Talking Nutrition
Talking Nutrition is the podcast for women who did everything right and stopped seeing results. Hosted by Johan Vesters, online nutrition and functional health coach, and founder of Odyssey Coaching Systems, the show digs into what is actually going on under the surface: metabolism, fat loss, thyroid, hormones, gut health, blood work, and the mindset and behavior change that makes results stick. No crash diets, no quick fixes, no fear-mongering. Just education, real client stories, and honest conversations, so you can understand your own body, ask better questions, and take ownership of your health.
Follow @johanvesters_ocs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johanvesters_ocs/
For coaching applications: https://odysseycoachingsystems.co/coaching-application
Talking Nutrition
#74 - Steptember Q&A 1 - STEPS To Take For A Longer (Stronger) Life
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this Steptember Q&A recording, Johan answers questions related to all things Movement and Exercise.
Is the whole 10k step thing just marketing, or is it actually important to hit a good amount of steps per day? What are the health benefits to being active, and what's a good training program? Do you need a different approach when you're training for strength vs muscle gain?
You'll learn all of that, and more, in Week 1/3 of our Steptember Challenge Zoom session. Enjoy, and feel free to join our online fitness community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ocscommunity
**This episode is brought to you by Odyssey Coaching Systems**
Talking Nutrition is brought to you by Odyssey Coaching Systems.
- Website and free resources: https://odysseycoachingsystems.co/
- Follow Johan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johanvesters_ocs/
- Apply for coaching: https://odysseycoachingsystems.co/coaching-application
September Q&A
Speaker 1What's up ? Well , welcome back to Talking Nutrition . Today is a bonus episode where we're going to be sharing the recording of our first September Q&A call with our participants , so this first one actually turned out to be a little bit longer than expected , so my goal was to do like a 30 minute Q&A . We got so many questions and comments and it just took a little longer , so it was a full hour . What I've done , though , is note the questions in the description , so if you go there , you can kind of scroll through , kind of like , the topics that we talked about a couple very similar questions .
Speaker 1The main theme was movement here , so what we're doing is kind of like get you familiar with . What we're doing here is we have a step challenge , but it's way more than just , hey , just apps , because that would be too simple , right , and that's overdone . No , like we want to deliver . You know , we want to help our people learn about movement , exercise , nutrition , mindset , whatever it is . So that is why we set it up this way , where , part of the challenge , they are actually pushed to like submit questions like they got points for submitting those questions oh , sorry , just hit my elbow for submitting those questions so that they want . They learn to their pushed to actually share something that you know they might have . You know , might might not have asked , because we know as well , people sometimes hesitate to ask questions . But hey , I always tell people like , hey , there's no dumb questions , just the ones that you don't ask . But hey , we had a great call . This first one was all about movement and exercise . Let's dive in . Next week we will be doing a Q&A on nutrition . So next week's bonus episode is going to be again a September Q&A recording , and then we are going to finish it off the week after .
Speaker 1I called it kind of like an ask me anything , but I think we're likely going to talk a little bit more about obstacles , how to overcome them , roadblocks , right , mindset stuff . Maybe we're going to talk about , like growth , mindset , those kind of things , but it's going to depend , of course , on the questions that our participants ask . Now , if you'd love to join us next time , make sure to jump in a free Facebook group just to say up to up to date . We also have our newsletter , of course , which , by the way , you get attitude anyway . So the easiest thing to do is join our group . You can do it for free , no strings attached , and the only price you pay is your email address , which is , to be honest with you , is just to share more free stuff . We do very little silkshit on there , because I don't like that stuff either , you know . So , that being said , let's get into it .
Speaker 1I already rambled on for too long . We will be back next week with more bonus episodes , more Q&A and then , of course , the week after , like I said , mindset Today movement . Let's get into it . I got a lot of questions today , or this week also , in terms of like , why is it 8K steps ? And I'm actually going to pull up a blog for that , to show you guys . This is stuff that I've showed on my social media channels many , many times . You'll often hear me talk about Neat , but we have some new faces here as well , so it's always good to refresh the basics anyway , because , yes , there's actually a really good reason to get moving , and this is stuff we talk about a lot in the podcast as well and , of course , this challenge being you know all about getting your steps in . Let's figure , let's talk about this Make sense , right ? So we're going to work down that list .
Speaker 1We have 60 comments . It's a combination of questions and photos and stuff . First of all , I just wanted to thank everyone for joining . We have I think it's almost 40 , it's like 37 or 38 people , which is massive , way more than expected , super cool . I knew it was going to be like a , you know , a good one again , because we did it in 2021 , and it was a huge success . But right , it's just cool to see so many people show up again . So , welcome back . We got Danny back . I think Linda rejoined again since 2021 . We have the sisters , who were two of my very first clients ever . Welcome back , super cool to see you guys . Let's get into the actual questions . Also , by the way , side note , super cool that we have Norway , netherlands , we have England , we have Canada , america , all over the place . We have a bunch of international people here , super cool to see .
Speaker 1So first one from Kaya . So she says if you have 6000 steps one day and 10,000 the next , is okay to use that as your average kind of like for the 8k steps daily . What are their health benefits to the minimum step counts ? Really good question . Two answers here for the challenge . It's about your daily action . So I'm pushing you guys here to try to hit that 8k . So when it comes to the actual challenge , like we're not going to necessarily like pick twos and like take the average , you know what I mean . So if you're speaking , yeah , like we actually can go with the average , it's totally fine . It's way less about the actual number .
