OK… If you woke up and looked in the mirror this morning to see a painful reminder of all your holiday season overindulgences firmly attached to your waistline, the last thing you might be feeling right now is “happy.”

But what if I told you that in 12 weeks you could not only get back to fighting form—ripped even, beyond where you’ve ever taken your body before—and you wouldn’t have to count a single calorie or give up your favorite foods to get there?

No, I’m not promising a quick, easy fix. I’m not telling you that you can keep eating and drinking the way you did over the holidays (or the past few years) and expect a different result. But I do have a foolproof plan to knock the weight you’ve added to your belly/ass/thighs off of you and get you a beach-ready body by the start of spring. And it doesn’t require you locking yourself in at night and subsisting on lettuce and protein powder. In fact, you’ll be amazed at how taking the most basic of steps will yield significant results in just the first four weeks alone.

Begin following the first month-long phase of this 12-week program as outlined below, and then see the next two parts, linked at the bottom. Combine these nutrition guidelines with any Onnit 6 or Onnit in 30 program, you’ll have both the fuel and the fire to transform your physique and performance.

Ready? Then without further ado, Onnit and I proudly present the 12-Week Fat Loss Nutrition Plan.

The First 3 Rules of Eating For Rippedness!

#1 Only Eat When It’s Time To Eat

Losing weight is primarily about controlling calories. The easiest way to start doing that—without having to count your calories or weigh your food—is to simply stick to planned, structured meals. I.e., breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

“But wait, I thought small, frequent meals were best for getting ripped. That’s what all the bodybuilding magazines say.”

Yes, they do, and that’s an approach that can work. But I’d rather you keep it simple. Looking at it logically, the more times you sit down to eat, the more calories you’re likely to take in. Plus, the frequent-eating approach means taking the time to plan and cook your meals well in advance, which I know many of you just won’t have the time to do. And let’s face it, it’s also a hassle. Think of spending your Sunday grilling chicken breasts instead of watching football. It could also mean having to grab food on the go every couple hours when you’re working or running errands. It’s not practical for most people who have busy lives (or, ahem, lives they’d like to enjoy).

“What about fasting?”

If eating often leads to taking in more calories, then it stands to reason that skipping a meal entirely, or at least going a long time without one, would mean you’d eat less food. So, if you think that will be the case for you, then go ahead and fast. Most people who like the intermittent fasting style of dieting prefer to skip breakfast, which usually gives them about 16 hours without food. This can work very well, provided that you’re not the type who goes mad with hunger and overeats at their next meal, which research has shown is a possibility. Ultimately, the frequency with which you eat comes down to a matter of preference, but I recommend sticking to three normal meals a day for simplicity’s sake. It’s the easiest schedule for most people to stay on.

Cut out all snacking. No more pretzels from the vending machine, lattes on the way to work, or late-night brews. This may sound brutal at first, like you’ll starve, but in Rules #2 and #3 I’ll show you how to fill up on healthy food so you don’t have these cravings anymore.

And, like most rules, there are some exceptions. If you normally work out after dinner, you can (and should) have a snack afterward so you don’t go to bed on an empty stomach (more on what this should be later). Or, if you typically eat lunch at noon, work out mid day, and won’t be eating dinner until later that evening, a post-workout snack should be added as well. Heck, even if you don’t plan to work out mid-afternoon, if you eat an early lunch and can’t have dinner until 8 or 9 p.m., you should have a snack sometime in between to tide you over.

What exactly is a snack?

● Veggies and hummus? Great.
● Berries and nuts? Yep.
● Apple and peanut butter? Perfecto.

Almost any combination of protein, fiber, and whole-food fat is a winning trio. Chips, dip, soft drinks or sugar-bomb lattes? No.

Apart from these snacks, don’t eat anything unless you’re sitting down for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. When you’re done with your meal, the kitchen is closed.

One of the biggest obstacles to weight loss is eating out of sheer boredom, not physiological hunger. Maintaining the “kitchen closed” policy will help break that cycle.

