2 or 8, eating clean, consistently working out and meditation which helped my immune system. I had to work a bit to find a schedule and structure that would support my health goals -- for example, I couldn’t do the CrossFit workout at 7:15pm because I needed to be in bed at 8:30pm if I wanted to get up at 4am. This meant I had to leave work at a certain time to make the 5:15pm class. It was a hard boundary that I set with co-workers and the demands of my job in order to make it work. -- I have been walking around with this untrue story that I have a bad immune system -- and in a sense feeling defective and weak -- believing that during certain times of the year I will struggle for weeks on end; yet, how freeing to rewrite the ending to that story. 2.)Food is not a punishment or reward or stress management tool. My relationship with food has shifted entirely. After a hard day at work, I would reward myself with a diet dr. pepper and a bag of chips from the gas station or a McDonald’s vanilla cone. At work, I would break into the birthday candy stash I had for my students and treat myself to a box. This would all happen without too much thought; it felt natural. I can remember going out to eat with a colleague and I ordered a diet coke and she said, “What a treat!” and I thought she was nuts. What do you mean pop is a treat? If I attended an early meeting, which happened a couple times a month, and there were donuts, of course I would get one. If I had a long day ahead of me, then I’d get that frappacino and pair with a slice of warm banana bread. I told myself I deserved and needed it. I interpreted the sugar rushes as signals of happiness. In actuality though, the sugar never helped me feel more full or satisfied and usually set me up for increased sugar cravings throughout the day. These patterns of thought and actions were very difficult for me to reverse, especially since the impulses are still there. The whole 30 rules set strong parameters however, and I told myself, “I can’t do that anymore...it’s not an option.” I quit those addictive habits cold turkey. Because I also had a set schedule, I had to leave work and head straight to the CrossFit gym; this didn’t leave time for stopping off and “treating myself.” I started packing my car with almonds or an epic bar instead. Changing these habits forced me to get more intune with the feeling of hunger versus cravings. Eating better helped me feel like I had more energy throughout the day too, mostly because I avoided those crashes that come along with the sugar. 3.) Workouts, while still very difficult, ultimately feel better. For the past few years, my mile time has been around 11:30/12:00 mark - especially for 8K or Half Marathons. My recovery time after these runs would be significant too and the runs themselves never felt good. This past May I ran a 5K in just under 30 minutes and felt strong throughout the race. It’s exciting to hit new PRs and watch my goals shift a bit. I have come to realize that I cannot workout in order to eat whatever I want...that in fact it will feel better if I eat certain foods in order to workout more effectively. Carolyn, we're so proud of you and we wish you all the best in the future! ______________________________________________________________________ Robby:             Hey, it's Robby here from Crossfit South bend. Today I'm here with Carolyn and Carolyn is going to be telling us her story. So Carolyn, thank you so much for joining us. Carolyn:           Thanks for having me. Robby:             So let me tell you a little bit about Carolyn's progress. So Carolyn in the space of four months basically lost 40 pounds. She went from 196 pounds to 157 pounds. She lost nine inches off her waist and six inches off her hips and now your hip measurement is the same as what your waist measurement was initially, which is crazy. Carolyn:           It's nuts. Robby:             Yeah so amazing job. You did a fantastic job. So tell us a little bit about where you were at before you started the program? Kind of what life was like, what food was like, the rest of that stuff. Carolyn:           I would say life was pretty mindless. I wasn't really thinking about food at all, it was just something I knew I had to eat to kind of get through my day and what I learned through this process is that I have interesting rationales for some of the choices that I was making. So I was thinking like, "Oh, it'll save time if I eat breakfast in the car, maybe stop by McDonald's on my way to work." That, that saves time and I should do that. So it was a lot of fast food, it was a lot of just kind of impulsive, like I said, mindless snacking in the grocery line, taking Diet Dr. Pepper on my way home from work, maybe grabbing a bag of chips for the ride. So it wasn't very good. And I knew I needed to make a big change. Robby:             So when we initially met and I started talking about the way you were going to be eating over the next few months, what was your initial reaction, what did you initially think? Carolyn:           I had kind of knee jerk, like please don't take these