Speaker 1It's not that your body keeps track , you know what I mean . Like we're using step trackers but your body doesn't necessarily go like , oh shit , okay , we , we hit like 7000 steps , that's better than you know 6900 , whatever . It's just that we want to keep track of our steps to make sure that , hey , we're moving . And I will say this too like after a while of tracking your steps , especially once we bring people from maybe being at a two 4000 up to 6 , 8 , 10 , whatever , and they kind of stay there , we don't keep tracking forever . You know , it's just a tool that we use to look at , okay , well , how much you're moving ? Can we get you moving a little bit ? More ?
Speaker 1Special effect , a fellow's phases like it's beneficial to , yeah , to make sure to keep moving because you're not exercise activity , your daily movement , which is measured by steps , like that actually counts for 15% . How many steps you can burn . Exercise only 5% . So that's one of the reasons , but let's actually pull this up . So she asked you know the six and eight K steps . There are benefits to having more , but it's maybe not necessarily about the actual like number . You know . I hope that makes sense Because in a way it is . In a way it's also not per se . Let me also switch my microphone Cool , awesome .
Speaker 1So long story short , let me just answer you . Let me just give you a clear answer now to , for practical reasons , generally speaking , just go with the average what we do with our clients to . We look at your weekly average . We have a sheet track everything and we look at the average per day . And I'll say this it's likely still good to just kind of like keep moving , because it kind of turns into habit . You know , it's just something we do as much easier than because , sure , like we could basically average and bring our steps up , you know , by going on a hike , for you know , 20,000 steps on one day . But we just want to be active . That's , that's the goal here . Let me share my screen real quick . So here you here .
Speaker 1So this is a really cool graph of uses over and over again in many different posts and podcasts , and you know so what you'll see here . Let me actually go up a little bit . Where is the neat percentage ? Okay , that's actually different blog mind want to show you this as well , really quick , now that we're here anyway . So when you look at needs you saw already at the top , but here you go .
Speaker 1So long exercise activities 15% of how many caters we burn . 70% is what your body just does anyway . It's your organs working , heart beating , breathing Pretty important stuff , right , like just that . The bare minimum , that 70% . That's also why people in the coma , for example , can actually lose weight even without moving . Now then we have 15% that's our need . We tracked that through steps and we have T E F , that's thermic effect digestion . You can kind of influence that by eating a diet high , high protein and fiber , but that's kind of it . It kind of goes up and down with how much you eat as well , and then you see exercise only 5% . So one of the reasons we are big on steps is well , first of all , a lot of people come to us for a fat loss goal , right , so we're going to have to rely on steps because we know as much as going on a walk . We could argue that for some people that's kind of like exercise , whatever . But long story short , we're just trying to be active and this is a big factor there .
Speaker 1Let me go back to the other blog Because , yes , there is , for sure , a benefit to getting more steps , and so we see here this was a study , we had data from 2020 study , by the way , data from like more , I think it was 4,840 people and they looked at the mortality rate among adults and here we see the rates decline like really fast per 1000 . So we see here , with no movement , so we see zero , 2000 , 4000 . It's pretty high . And then we see a massive drop towards the 6,810 , 12 , with kind of like it flattens out , you know . So we could be walking more than 10 , 1214 . And it's cool , you're going to be burning more calories , but the health benefits You're kind of good with 10, . You know , depending on your work , I think 8k would be great already . But just so , you know , here we have a really nice visual and this was the primary outcome from that study . So a drop in all cause , mortality meaning was all cause , mortality , deaf of all cause . Pretty , pretty cool to see that we can do something basic as get our steps up and lower the risk of death . Sounds very extreme , but like it's , it's really huge for health . Secondary outcome , by the way , in the study was also low risk and cancer , as well as low risk and cardiovascular disease . So it's pretty fucking important . All that makes sense .
Speaker 1Now let me go back to the questions so that I can see . So yes , if you have six and you have 10 the next day , technically that's an average of eight . But generally speaking , let's just try to get that average up . For most people around eight will be amazing already . Mine 10 , I'd say 10 , 10 plus . If you're in the cut , let's see .
Speaker 1We've got a couple of introductions here and then Nick says let me see real quick . So he rarely kind of gets his tabs in and it's just personally something I'm currently dealing with too , like I've dealt with over the last years . Really , currently I'm sitting right . I've been working all day . Sometimes I stand like I can put this thing up and I'm still not walking . So that kind of sucks in a way . Now there are little office trap mills and some people even have like a stationary bike . I currently don't . I'd like one in the future .
Speaker 1But that does come with the downside of we need to get our walks in , like outside of this . So we really have to . If your job involves sitting , basically , or not moving anyway , it's like we need to make a point of like going for a walk or , throughout the day , looking for excuses to get more steps in , and I'm thinking the basic one that everyone knows is kind of like take the stairs and suddenly escalator . It is when you go to the shop and you drive okay , park like at the end of the parking lot , right , little things like that . If you go and take out the trash , like walk up and down like twice , you know what I mean . Like basic stuff like that , and I was not silly , almost . And of course , going for a walk , right , but looking for excuses like , hey , where can I sneak in a few steps here and there ? Thing is too .
