Author: troy

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How to Quit Caffeine (aka Caffeine Reset)

purity_decaf

Today, caffeine is America’s most popular drug — touted as an energy-boosting, focus-enhancing wonder supplement without any downside. Many people feel like they need to consume greater and greater amounts of caffeine to feel any “buzz”— this is just caffeine tolerance building up.

Why Reset?

Many of caffeine’s effects, including fat burning, strength benefits, and euphoria, are subject to tolerance, and may not occur in people who have built up a tolerance to caffeine, no matter how large the dose is. Interesting article: 7 Surprising Signs You Might Want To Cut Back On Caffeine

The Caffeine Reset

Avoid caffeine for at least seven days, preferably 21 days. Decaf coffee and tea are fine (in fact, I recommend you pick up some high-quality decaf for the reset). This will desensitize your body to caffeine. Once you reintroduce regular coffee, the positive effects will be increased and you will require LESS coffee to maximize coffee’s benefits.

If going caffeine-free cold turkey is too drastic for you (caffeine withdrawal can be pretty brutal for some people), take the first 7-14 days to slowly cut back on your caffeine intake. This may be the least unpleasant way to do it. Replacing one or two cups of regular coffee with decaf every few days will do the trick. If you normally drink eight cups of coffee a day, for example, replace two to four cups with decaf for two or three days. Then reduce your intake of regular to two cups for a few days.

For the last 7-14 days, do zero caffeine, so your body can properly reset itself. It won’t be easy, —potentially headache-filled—but if you can get through all 3-4 weeks, your tolerance should be reset. When you go back to having caffeine, start off will small amounts.

How Caffeine Works

Continue reading “How to Quit Caffeine (aka Caffeine Reset)”

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Step-by-Step Plan to Get Back on Track with Your Fitness Goals

Statistically speaking, MOST people have already abandoned or missed out on a lot of the resolutions they’ve set for 2019. Seriously.

According to a poll from 2018, 77% of Americans broke their resolution by the end of January.

As somebody who has fallen off the wagon many a time in the past, but managed to stay ON the wagon this time…

Here’s my step-by-step guide for you to get back on track.

STEP 1: THROW OUT MOTIVATION & WILLPOWER.

Don’t rely on willpower – Most of us are trying to use willpower to motivate us to drive a behavior. This doesn’t work because it dies down; willpower is finite. You need clarity (see Take Action below). Success is about habits, not motivation.

STEP 2: IDENTIFY YOUR “WHY”

Take a moment right now to think of something that makes your really happy. Did you smile? If not, keep thinking. Ok, good. Now THAT will be your reason to get up early and get a workout in (or whatever your goal is). That thing, whether it’s a person, an experience or an actual thing, that at its very core, brings joy to your life. It’s tied it to an emotion (happiness) which will help you push past the discomfort and the little voice that’s telling you to “do it next time”.

STEP 3: TAKE ACTION NOW

Don’t wait for the “perfect” time to start. It doesn’t exist. If you wait for the perfect time to do anything, you’ll end up doing nothing

Write down WHEN and WHERE you will perform the habit (be specific) and when you will restart – the sooner the better.

Write down your workouts. Write down what you eat. Treat it like a science experiment, and you’re collecting data! Plan ahead. Be PRO-active (“I will do Strength Training Workout A at 4pm and tonight I’ll have roasted chicken and bacon wrapped asparagus) instead of RE-active (“What should I do for exercise right now?” and “Ah, what’s for dinner? Oooh, Burger King!”)

The problem isn’t lack of information or knowledge…because we know what we have to do. We just need to do it. Consistently.

STEP 4: START STUPIDLY SMALL

Whatever your original goal was, cut it in half (it should take less than 2 minutes). It should be so simple you tell yourself “I have to do this, it’s too easy not to.” I’m talking one push-up, one minute of squats, just go to the gym and lift one weight. That’s it. Success. Go home. You’re done! 

STEP 5: FORGET THE DESTINATION

Enjoy the journey because here’s the big secret…there really isn’t a destination. You will always be looking to improve. Just be consistent and learn to enjoy the journey. Repeat after me “never miss twice”.

BE CONSISTENT.

STEP 6: HIRE A PROFESSIONAL

There are two types of coaches worth the investment:

  • An in-person trainer if you are looking to supercharge your form on specific exercises like olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, etc. An in-person trainer can be good for people that need the accountability of somebody they’ve paid to meet them in the gym.
  • An online coach that represents mobile, worldwide accountability. A coach will change your life. It means no more guessing .You’ll know EXACTLY what to do, every day. Knowing that you have a workout and nutrition strategy to follow each day is game changing.

Or, you could find an accountability partner. Someone that you will meet at the gym or call in in the morning to make sure you’re sticking to your new habit.

If you want to dig more into developing habits that actually stick, I recommend checking out James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.

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Excel at Your Sport and Life while Building Endurance by Training Less

Conventional wisdom about improving physical performance like endurance and maintaining good physical health has rested on the twin pillars of volume and intensity (along with diet). While those are no doubt vital, there are a number of equally important, but completely ignored, ”fitness levers” you can pull to improve health and performance.

In fact, there’s MUCH more you can do beyond what traditional workouts offer while REDUCING the amount of time you exercise.

You don’t have to put in hours of “chronic cardio” or training a week to build endurance, strength, or speed. You also don’t have to commit to an extreme amount of hours of exercise a week to improve body composition (muscle and fat) or health.

In fact, focusing on just volume and intensity can actually have the reverse effect and lead to over-training, burnout and injury.

