Optimal Health

06/21/2022

YOUTH ATHLETES🗣‼️

This Sunday I’ll be holding a beginner strength training session for middle school - high school aged athletes looking to enhance athletic performance 💪🏼

In this session we’ll be learning and performing general strength, plyometric and power movements that translate to sports across the board‼️🏈🏀⚽️⚾️🏐🥍

In addition, we’ll be going through an interactive educational lecture discussing the how’s/why’s and do’s/don’t of weightlifting for athletes 👨‍🏫

This 90 minute session will be $15/athlete 💪🏼

Shoot me a dm if interested‼️

05/15/2022

60 and sunny this morning? Had to go for a run‼️

04/18/2022

QUALITY DICTATES QUANTITY

Counting calories while eating a diet full of processed food is a game you’ll be playing for a lifetime.

It can work in the short term and you can see results, but that game is not sustainable in the long run for the vast majority of people.

Thankfully your body counts calories for you if you give it natural food high in nutrients 👌🏼

It’s this thing called appetite!

Human appetite helps our body match energy intake to energy needs. When functioning properly, the amount of energy you use will match what your hungry for.

Satiation (feeling full) is a psycho-biological mechanism that functions to inhibit intake following the ingestion of the required amount of nutrients our body needs. It’s built into our bodies so we don’t consume what we don’t need!

Hunger on the other hand, is a survival mechanism to acquire nutrients to function. This necessity for nutrients triggers our body to release the hunger hormone, ghrelin, to get us to search for food.

So what happens when we eat fake processed trash in a plastic wrapper with little to no nutrients? We overeat calories!

Empty (nutrient-less) calories leads to overeating and is the main driver of the obesity epidemic!

What’s the solution? Eat real whole food that comes from the earth! Fruits, vegetables, meat, legumes, nuts, eggs, etc. Get a wide variety of colors on your plate and prioritize getting high quality protein at every meal.

Protein is one of the BIGGEST drivers of satiation because of how important it is for survival. Get enough protein every meal and it will do wonders for satiety.

Some people are more/less tolerant to certain natural foods than others. This is because we all have unique gut bacteria. A general rule of thumb is if you like the taste of the natural food and it makes you feel good after, it’s most likely good for your body.

If eggs make you fart a bunch, lay off the eggs. If broccoli makes you wanna vomit, try something else.

There’s a gut microbiome test called that can tell you all of your food tolerances/intolerances if you don’t have an idea already.

04/08/2022

Energy levels and the benefits of a PFF Breakfast (protein, fat and fiber)

First off, my golden rule for nutrition is there’s no such thing as a one-size fits all diet.

Personally, PFF breakfasts have done wonders for my energy levels because my blood sugar levels respond best to them.

Are you someone who gets a dip in energy in the mid afternoon?

It’s very common. A lot of us reach for a caffeinated beverage to fuel our way to the end of the day, but doing that actually does more harm than good‼️

This is because caffeine circulates through our body for 6-12 hours after it’s consumed (depending on how well your liver metabolizes it). Residual caffeine in our system while we’re trying to sleep wreaks havoc on sleep quality.

A breakfast jam packed with protein, fat and fiber (as opposed to higher carb) creates a stabilization in energy levels, leaves you fuller longer, and creates a slow increase in blood sugar throughout rather than a spike (dips follow spikes 📉).

This is why I save my carbs for later in the day.

Protein and fat also tend to be higher in micronutrients than carbs.

Getting the micronutrients we need is highly involved in keeping us satiated.

When we’re low on micronutrients, the hunger hormone Ghrelin is released to make us hungry to get us to search for food to satisfy our micronutrient needs.

Why? Because micronutrient intake is crucial for biological processes involved in hormonal synthesis, cellular functioning and energy production.

In addition fat, protein and fiber prevents a spike in blood sugar. Instead, it slowly raises our blood sugar since it takes longer for our body to break it down.

With all of this being said, if you eat high carb in the mornings and don’t have energy dips, then keep doing you 💪🏼

If you eat high carb and DO have dips in energy mid day, I recommend trying out a PFF style breakfast, prioritizing fats, carbs and fiber.

Last but not least, & I will expand on this in a later post: QUALITY DICTATES QUANTITY. In order for our hunger hormones to function properly, we must focus on quality food. Counting calories while eating processed food is a game you’ll be playing for a lifetime.

03/26/2022

How do thoughts and emotions affect our physical health 🤔💭

And why am I putting this on my training page? 🧐

After listening to some of Joe Dispenza’s podcasts on this subject, I was super intrigued by what I learned.

It’s often overlooked just how connected our minds are too our physical body. Thoughts and emotions have a profound impact on our physical well being.

Which is why I’m putting this on my training page, thoughts and emotions can make a major impact on reaching your physical potential‼️💪🏼

Every single thought your brain thinks triggers a physiological response that can either benefit or hurt your physical health over time.

This physiological response comes from a release of neurotransmitters. These are the chemical messengers in your body that allow the brain to communicate directly to the body. Neurotransmitters control just about every function of your body, from modulating hormones, to controlling mood, when we’re hungry, when we’re tired, etc.

The reason our body releases these neurotransmitters is to prepare us for what’s to come, which is critical for our survival.

With that being said, certain patterns of thinking can chronically release neurotransmitters that are detrimental to our physical health.

Chronic patterns of negative thinking prepares our body for perceived danger which leads to raised blood pressure, weaker immune system, slower metabolism, etc.

This is a recipe for poor health, chronic illness, and lack of gains in the gym!

Addressing these patterns of thinking can be an extremely critical component to making progress in your training‼️

The solution is AWARENESS‼️ Become aware of these patterns of thinking you may be having. Replace negative thoughts and emotions with positive ones!

A few ways to change negative thought patterns is by:
- labeling those negative thoughts and emotions, and try figuring out why you’re thinking/feeling them
- Practicing gratitude, write down things you’re thankful for
- Practicing mindfulness, try meditation and intentionally living in the present moment
- Striving for imperfection, a perfectionist mindset leads to stress and overthinking

03/17/2022

April 2nd

11/06/2020