Speaker 1For example , I've been playing with more kind of like post meal walks , just cause it's nice . It's kind of like a good way to , you know , get out , get to fresh air , get the brain working . You know , there's actually quite a lot of benefits in terms of digestion . So if you're struggling with digestion , it could actually be beneficial to go for like a 10 minute walk after your meal . Now here's the thing I've tested this and if you go for a 10 minute walk , like it , really it actually adds up . You know what I mean . And if you're really in a pinch like you can walk faster and get more steps in the same amount of time , that's also something I've been relying on . Not that I'm like speed walking , you know , but like it adds up . Even 10 minutes it sounds like so little that we're like , well , 10 minutes I guess not gonna be worth it . Like , no , actually it adds up . Do 10 minutes here if you can , maybe in the morning .
Speaker 1Hey , I think Nick as well . We worked together for a while , I think two years ago already , it's a long time ago already , but anyway , like he would sometimes get off the bus earlier to then walk to work , so that last stop were the last few . Even those little things it really adds up . So let me read real quick . So he rarely gets his free steps in during the week , so really have to push to get my steps in . Are there any pros and cons in getting the steps in at once , for example , like an hour and a half walk or two hour walk or in parts ? So kind of split it up in a couple of like two to three step , two to three K step walks during the day .
Speaker 1I would personally say it's likely best for most people to try to do some here and there If you get the opportunity to . If you work at an office and you take phone calls , pace up and down , look like again , look for excuses to be moving , if you can . Obviously , if we can't for work , there's not much we can do . But hey , even then , maybe even during a break , even like a five to 10 minute walk instead of scrolling on our phones , that could really add up . And then , which brings me to my next point like it's fine to do the hour and a half walk or two hour walk in the evening . That is cool . And I have days where I was like , well , fuck , you know , I worked all day and it's eight and it's like , well , I better go for a walk because I'm currently at 500 steps . So there are those days , but it always sucks and this is a tip that I give all of my clients . It's like anytime you have to kind of like make up for it later , it just kind of sucks .
Speaker 1I've seen so many people struggle with protein . It's like I'm struggling with my protein . Yeah , guess why ? Because it's fucking eight in the evening and you had 20 grams . You know what I mean . So instead we want to be proactive here . Same kind of goes for your steps . Right , If we can get some here and there , it's gonna be much easier and then we don't have to play catch up in the evening . If you need to , that's totally great . You're still gonna get the health benefits . It's totally fine and , hey , might even be a nice thing to do in the evening , depending on the season .
Speaker 1But it's like with protein , right . With protein too . I always tell people hey , if you want to hit , let's say right , 200 grams big number for a lot of people but say , let's say 200 grams , okay . So that's five meals of 40 grams , simple . Okay . Breakfast , we need to hit 40 grams of protein . Second meal we need to be at just about 80 grams . Third meal we should be at about 120 . Fourth meal we should be at about 160 . So that when it's dinnertime whatever you want to call that last feeding , you only need to have that on portion Instead of being like breakfast okay , I have five grams of 10 , and lunch , oh , I kind of forgot because I just had a salad and blah , blah , blah .
Speaker 1And then it's evening and it's like , well , fuck , I still have like 150 grams to go . Of course , then we're not gonna be able to catch up . And I've definitely had days where it's same thing with my steps . It was like , well , I just went for an hour long walk and I'm still not there . I was like , oh fuck , you know . So try to go with the few walks here and there , but feel free to play , catch up if you wanted to , and , of course , with this challenge , right . So for 21 days , we're pushing you guys . We're really challenging you , as well as myself , to get out and make a point of moving .
Speaker 1After this challenge , hey , feel free to go with it . Like , go to seven . Like , if seven for you is like that works and it's doable and you stay active and you get your workouts in during the week as well , cause also , anyone listening , whether it's live or to replay like you should be lifting your weights as well . We should be doing some cardio too , like a combination , right . So those are all things we should be taking care of . And hey , like if seven is what you can stick to . Amazing If you go to eight or nine , great , hey . If you're someone who's active and you easily hit 10 , 12 , whatever , also great , cool . But let's remember why we're doing this . Let's remember that graph I showed you .
Speaker 1There's a lot of health benefits to this and of course it like we just looked at one thing , right , that showed like drop of all-cost mentality or risk of all-cost mentality , risk of cancer , risk of , you know , cardiovascular disease . But it's so much more like through walking we can regulate blood sugar , lower blood pressure . It can help you , right , the managed stress can help lower stress . It can increase dopamine , serotonin , especially if you go out in nature . Guess why and you'll see this too in the tomorrow's post Like every Friday pretty much , I post like put your fucking phone away . Friday , right , I tell people to go outside .
Speaker 1It's for that reason , like we all need to do more of that . We need to make a point of like moving , actually getting outside if we can . That's what this whole challenge is based on . You know it's basic , right , it's simple hey , heteroseps . But then again it's exactly like that's the whole point Nutrition , fitness and those kind of things . Like it is basic and we need to do those basic daily things to , first of all , just reach our goals but then also stay successful and maintain a long term , you know . So let's go down the list .
Speaker 1Gero says Question is there a health benefit to having a walk so 30 minute ish , even on days where I've already had cardio training ? Really good question , very good question . I think it depends different . You know what I mean . It's different . We do running and walking for different reasons and that's why I always , with all of our clients , we track steps and we look at , hey , like , what did you do training wise throughout the week . Because the whole point here and this is gonna depend , it's a big depends question .
