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72 Days until the end of the decade, and 72 days to lose the gut challenge…
Day 17
Happy Thursday!
I would like to tell you how blown away I am of the results that you have been achieving. We have 10 days left in phase 1 and all you have to do, to continue getting these results, is to stick to the plan.
Sometimes, we start getting clever along the way, thinking that we have now mastered the way.
We make small accommodations with our food.
A little snack in the morning never hurt anyone…. (bumping you out of semi keto),
…then a little biscuit eaten on the fly (I mean, I have to eat something)
…and a workout skipped (I mean, the previous workout was a good one)
…and before you know it, you think you’re still on schedule, but you’ve moved away from the plan.
The body does adapt to its new environment, and one does need to keep it guessing. So for now, I will urge you to keep on track. Settle into what you may even call “monotony” by now, having gotten used to eating and training etc.
If you do nothing else, keep doing this:

Fast
— Have your keto coffee, with its MCT oil.
You may have up to 3 of these, depending on how hungry you are.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
You may have some BCAA’s (Branch Chain Amino Acids) upon waking up. This form of supplementation helps you to retain your muscle mass when you’re on a calorie-restricted diet

Feast
— You’re still on the low carb version of the challenge. Stick to your caloric allowances. Take the time to work these out and to record them. By now, you should be enjoying the fact that you’re getting a feel for calories and Makro’s ie how many grams of the different foods you’re allowed.
You know the allowed foods. If you really just want the broad brushstrokes of eating, then the bare basics should have you eating a salad/veg and some protein. Leave carbs out of the equation, and don’t worry… Carbs are virtually everywhere, so they are tough to avoid. Even a basic hand full of Kale contains carbs. — but know that free carbs are allowed.

Move
— Remember that you’re training your head, so that you can train your body so that you can train your head, and so it goes on.
The real trick here is to develop the mental toughness to keep going. Of course, we are training a certain way, which is designed to prep you for the increased intensity of phase 2, but your challenge here is not to squat 200lbs a few times. Your challenge is to keep showing up. This is going to become a lifestyle for you. You may not feel that right now, but in time, you’re going to feel weird, if you are forced to miss a workout. — creating good habits.
At the time of writing this, I have the flu and I have to admit that I’m bordering on getting cabin fever. I’m busting to get to the gym again, and I hope that in time, a similar fate will befall you. (not the flu though — lol)

Sleep
— The bottom line here is to make sure that you’re getting your minimum of 6 hours. Make sure your room is pitch black and that your phone is off its daytime notification settings. Put it on airplane mode. Eliminate lights emanating from plugs and devices. Sort your pillow situation out and sleep naked if you can.
In closing
The above is what you need to be doing every day if we’re talking about keeping it simple. If you are tempted to make changes, then take away, rather than ad. The stoics believed that less is more. Should I eat that? When in doubt, don’t…. — you’re not gonna die. Are you still having your cold shower? If not, return back to it. At the risk of sounding corny, but when I was at school, Baz Luhrmann released “The Sunscreen Song”
Besides telling you to wear sunscreen, he also advised us to do one thing every day that scared us… — and that is my invitation to you today. What have you been putting off, that your moral compass is pushing you towards? The thing you least want to do may just be the thing you should really be doing…
Chat tomorrow, and have an awesome day!!