things away from me. I really liked them 'cause I had formulas in my head like, stressful day at work plus Cheetos equals happy day. So I was a little nervous about that because I just wasn't sure how that would effect me mentally and so I was very nervous but I knew that and I trusted in the program and so I knew I had to just kind of quit cold turkey. I had to as soon as I started Whole 30, I just told myself, "That's not for me anymore. I can't do those things because it's not in the rules." So, for me, it had to be immediate and it had to be I couldn't ween off certain things, I had to just be done and so that was difficult. And I can remember the first month feeling like having all of those impulses still there so while I told myself I couldn't have the Diet Dr. Pepper I still wanted it every time I was in the grocery line. And I can remember going to the movies actually for the first time and not getting any other treat but being very aware of what everybody else in the theater was eating, I was like, "Oh my gosh, I can smell the popcorn and that's person's having pretzels and cheese and that guy has my favorite Raisonettes." And then telling myself, "These almonds that I packed are delicious and I'm so happy." So that was hard but as soon as the movie starts you're fine because your mind is going on something else so that was really powerful for me. That was big learning, my mind needed to be refocused on something else. Robby:             Yeah, absolutely and that first month can be a little bit tricky with the cravings still there and working your way up. Carolyn:           Yes. Robby:             Tell us about month two and beyond, tell us about doing the Whole 30 and the introduction. How did you find the rest of the process? Carolyn:           Well, I didn't know food could taste this good so I have been, my whole life, doing grilling and cooking chicken wrong so that was awesome and then roasted veggies was a life saver. So the way that the big meal that I was eating throughout the day were tasting and then filling me up, that was huge. And then it was helpful to see the results so that was extra fuel, extra motivation of this is really making a big change because I feel like before I was like, "Ah, I'll just work out and then I get to eat whatever I want, right?" And that wasn't going so well for me. That's not actually how it works so I feel like with the Whole 30 month two and three focusing on all the other elements of health like getting my sleep on track, making sure that I'm buying and stocking our house with certain things, making sure that I'm meditating and just taking more time for myself. That was huge. So it actually became something that I was really enjoying and I stopped having those dreams where I ate a whole bucket of cookies. I would have these dreams in the first month where I just gorged and I'd wake up feeling like, "Oh my gosh, did I do that? Did I just eat a whole thing of cookies?" And then I'm like, "No, you didn't. It's just a dream." And that left in month two and three and it was really just kind of enjoying the new lifestyle. Robby:             Awesome. So you obviously had many, many scale victories in terms of weight loss and inches but one of the things we like to talk about from time to time is non scale victories. So things like energy and mood and cravings, how do you perform in the gym, not getting sick. So tell us about those. Carolyn:           That was really one of the most exciting things I think about this process for me is that for the last about ten years I got sick. Every Fall, well, sometimes in the Fall but usually in the Winter and Spring I would get the flu or I would get pneumonia. The last two years I've had pneumonia, I get sinus infections and I just sort of thought, "Well, that's just how my immune system is, I get sick at this time of year," and I just accepted that story and I have not been sick once. So I started in February with the Whole 30 and I didn't get sick one time and so what that taught me is that it matters what I'm eating, it matters how much sleep I'm getting. I went from average 5, 6 hours a night to 7 and a half, closer to 8 hours a night and that probably helped immensely. And so I was really quick to just kind of accept a certain story about my health, my overall health without really thinking about the dozens of other decisions that were probably contributing factors to me getting sick. So it was really nice to have a Winter and a Spring where I could just continue to go at full energy and more energy than I'm used to having so I woke up with a lot of energy and I'm a teacher so I know that my students appreciated energy too in the classroom. Robby:             That's awesome. So I think you and I are both on the same page that you can't convince someone to eat healthy, people have to come to it for themselves but at the same time imagine you ran into yourself from 4 months ago or someone who is in a similar situation to the one you're in now, what would you say to them about kind of what you initially thought about what you'd have to go through