Speaker 1I'm gonna argue that there's still going to be a benefit to doing on a walk , depending on a person and depending on your stress levels . Walking , like I said , lowest cortisol can put us back in a parasympathetic state . Fancy word for rest and digest . That's where the body kind of wants to be . When we go for a run , when we do intense exercise , when we are stressed at work traffic , whatever , right , if Danny is getting chased by a dog at work , like we're in that stress response , right , fight or flight , like we're alert , we're mobilizing energy . That's good when you wanna fight the bear and run away from the bear , but not when you wanna rest and repair and de-stress and build the muscle , because that only happens in the rest of the gestate right . So to manage stress is gonna be huge .
Speaker 1So is there gonna be a health benefit to going on a walk , even if you've already done your running ? Maybe , maybe , maybe do you need it ? Like it depends on your stress load and that's different per person . I'm always gonna tell people like , hey , just get your steps in , just make sure that it's right . Roughly eight , nine , 10k steps .
Speaker 1Do some cardio . Maybe a couple of times a week if you really like it , maybe once a week if you wanna focus on body composition . You lift your weights , do a little bit of cardio . Combination is great . I think we all should be doing cardio , but again , it really depends . It really depends . There's benefit to both and cardio has a different purpose . It's training your cardio vascular system . Walking would be more . That's slower , kind of like that easy movement , and that's the whole point . It's not only not adding more stress , because that's one more point I gotta bring up with running , with intense exercise , we are adding more stress and that's not bad . We just need to realize like to the body is the same . It is a form of stress . So , depending on how much we're already dealing with , we might be looking at hey , okay , should we actually go for the run or for the walk maybe ? So , again , big it depends on . So let's see . Really quick , linda , who just joined us , what's up , linda , also good to see you come back .
Speaker 1So here's my question what is exercise impact , mental health , impact , mental health and wellbeing . Let me see real quick . So , mental health , that's a big one . So obviously I'm giving general advice here and we need to look at kind of like mental health as okay , what , like ? What are we dealing with ? You know what I mean . So I'm going to speak in terms of , like , general well being , general mental health . Exercise is massive . It has been compared to medicine and it has , in some cases , outperformed medicine .
Speaker 1This is not to say that exercise will always be the thing that fixes any mental issue . Definitely not . I mean , it's 2023 , like , it's pretty worrying , like everyone's fucked up but I'm joking aside though like , like there's a lot of stuff going on , a lot of people dealing with a lot of stress , anxiety , depression , and it seems to just be more and more right now and , being said , exercise has been shown to really improve your mental health massively . So for that reason I would say , hey , let's at least introduce it if we're not doing it yet , or let's at least keep doing it if we are already working out , because , hey , even if it's just a small chance , right , or even if it helps a little bit , let's just keep doing this . This kind of goes back to basically everything we do the walking , the right , eating healthy , whatever it is , lifting your weights , sleeping enough , like we should probably make a point of like getting the habit of doing all of those things so that we are healthy , so that we build a strong body and a strong mind as well , and I think especially that mindset and maybe we can talk more about mindset and stuff in week three the thing that could be kind of cool . I don't know if you bring that up , but we need to make a point of like doing those things right , so that . And then for a well being very general but I mean , unless someone is doing a lot already and it's getting to a point where it's too much , where it would be negatively impacting your well being , for the vast majority of the people introducing exercise or at least you know , getting into like a weightlifting , training , you know program , whatever it is doing , some cardio etc . Can be beneficial and will most definitely improve people's lives In general , like all across the board , right ? So hope that answers your question .
Speaker 1Next one from Terrier so we have . So if you go on a long walk or you're active , after how long should you top up with nutrition ? That's a really good question , because he really likes to go running , he really likes to go skiing and all of that . So that's a big one . I get this question a lot and I am not the biggest fan of just adding food and even when we are active , it's cool , like don't get me wrong , it's fine . This kind of goes to like just really , two answers here .
Speaker 1On one hand , I don't like it . I think a lot of times people also tend to think on burning this many calories or my fucking sports watch says it's 600 calories now I can eat this much extra . Guess what ? These are always inaccurate , as much as I'm still using one , and that would be great for heart rate right sleep tracking steps . However , for calories burned , they are all incorrect . Even was a 2022 study that looked at the newer devices , like your Apple Watch , I think it was , like Fitbit , garmin , a bunch of other ones they were still up to 50% incorrect , and that's with the newer devices . So calories burned as much . As that was not a part of the question , I'm not going to be going up , because I do still see a lot of people look at that and be like , hey , okay , cool , now I can eat more , right . Or you even with the tracking apps where you manually exercise which you should not be doing , by the way but anyway , also there , all of a sudden it says I can eat 600 calories , and I was like , oh shit , well , I can eat that . Back Like , let's not do that .
Speaker 1It's always a bad idea because we should be setting our own targets and then base the changes of how your body is responding . Are you burning more calories on a day like that ? Yeah , you do . Really depends like how long it is , but it's at least going to be way less than you think . That's one one at one side of the answer Right Now .
