3050: The Reason You May Not be Getting Results and What To Do About It by Nia Shanks

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[00:00:30] This is Optimal Finance Daily – The Reason You May Not Be Getting Results and What To Do About It by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com. And I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Merriam. Welcome back to our Sunday bonus episode, where I like to share an article with you from a different podcast in our network, and usually overlapping with finance in some way. Today's comes from Dr. Neil over on Optimal Health Daily.

[00:01:00] You can find Optimal Health Daily wherever you're listening to this. So with that, let's hear this article on getting results, along with Dr. Neil's commentary, as we optimize your life. The Reason You May Not Be Getting Results and What To Do About It by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com. If you want to lose body fat, you have to eat this way and you have to work out this way.

[00:01:29] If you want to build muscle, you have to eat this way and you have to train this way. The fitness and nutrition world is an interesting place. The latest and greatest fad surfaces on a frequent basis with promises of allowing you to finally lose the weight, or build muscle, or whatever desire you have when it comes to your body composition. Many methods, fat or not, can be portrayed in a way that people think they absolutely have to follow if they want results.

[00:01:56] Often, this leads people to apply a certain method that may not be appropriate for them, because other people are experiencing great results. You don't have to do what's popular or what other experts swear by if that method doesn't fit your lifestyle and personality. Here's my primary rule when it comes to working out and nutrition. The approach you use shouldn't put too much stress on you, nor should it require you to revolve your life around it. Now, there may be a time when you want to get strict and accomplish a goal,

[00:02:24] but these should be for predetermined periods of time. It should not go on for months and years. When it comes to strength training and nutrition, there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach that will work for everyone. Working Out When it comes to strength training, I'll admit that I'm biased in regards to strength training methods. I like lifting heavy and use primarily barbell, dumbbell, and bodyweight exercises.

[00:02:48] I love to deadlift, squat, press weight overhead, perform chin-ups, handstand push-ups, and other bodyweight exercises. Even though lifting heavy while focusing on big compound movements works incredibly well for building strength and a strong, healthy body, does that mean it's the only way you can build a body you're proud of? Absolutely not. Maybe you like to train exclusively with kettlebells. Perhaps you want to get into Olympic lifting or train with strongman tools.

[00:03:15] Or maybe you love conditioning and metabolic focus training programs. Maybe you love crazy workout finishers or want to have the ability to work out anytime and anywhere, so you use bodyweight workouts. Furthermore, you don't have to squat, bench press, and deadlift if you don't enjoy those lifts. Or especially if you have mobility issues or previous injuries that prevent you from doing them safely. In that case, you should perform variations of those exercises that work for you. I don't care how you choose to engage in resistance training.

[00:03:45] Find what works for you and do what you enjoy. Nutrition and eating patterns. There's plenty of controversy in the wonderful world of strength training, but nutrition is perhaps plagued with the most pervasive dogmatic views and opinions. Nutrition and diet is definitely the area where people usually experience the most confusion. There are numerous nutrition plans and methods that have produced incredible results. Some people prefer strict guidelines that require them to eat a set number of calories and macronutrients

[00:04:15] at certain times of the day. Other people, like myself, prefer to have simple, flexible guidelines. An example is simply being aware of healthier food choices, which is generally a very easy way for people to lose body fat and see positive changes to their physique. I remember many months ago, two of my fellow fitness friends, Jen Keck and Ben Bruno, were discussing nutrition habits on Twitter. Jen asked Ben if he typically followed an intermittent fasting protocol. His response was, No, quite the opposite actually.

[00:04:44] Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Usually, eat most of my carbs earlier in the day. Been doing it for years. I've tried some other stuff, but I always go back to it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? The bottom line with nutrition, don't be afraid to experiment and discover what works for you. Experiment and discover what works for you. I've tried numerous nutrition methods and diets throughout my career. For example, the first eating style I attempted was the standard 5-6 small meals throughout the day.

[00:05:14] For over a year, I followed this template every day, even though I didn't like it. I never felt full, it was a chore to prepare and clean up after so many meals, and it made events like family dinners or going out to eat stressful. Eating that way caused me to constantly stress out and think about my diet. But I kept on doing it because it was the quote-unquote best way to get results. Thankfully, I later discovered that simply isn't true. Intermittent fasting turned out to be a much better method for me to use long-term.

[00:05:44] I've been following intermittent fasting in one way or another for over five years now. It's what works for me. Even though I'm a proponent of intermittent fasting and use it with myself and many of my clients, that doesn't mean it's right for everyone. In fact, I still have some clients who prefer to eat four to five smaller meals each day and hate any form of intermittent fasting. Here are some simple questions to ask yourself if you're unsure of the direction to go with your nutrition habits. Do you prefer a set plan that tells you everything you can and can't eat?

[00:06:13] Or do you like detailed guidelines for how many calories and or macronutrients to eat? Or do you prefer basic, flexible principles? Different strokes for different folks. Find what works for you. Don't force a square peg in a round hole. Bottom line, if a particular method doesn't fit your personality or mesh with your lifestyle, then don't force it. As I stated, intermittent fasting works well for me. I can achieve my body composition and performance goals with ease

[00:06:41] and it's virtually stress-free in application and practice. However, some of my clients, in addition to other people I've communicated with, don't like intermittent fasting. Some people get headaches, feel like they're starving, or just don't feel well when they fast. I don't bark at them saying, intermittent fasting is the best way to get results, so suck it up, or anything like that. Instead, I give them simple guidelines like, eat more unprocessed foods and, eat when you're hungry and stop when you're satisfied, but not when you're stuffed.

[00:07:09] This is why I have flexible guidelines. This way, you can adjust your eating patterns and workouts as necessary to suit your needs, preferences, and lifestyle. You just listened to the post titled, The Reason You May Not Be Getting Results and What To Do About It by Nia Shanks of niashanks.com And now, a word from our sponsors at Betterment. When investing your money starts to feel like a second job,

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[00:09:33] That's rocketmoney.com slash OFD. Rocket Money. Rocket Money.com slash OFD. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. Being in the nutrition field, I try and experience what my patients' and clients experience as well to the best of my ability. So for example, I get a lot of questions about intermittent fasting. So I go ahead and try that diet myself so that I can speak to what it's like for me. As long as I know it's not going to cause me harm,

[00:10:02] I'll probably give it a shot again, mostly for the experience. And what I found was intermittent fasting for me is no good. I'm cranky. My workouts weren't as good. I felt like I ended up eating more when I did get to sit down for my meal. Just no good for me. I also have tried the 5 to 6 meals per day thing. And with that one, I always felt like I was hungry and not really quite eating enough food every single time. And yes, as Nia mentioned, it was kind of a pain to plan like 6 meals

[00:10:32] every single day. So finding the right eating pattern even for me wasn't a slam dunk. It took some time and some finessing. And that's all Nia's trying to say. And I agree with her. Find what works for you so long as again, it's not causing you harm. So long as it's helping you achieve optimal health and wellness. You're able to perform at your best. Your doctor's happy with your progress. Those are the things I really care about. Because in a couple of years, you may look back and say, oh yeah, I tried intermittent fasting or paleo or South Beach

[00:11:02] or Atkins and said, well, you know, those didn't work for me. And all I care about is that you learned along the way. That you learned a little bit about yourself after each diet you tried. And so hopefully again, a couple years from now when you look back and you said, you know what? Yeah, I did learn something from each of those diets I tried. And that's what got me to where I am today. Now I know what works for me. All right, that's enough out of my commentary. I thank you again as always for listening. Thank you for sharing

[00:11:31] this show with someone. I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.