versus what you realize now that you've gone through it in terms of like, "Hey, it's not as bad as you think," or what are your thoughts now looking back on the whole process? Carolyn:           I would say go to Whole Foods, get a level 4 pork chop and it will all be worth it. Robby:             It's kind of true. Carolyn:           It was so good but I think I would say you're not gonna miss the things that you thought you would as much as you would and those things don't have to be a huge part of your kind of emotional identity. So I was very much of a reward system person like, "Oh, I got through my work day and it was tough so I'm gonna have this treat," or, "I'm stressed, I'm gonna manage this with this food." And so if I could go back to my previous self I would say that it can look a lot different and that food can be really, really delicious. For the majority of my life I've missed out on really good tasting food and so I would tell myself to be excited about what's to come because this is definitely the way to kind of, for me, this is the way to move forward for life goals, just continue this way of eating and living and not feeling like I'm missing out. Not feeling like I can't indulge every once in a while but being really mindful about what that indulging looks like. Robby:             Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I have to say on my end, using the teacher metaphor, you're a teacher, I used to kind of an academia and there's certain A plus students that come along every once in a while and I would say you have definitely been probably one of the best people I've ever worked with in terms of the effort you've put in, what you've been able to accomplish and yeah, I'm just super proud of you and all that you've done. Carolyn:           Thank you. Robby:             So thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for telling everyone your story and I wish you all the best in the future. Carolyn:           Thank you. Thanks. Robby:             All right guys, thank you so much for tuning in. We'll see you next time.  

One of the most frequent questions we get asked is: What about a cheat day? Here are my thoughts: 1. The word "cheat" is really ridiculous when applied to eating off-plan food. We typically use the word cheat to apply to academic dishonesty or marital infidelity. Who are you "cheating" on when you eat a cookie? This association leads to unnecessary guilt and shame with off-plan food. As Robb Wolf says there is no such thing as "cheating" when it comes to food. We eat things, there are consequences to eating things, and that's the end of it. No guilt or shame should be attached. 2. Blood Sugar RollerCoaster-If you go on a complete bender for an entire day you send your blood sugar and corresponding insulin response is going to be put through some hard paces dealing with that spike and crash on a routine basis. 3. Actively searching for bad food just because it's a cheat day is a bad idea. You shouldn't have off-plan food just because it's a Saturday. You should save your off-plan foods for legit special occasions for foods you really care about. Home made cookies made by your grandma for Thanksgiving is a way different context than sitting by yourself eating a bag of Doritos because it's a Saturday. 4. A cheat day results in an unhealthy psychological response to food. Half of that comes the word "cheat" itself, but the other half comes from this constant binging and "purging" on Monday (not literally purging). It's just this yo-yo back and forth, that could be dealt with in a much healthier fashion. So, if you're going to ditch cheat days what should you do instead? 1. First, let's focus more on a single off-plan meal in one-day rather than an entire day of off plan foods 2. Have an off-plan food only for a legit special occasion (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.). If this is happening more than 1-2 times a month your definition of a special occasion is too broad. 3. Make it for a food you truly care about. ___________________________________________________________________________ Today we're gonna talk about the infamous cheat day, and my thoughts on the very notion of a cheat day. So first thing, always got to emphasize, especially with these types of videos, I'm not telling anyone what to do, you want a cheat day, have a cheat day. You like your cheat day, have a cheat day. We're not in the business of being a nagging spouse, or an overbearing boss, or a parent. We're just providing information and if you choose to use that, great, if you choose not to, that's cools too. These are just my thoughts on the whole concept of a cheat day. Number one. As a whole host of people besides me have pointed out, the very word cheat is really ridiculous when it comes to using it in this particular context. We use cheating to refer typically to academic dishonesty, cheating on a test, or marital infidelity, or something of that nature. Why are we using that term for something that you are activity choosing to do, and not harming anyone else? I don't really understand, I think