Speaker 1Let me actually go in between two answers that I have . It's also going to depend on your current phase . If you are in a fat loss phase , no , you should not be adding food . Simple as that . Do not add any food . Why is that ? Well , your goal is to lose weight . We created a calorie deficit to lose weight , okay , cool . So if you move more , if anything like , if anything is just going to speed up your weight loss , so there's that , right ? So that's one . If we are in a maintenance probably not it's fine , but you don't need to . If you're in a bulk or performance phase , like , still not really , because here's the thing , we're going to be basing your food intake on the average throughout the week anyway . So they're set .
Speaker 1Now let me go back to the other side of the answer , and this is where these kind of questions , guys , it needs to be like with nutrition , it's so personal , depends on the person that the phase , whatever we're in , we need to remember , like there's not always a one right answer . There it's also okay . You know what I mean . Depending on scenario , it is fine you are moving more , but here's the thing I think it's a waste of your focus really If this is something that people really start to like figure out and calculate , because , as much as you might think , hey , I should be , you know , increasing my food intake on training days you kind of don't have to your muscle glycogen , which is your fuel tank . So in your muscles you store sugar , that's your fuel , that is what mostly fuels your training and stuff that's stored . And then you get some from food that was kind of like readily available , there was in the bloodstream , but most of it , most of exercise , and all that is through glycogen , which takes longer More than a day sometimes to replenish , to refuel , which means that is more important to just get enough for you today . That makes sense .
Speaker 1So long-winded answer , maybe a little vague , maybe a little general , but hey , let me see real quick that's more photos . Also , by the way , super cool that you guys all introduced yourselves . That was awesome . Let me see real quick more photos outside , which is cool . It's also cool to see that you guys are actually posting the photos . You know , I know that when we did Instagram During if you challenge is not everyone was the biggest fan , but here we're like all within the community , you know . Okay , cool . So we got Kim question Are we supposed to get 8000 steps a day or does it count if we average 8000 steps for a week ?
Speaker 1Good question , so it's daily Normally , and Kim also coaches with me . Like normally , I say we look at the average , doesn't matter . However , in this challenge , you get rewarded for your daily action . That's also why this challenge is not like whoever gets the most steps . You know what I mean , which is what we did the first time . But I wanted to level the playing field and just kind of like make sure that anyone could join . And you get rewarded for showing up , and we all try to show up every single day , and if you don't hit it for one day , that's totally great . You try again the next day . But the goal is to hit 8000 steps per day . That's this week . Next week we're going to raise the bar , which , by the way , if you then end up missing a couple days , that's cool , that's fine , that's totally fine . The goal is to keep showing up . Then we have some more welcome photos Danny gets attacked by a dog at work .
Speaker 1Let me see real quick Extra points for the questions Awesome . So Jamie has a really good question , so I'm going to count that as on topic , because she's like hey , like , maybe it's a little bit off topic and , in a way , maybe it's more food , but still , I think this is a big one , because she asks so how do you come up with the appropriate calories per day ? Do you break those calories into certain categories ? Tips and strategies for weight loss Okay , cool . So tips and strategies for weight loss we can talk a little bit more about towards the end maybe .
Speaker 1But figuring out your calories , your maintenance calories , which is the first thing that we do with every client , is like hey , I want to see , like , are you eating enough ? Can we at least get closer to maintenance ? If someone really wants to lose weight and we're looking at you know , being overweight is usually a good idea to maybe aim lower and we just go with a 20% deficit based on their expected maintenance , which we can calculate . And then we see because here's the thing , we can calculate it . We do as well with the Mifflin St Jor equation . And you go to my website . There's a calculator to which is based on that average sort of that calculator . However , here's the thing it's a formula . It's a formula . You get an estimate . It doesn't have to be super accurate . It usually it can be off because it's an average .
Speaker 1Once again , you could be below or above the average , but there's actually no way to figure out calories burns . There is no way to figure out calories burn outside of a lab setting , not with a fitness tracker , not with any app , not with any machine at the gym . So , however many categories you know , the trap mill or the bike says that you're burning . It's all inaccurate . We could only do that in the lab . And the same goes for figuring out your maintenance calories . And so what I'm being said , what I do , is we calculated , we aim closer to that .
Speaker 1So let's say easy numbers . Let's say 2600 , and someone comes to me at 2000 . Okay , let's bring you up to 2300 , first see what the body does . Maybe go 2425 , whatever . Sometimes we go slower and then we see okay , you lose weight . Okay , cool , Well , let's kind of stay there as we build habits , right .
Speaker 1So it is a process . Track your food intake , like start there , track your food intake , track your steps and then your body weight . So obviously , right , activity is going to play a role here . Let's see real quick . And we have Christian , we have Caroline , what's up ? A lot of people going out of nature , which is great . Let me see A lot of photos . Okay , we got some more questions . Okay , danny says my question for this first week is actually one not just for you on the answer , but for everybody in this challenge , since it's about holding each other accountable and motivating each other to get our steps in .
Speaker 1What's the main thing in your daily life that keeps you from exercising and getting those steps in ? That's a good one , he says . For me it's a problem of letting myself be lazy . I can linger behind a PlayStation forever and since I have no structure for sleeping and waking due to my job , I have no problem with sleeping in doing nothing all day . It's . It's tough , man . I feel like we all have those moments . I for sure do . I've been a very heavy work season of life and , right , I really have to make a point of like scheduling , like it's in my calendar . Right , it's like a walk or like gym time . I have days where I really don't fucking feel like it . You know we all have those . Those days like we don't feel like getting up early , we don't feel like doing a meal prep , we don't feel like tracking our food or eating healthy or whatever . It is Right , we don't feel like it .