Continue reading “Excel at Your Sport and Life while Building Endurance by Training Less”

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BLACK COFFEE CHALLENGE: Lesson 6: Community

Study after study has shown that social connections – through family, friends or with companion animals – seem to pay off in terms of good health, longevity and even prolonged survival among patients with very serious diseases. In fact, a landmark study found that social support was a stronger predictor of survival than physical activity, body mass index, hypertension, air pollution, alcohol consumption, and even smoking fifteen cigarettes a day!

Some evidence linking good health from strong ties to family and friends includes:​

  1. The immune system’s natural killer cell activity is negatively affected by three “distress indicators” – one of which is lack of social support.
  2. One study of 75 medical students found that those who were lonely had more sluggish natural killer cells, the ones that help destroy cells infected with viruses and cancer cells, than students who were social.
  3. Research has shown that people who care for companion animals have less illness than people who do not. Companion animals’ owners also recover from serious illness faster.
  4. Susceptibility to heart attacks appears to correlate with how often people use the words “I,” “me” and “mine” in casual speech.
  5. Believe it or not, studies show that people who get out and spend more time with others during cold and flu season actually get fewer episodes of colds or flu than those who choose to be alone.

Your community also plays a role in the success you have with achieving your goals. A strong community and social connection holds you accountable to take the actions necessary to create the results you want. Having a sense of belonging can improve self-control which increases your likelihood of sticking to healthy habits. Plus, sharing victories make them a reality — it makes you more motivated to work harder and accomplish your goals.

The people we associate with determine our behaviors and habits so it’s important to surround yourself with people that have similar goals. Plus, everything’s easier and more fun with friends who share you interests!

How does coffee relate to community? What better way to catch up with an old friend or just get to know someone better than over a good cup of coffee.

Interestingly, hot coffee may actually put you in a more positive mindset in the morning. A study published in Science, the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, tested how participants viewed other people when holding a warm mug of coffee versus a cup of the cold stuff. In one trial, participants holding hot coffee judged a stranger they had just been introduced to as having a more generous, caring personality, whereas those holding a cup of iced coffee didn’t see the stranger quite as favorably.

So if you’re holding something warm, you tend to judge others as being emotionally warm.

My challenge to you — invite someone to coffee this week and get to know them better. And opt for a warm cup of coffee. 🙂

Sign up for the full 21-Day Black Coffee Challenge here.

To purchase my favorite coffee, both regular and decaf, I recommend Purity Organic Coffee. It’s the healthiest coffee on the planet…no GI issues, jitters or toxins. Just pure, clean energy. Use code EVOLVEDNS for 10% off. http://troydelaney.com/coffee

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link so I do earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks in advance if you do choose to go through the link above! If you have any questions about this product, let me know and I would be happy to answer them for you.

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BLACK COFFEE CHALLENGE: Lesson 5 – Stress

Stop.

Take a deep 4 second inhale. Hold it for 4 seconds.

Now exhale for 8 seconds. Repeat 2 more times.

This simple breathing technique can calm stress and anxiety, down regulate your nervous system and put you into a “rest & digest” state – useful particularly during the hectic holidays.

Yes, a simple breathing technique can do. In fact, including breath work into your daily routine can not only lower stress; it can also improve overall health.

Stress in a part of everyone’s life. It’s actually important for us to grow, adapt and become stronger. When you exercise, you stress your muscles. Then, when you give them time to recover, they come back stronger.

But the kind of stress we experience and HOW we experience it is what determines if it helps us grow or hurts us.

We are one of the astute organisms on the planet when it comes to adaptation. In fact, our entire genetic code is built upon becoming optimized when faced with stress. And yet as a society we’re sicker than we’ve ever been.

I believe a major reason for this is that we have massively restricted the natural stressors we used to encounter on a daily basis. Technology, climate control, increasingly sedentary workplaces, and the ability to have everything at our fingertips without leaving the house remove the stressors we would typically encounter in life.

This means our bodies are actually screaming for us to induce a little more stress – such as that induced by physical activity, exposure to hot and cold and the introduction of new challenges – but more on this in a later post.

For now, here are a few tips based around coffee and stress —

  1. If you suffer from issues with sleep, stress, adrenal fatigue, a chronic illness or if you’re overtrained, you may only be able to handle a very small dose of caffeine (if any) or fasting. If you do suffer from any of these, eliminate coffee 8 hours before bedtime (or earlier if you are caffeine sensitive) or switch to a good-quality decaf.
  2. Don’t consume caffeinated coffee post-workout. It may raise cortisol, which negates all the good things you did for your body by exercising. Stick with decaf.
  3. Don’t mask fatigue and overtraining with caffeine. Make sure to get good sleep and cut off the caffeine at the appropriate time. And if needed, do a caffeine reset.
  4. Use coffee in your daily routine to trigger a healthy habit. For instance, once you finish your first cup of coffee, do some type of movement practice such as a walk or 10 minutes of yoga.
  5. Use coffee as a meditative practice. Coffee can be made in so many ways, some of which can be very meditative. One of the most relaxing is called the pour-over technique. Enjoy the process and be truly present.
  6. Take a minute in the morning to give gratitude for the delicious cup of coffee you’re about to consume and all the health benefits it’s about to provide you. Do this for two weeks and see if you notice anything cool happening. Then, report back.
  7. Don’t forget to focus on your breath throughout the day and use the above breath technique when you’re feeling stressed — 4 in, 4 hold, 8 out.

Sign up for the full 21-Day Black Coffee Challenge here.

To purchase my favorite coffee, both regular and decaf, I recommend Purity Organic Coffee. It’s the healthiest coffee on the planet…no GI issues, jitters or toxins. Just pure, clean energy. Use code EVOLVEDNS for 10% off. http://troydelaney.com/coffee

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link so I do earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks in advance if you do choose to go through the link above! If you have any questions about this product, let me know and I would be happy to answer them for you.