there's a whole lot of physiological baggage that comes along with it. I understand the idea of trying to say, “Oh, well you've made a promise to yourself, and you're cheating on that promise,” but I think it just creates all this physiological baggage that is just really really unhealthy, and I'll dub into that a little bit more in just a second. But, I think as Robb Wolf one of my favorite people in the health and nutrition space has said, “We eat food, there's certain consequences that come from eating said food and that's it.” There should be not guilt or shame or anything around this notion of cheating on your diet. It's either you make a choice to have some food, or you make a choice not to have some food, that's really it. We shouldn't be using this term of marital infidelity or academic dishonesty for cheating. Second problem with a cheat day, in my opinion. Blood sugar roller coaster, so you're going along, going along, going along, you eat nice real whole food and then you spend this entire day essentially, coming close to being diabetic. Let's say, not of course actually, but spiking your blood sugar unnecessarily with all these kind of off planned meals. I think that is really problematic, which I guess leads into the third idea. When you make it into this kind of day, there are a few things that happen. There's this image of someone kind of sitting in the corner chowing down on a bag of Doritos, saying "Oh, it's my cheat day, it's okay." Actively searching for bad stuff to eat, because it's your cheat day, I think that whole notion is problematic. I think if you're gonna have off plan food, it should be with others in a social context, it should be a legitimate special occasion, as we've talked about many other times. And it shouldn't just be because it's that day, it shouldn't just be because it's a Saturday. Realistically speaking, it's not the case that we need to have this gigantic binge once a week just because it's a Saturday. Which leads into the next problem with the notion of a cheat day is, you create this very unhealthy physiological relationship with food. Part of that unhealthy physiological relationship comes from the idea of you're cheating on someone and the guilt and shame that comes along with it. But, the other half comes from the idea of kind this binging and then purging when Monday comes around. Not literally purging, but kind of cleaning things up and "Okay, it will come back around on Saturday, so I can binge as much as I want." I think that just creates a unhealthy physiological relationship with food. So, what do we propose instead? Well, I've said in many other videos that I think there's nothing wrong with having off plan foods, like pizza and ice cream, health conditions not withstanding, there are some people who legitimately with certain health conditions can't have those things. But, health conditions not withstanding, every year on my birthday I have a pizza and I'm going to continue to do that with friends and enjoy myself. And I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that, but it should be for a special occasion. Had do you navigate this? So again, don't try to plan this one specific day that has no connection to Thanksgiving or Christmas, or these other special occasions, it's just a random Saturday were you're just gonna completely binge, that's just silly. There's nothing wrong with having maybe a couple squares of dark chocolate on the weekend, or a glass of red wine if that's your thing or maybe a gluten free burger or something like that. But, just from the outside, let's reduce it down from like a cheat day, to maybe a meal, which I wouldn't call it a cheat meal, because again I think the whole notion of calling it a cheat anything is ridiculous. But, something that you're sharing with others, something that you legitimately enjoy and you're not just having it just because it's "Oh, it's my cheat day." Those are for the more of you're yellow light items, like the dark chocolate and the red wine and the gluten free items that we've talked about in other videos. And then for those red light items, those things that don't actively contribute to your health in anyway, shape or form, you really should just save those in kind of our opinion for no more than once or twice a month. Only for the purpose of a special occasion and only for something you truly care about, it shouldn't be something that happens on a regular basis. And no ones gonna be perfect with all of these rules all of the time, but this can be a way to guide you. So, just in general when people ask me my thought of a cheat day, I think it creates a horribly unhealthy physiological relationship with food. I think it makes people end up eating bad things that they wouldn't normally eat just because it's a cheat day and I think it makes it so that they fail long term at keeping their cravings and appetite in check. And I think there's a whole better way to do things that involves having those off plan things less frequently and in a more special and meaningful context. All right guys, thanks so much for tuning in.