Speaker 1But I think if we can somehow figure out and this may be going to be different person if we can somehow figure out a way that we do end up doing it and we make it more obvious . I've been talking about this a lot but , like in this book atomic habits I think the first rule of creating a new habit is making it obvious . If the if we lower that bar , right , if we kind of make it easier to do , we're more likely to do it . If we can set up our environment to make those kind of things easier or more likely to happen , we're more likely to do it . On the other hand , right , if we make it less obvious , we're less likely to actually take action on it . We could use accountability , right , you could do that with yourself .
Speaker 1I have a check list of a couple of things I want to do every single day that I use , so that's my habit tracker . Basically , I can write pen and paper , do whatever you want to do , but have something like a checklist and you say , hey , like in this case with your steps , literally like , maybe download or have a tracker and start taking those boxes , like , hey , did you hit your steps , yes or no ? And then you gamify it . Right , you see , hey , shit , okay , cool , I did Monday , tuesday and miss Wednesday . Okay , let me try again on Thursday . We can gamify , hold you accountable . You can do it with your friends . Right now , we're doing the challenge , so people are posting pictures . I'm going to be sharing the leaderboard on Mondays , but we got to figure out , okay , what do we need and it's different per person , right , but what do we need to take action ?
Speaker 1I think accountability is a big one . That's the biggest part of coaching as well . Is is not even about like the macros and the healthy food and you know , right , you know like the specific diet and there's way more about you know the guidance and working through shit , of course , but it's accountability , like someone's checking up on you . So , that being said , you could do with a friend , right Again , gamify it . You know . Hold each other accountable . Hey , taxi chatter . Hey , how many , how many steps , steps that you hit today . You know , and there is something to be said for doing stuff , even if we don't like it , we could still set up benefits and setting , maybe , reminders on our phones . Even if we don't have a set schedule , we could still set a reminder , okay , cool . So today , I know I need to work at 5am . Okay , then I know where I could potentially squeeze a walk in or something . And , yeah , sometimes we kind of need to suck it up and just do it anyway for the benefits .
Speaker 1I've had this talk a lot with a few people recently about eating vegetables . Couple people just don't like it , and that's pretty common , to be honest with you . Like , people join us and sometimes we really have to get into eating veggies . Okay , well , we can really get around them . We need them . Everyone needs to eat . It's either fruit and veggies , okay , cool .
Speaker 1Now , that being said , like to suck it up and let's say , okay , what , what do we hate less ? What do we hate the least ? Let's try to do that , at least for those benefits , not just for ourselves , but also for setting the example for the people around us . Then , hey , maybe once we get into the healthy eating or we get into the moving and we do it more often , all of a sudden becomes part of who you are , what you do , and then it's easier and then we don't need that motivation anymore because it becomes a habit , right , that we talked about earlier . So , yeah , again , find ways to make it easier , find excuses to do it anyway . Right , get , use a timer . Say , hey , I'm going to write play station for PlayStation for this long , whatever it is , but yeah , it's about creating that discipline , which is , I mean , some . It's . It is tough . You know what I mean . We all have moments where we are not motivated . Well , let me say this when we are not motivated and we still do it , that's when you really create that change right , and that's that's when it really counts . So , again , let's do it for the right reasons , yeah , and basically say fuck motivation , because we can't rely on it anyway . You know , motivation shows up when , like when it's already go well , kind of thing , okay .
Speaker 1So next one from Annalisa , and she says when are you focusing on strength training and building muscle ? Sorry , when you are focusing on strength training and building muscle , how should an optimal week look like ? Should you focus only on the upper body for a full week and then lower body for the next week , or should you have a mix and stick to the same each week ? Great question . So let me start with the first part of the question . When you are focusing on strength training and building muscle , okay , cool . So strength training and building muscle Are kind of two different things . We can do both , for sure , but where strength is mostly the six to eight rep ish range where we go heavy , right , we want to go heavy to build strength . Building muscle is maybe more . I mean technically is anywhere between like eight , eight to 30 reps , but for most people 12 to 15 to 20 , like that kind of rep range that will be building muscle . So we can have a combination . It's also called power building , but when you are trying to build muscle on , no , she's in a muscle building phase .
Speaker 1What would it look like ? I would say training the full body . Because here's the thing when you only do upper body for a full week , you're gonna do a lot of upper body , which means that baby body in the week your work is not gonna be that great . Like recovery is not gonna be that great . Right , we might still be training , but you're not gonna really get you know out of it what you could . On the other hand , right , that next week , if you are gonna only train lower body , that next week You're gonna need a wheelchair . So what I prefer is say , okay , let's do either way , upper and lower , right . So it's like we can't straight leg like every single day . You know what I mean . So maybe do upper lower , rest day , upper lower , for example , if you train four times a week , maybe you want to do , push full legs , upper , lower . There's different ways is plated , but I would hit every single muscle group throughout the week .
Speaker 1I'd say for muscle building , ideally maybe five times a week . Was there anything else there ? Any questions ? Mixing it ? Yeah , I Think that is likely best for people to have an actual workup program where you can focus on progressive overload , which is where you can continue . Just challenge the muscle . That's the goal . You lift the weight and all of a sudden , like after a couple weeks , is like it's light . You know what I mean . Okay , then you add more weight to the body or you do more reps . That's kind of what you want to do . And if we are doing random workouts , we don't really have anything to track and we don't necessarily know if we are actually moving forward , if that makes sense , and that's why bodybuilders train like that . I'm not saying that everyone needs to be a bodybuilder and get on stage , but we can learn from the people who like literally their goals to get as jacked as possible , like if they train like that and our goal is to build muscle , okay , we can take something from that . You know what I mean . So , yeah , I'd say four to five times a week for most people . Feel free to do a cardio session a week . I still get your steps in for your health . And then , yeah again , I would cover every muscle group in the week and Then the split you're gonna go with , like there's there's so many variations there and options , there's not one answer for that and it says Question for cardio or about cardio .
Speaker 1Can it be bad for a woman and perimenopause , slash menopause or our weights , better for us ? Big ? It depends one . Here's the thing . So I Would say that cardio can become an issue if stress is already high . Cardio as much as great high amounts of cardio . It's very stressful on the body . It's stress is hard on the joints also , but it's a lot of stress and that's okay . Is not making it bad per se . But we all have what's called the allostatic load , which is it's our overall stress load , and if that adds up and it keeps adding up , we're gonna be full at some point and it's too much . And if the body is continuously under stress , we're gonna run into issues with blood pressure . So much digestion . I have a Infographic here which was really cool . I can maybe shared it in the group . But stress is not bad per se , it can push you to become better and more resilient . However , if it keeps adding up and it's chronic , we get sick and it's not a good thing . So it depends .
Speaker 1I would say , if stress is really high already , or maybe just in general , I would just do some low intensity cardio , maybe some walking . Maybe you know stationary bike . You know stationary bike . Low intensity cardio is gonna be a great option there . And then I would build Lift weights to build muscle . Yet I would lift weights to build muscle because that is it's massively underrated .
Speaker 1First of all , for health . We are gonna have a harder time . As we get older , it becomes more difficult to build muscle . We're also gonna have to eat more protein to do the same amount of work , like your body requires more amino acids . So it's over time it's gonna become more . It's over time it's gonna become more and more difficult to build muscle . So , that being said , weightlifting Is not just something that's gonna make us look good like . It's essential and it's our responsibility Because we're gonna need that muscle for health . It's good for your hormones , for your metabolism .
Speaker 1I guess what you probably want to be the the grandpa or grandma who was actually able to run around with you know the grandkids right , and who can get up when they fall down . We don't want to be those fragile little like old ladies are met . You know , now we want to be strong and that's the stuff that we're currently working towards already , and I think sometimes we forget , like we think short term , even like months , years , whatever , but like , hey , let's , let's think 10 , 20 , 30 years from now , like you want to be resilient and strong and healthy and muscle is going to do that for you . So , yeah , absolutely should be lifting weights and then a little bit of cardio . I'd say Now , let's see , let's see . I think we are almost there . We got a lot of stuff and this already was a little bit longer than expected , but hey , a lot of good questions . So , either way , the replay is always available , guys . So Ben says what's up ? Ben , welcome back .
Speaker 1When I'm not getting my steps in over the day and I go to the gym in the evening , are these steps from the cardio training also counting towards your normal steps ? My problem is that sometimes I have like 20 K steps at work and then the other day maybe three , and on these days to go to the gym and do some cardio to get to your 10 K . I think that's great . Hey , what I'm looking at is , hey , if you're hitting 10 or sorry , 20 K one day and three and then you're doing some cardio some other days , that's totally great . It is about the average . I would just say that in this challenge , right , you actually want to get your 8 K at least this first week . So there's that . But generally speaking , yeah , no , that's totally great .
Speaker 1Gary says anyone else playing Pokemon will go for walks . I used to . Actually , there's a lady down the street that I always see her with a tablet and a phone and she uses both . She always walks around here . No , I used to do that . Actually , it's kind of fun actually to be honest with you . Full transparency there , and I'm sure that more people in this group have done that as well .
Speaker 1Then next one . So Gary says real exercise slash movement question which is not Pokemon related any recommendations for timing and snacks before or after movement . It's a really good one Big depends question , I would say . Generally speaking , I think snacks are a little overrated . I want to first see what we are having in terms of meals . This may be more nutrition , but I would say let's make sure our meals are dialed in first and we have big meals , we have a good amount of food , protein , card , fat color . Then , when that's dialed in , feel free to have something extra . It is totally cool . And , of course , with me saying that snacks are a little overrated , like I don't mean that they're bad , it's just that , hey , let's look at the meals first and then , if we want to have an extra snack , especially on maybe like a hike , like , for example , like what Terry says yeah , you know , trail mix , a piece of fruit , right , those kind of things can be great and , of course , some water , you know to go with . Jessica says why 8,000 saps ? Why 10K ? Why are those the magic numbers ? Yeah , so we showed you that in the beginning of this call , maybe just in case , because I'm not sure if everyone's watching the whole thing , so , just in case , I'm going to pull up really quick again . So we have this graph here , really cool .
Speaker 1Study 2020, . I looked at over 4800 people and this is the mortality rate among adults and you see that the risk of all cost mortality has a massive drop towards the 6 , 8 , 10 , 12 kind of K range . So I'd say 8 , 8 to 12 is like that sweet spot . More is fine , you're going to be burning more calories . It's not necessarily going to be more healthy for you , but in that same study , right , they saw a massive drop in cancer rates as well as cardiovascular disease . So that is why the 8 and 10 K steps are definitely worth aiming for . Cool thing is , though I think it was in 19, .
Speaker 1It was a long time ago , I want to say either in 1996 or 1960s . I forgot what it was . I think it might even been the 1960s , but anyway , unimportant . Long time ago it was a Japanese step tracker manufacturer who actually came up with kind of like that 10 K like their brand name was actually 10 K in Japanese and they kind of made that a thing . But this is before those studies , you know . And then Fitbit later on , in like the 2000s , whatever kind of took that and ran with it and then turn that into like a worldwide thing . So for a while and this is a quote I've heard , or you know a comment I've heard from a lot of people where it's like , yeah , it's just marketing , it's just , you know , yes , it originates in marketing , but now we have a lot of studies to show it . Hey , there's actually a lot of value to that .
Speaker 1And , by the way , two guys , we're humans as much , as these days we live very sedentary . We're supposed to be moving . We are made to move . You know what I mean ? We're not made to sit behind the desk and I'm doing this right , so I'm not talking shit here . We're like as human beings , like we're supposed to be moving . We do better when we move , like we feel healthier , we feel just better in general when we move . So we need to make a point of doing that as well . That's why we do this whole challenge .
Speaker 1So Caroline says made up for a walk despite the bad weather ? Is it only reporting the steps this week ? Yeah , so daily , yeah , and then your weekly bonus points is you know , once a week , basically . So one photo and one question per week and a thing there's all , my almost all of them . Let me see real quick . Catherine says we just say that all steps counts . Steps count the same . Jogging the same as 8K steps walking on a busy day at work , or is there one over the other ? Yeah , really good , really good point . We're kind of splitting hairs here , but it's just beneficial to move . It's just beneficial to move If we sometimes do a jog , sometimes we walk , it's both great . Let me say this , though , again the combination weightlifting , doing some cardio and then doing that low intensity walking , like the low intensity , like that's the whole point we can benefit off . But hey , if it's a jog , sometimes it's totally cool as well .
Speaker 1Ben , in essence , have you ever seen any side effects to having a high step count by high mean above 10K ? No , actually I've had people I've had one dude who had to eat 5000 calories to maintain his weight and I actually had him . Like we tried him to hit fewer steps because he was just on his feet all day in training and yeah , we tried to get his steps down actually so that he wouldn't have to eat that much . But not man , like not really . I've never seen any negative effects to that . I will say , for most people , like , if we hit that 10K or 12 , if you hang around there great Ture says my question I bicycle to everything , so work etc .
Speaker 1Can bicycle . So can cycling be the same as walking in this process ? Yeah , same kind of thing , like as much . It's like . Cycling , of course , is technically not steps , but yes , it's about moving . Maybe the step tracker doesn't pick up on a desk that well , I'm not sure . So that may be one thing , but it's yeah . No , it is just about just being active . That's the whole point .
Speaker 1Now Margaret says and then we're really at the end of the list almost , I think , just like two or three more . Margaret says so she's sitting a lot behind the desk , like myself , and I try to get up and walk around the office and sometimes I don't have a lot of time and I feel sometimes we're just busy , like we can't just go for a walk . She says I've seen desk stappers and elliptical machines and such , and are they worth it or are they just a waste of money ? I think they're probably worth it . Yeah , I want to get like one of those little TREP mills and I see that Jassidy mentioned the same thing . I think it can be a great option , for sure , If we can get a little TREP mill , if we can get even a stationary bike . A coach friend of mine , he bikes in the morning and he does like some of emails and like reading on a bike . I think it's great , like if we can squeeze some extra movement in . Yeah , sure , we might not all have the opportunity , but if that's one way for you to get some movement in . Yeah , absolutely , I think it's definitely going to be worth it and it will not be a waste of money . And the under the desk like TREP mills yeah , it could be kind of cool , like it's going to depend on a task that you need to do , but like I'm for sure going to get one at some point . No , let me see real quick More introductions .
Speaker 1And then we have Tony . What's up ? Tony , wisconsin , okay , what is your top mind trick for getting yourself to do your workout on days when you're really not feeling it and parts of your brain just want to sit on your phone and scroll Facebook ? That's a big one . Yeah , just doing it is a big one , and we kind of talked about this too with Dennis . Dennis question just doing it and then getting the benefit of hey , I showed myself that I still do it , even though I don't feel like it . And which , by the way , hey , I've never gone to the gym , hating , like , like , hating the fact that I had to go to gym right , I've never gone and then felt worse afterwards . You always feel better , always feel better afterwards and it's always worth it . You know what I mean . So , just doing the thing and kind of proving yourself Like hey , like no , I'm still going to do this thing . You know , it builds character , builds discipline , and that then in the future can make it easier to still go .
Speaker 1Anyway , let's see , and we have our last question for for today from Ellen . She says to build muscle in volume is the best to train strength training with fewer reps and heavier weights , or a little bit slower or sorry , lower weights and then doing more reps . Yeah , so I started this earlier . So you want to build strength , you want to go ? Lower reps , heavier weights . You want to build muscle , it's lower weights , more reps .