#2 Control Portions With Your Hands

All of your meals should be structured the same way. They should contain at least one handful of protein, a minimum of two handfuls of vegetables (or one piece of whole fruit and one handful of veggies), and one handful of starchy carbohydrates.

Protein, if you weren’t sure, is any type of meat or fish. A handful-size chicken breast or a hamburger patty is one serving of protein. The same goes for whole cuts of beef, turkey, pork and salmon or tuna fillets. Similar amounts of eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (no sugar added), and protein powder supplements are also good sources.

Fatty, processed foods like hot dogs and bacon are permissible in this first four-week block, but use common sense and avoid them most of the time. If you’re at a football game and can’t get a lean chicken breast, a ballpark frank is better than starving (unless you prefer to fast), but don’t convince yourself that you don’t have better options most of the time. Because protein is filling and it supports muscle growth, I’m not putting a firm limit on it. Have at least a handful in every meal, but if two or three handfuls is what it takes to keep you full and feel like you’re recovering from workouts, then go ahead. Again, the leaner and plainer the protein source the better. Think meat and fish, not In-N-Out Burger, even if you do toss the bun.

Starches include potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, beans, and whole grains like rice, oats, and quinoa. A slice of whole-grain bread like Ezekiel is great too.

Beyond just making your meals easier to control and stick with, there is some solid nutritional science behind my recommendations. A palmful of protein, regardless of the source, will usually give you 25–35 grams of the stuff (depending on the size of your hand).

Vegetables and fruits are foods you can eat liberally. Fruits don’t rank quite as high as veggies since some are higher in sugar and calories, but no one ever gained weight because they couldn’t stop eating fruit. As long as you’re eating whole fruit—say, a peach as opposed to canned peaches that have marinated in a pool of syrup—you can count on its fiber slowing down the digestion of the sugar, keeping your energy steady and your belly full.

In fact, if in the first few weeks you find yourself absolutely unable to adhere to the “eat only at breakfast, lunch, and dinner” rule, there’s no harm in breaking it with veggies and fruit and more protein as well. I’d still prefer you eat three meals a day and that’s it, but if you’re going to fall off the wagon, I’d rather you crashed into a bed of celery, carrot sticks, and a hamburger patty than a pile of potato chips or bowl of ice cream. Overeating with natural, healthy food always trumps gorging on more calorie-dense junk. Make sense?

Veggies in particular are naturally low in calories and high in fiber—not to mention numerous essential vitamins and minerals—so they help your weight loss in multiple ways. When I say to serve yourself a “handful” in this case, it’s just for the sake of practicality. Don’t feel you need to limit your intake of greens in any way. If you’re using tongs to serve yourself veggies at a salad bar, feel free to squeeze as many between the claws as possible.

Because starches contain a fair amount of calories and raise blood sugar, they need to be contained—but not cut out, because they supply energy. A handful of starch is the amount that would fit in your cupped hand (in the case of potatoes, it’s typically one potato, and for bread, it’s one slice).

We’ll worry about maximizing the quality of what you’re eating in later installments of the program, but for the time being, it’s enough to just get in the habit of eating less and with balanced portions.

If your eating habits are so out of whack that you’re consuming Big Macs on a daily basis… Well, one Big Mac is better than two. It’s still more important that you focus on eating your meals—however imperfect they may be—according to the formula here than trying to make massive, sweeping changes that you can’t possibly sustain. I’d love for you to start eating lean chicken and broccoli every day, but if you’ve been eating fast food three times a day for years, I don’t expect you to make the switch overnight.

#3 Start Each Day With Protein

Studies have shown over and over that protein helps fill you up so you don’t overeat. It also helps you build and repair muscle, and burn more calories throughout the day—because it takes so much energy to digest.

Most people eat no protein in the morning and not enough throughout the day, so simply resolving to eat a high-protein breakfast can make a huge difference—and it doesn’t have to take long. The following are a few examples of protein-rich starters that you can make in minutes and take with you, or simply grab off a shelf in a deli or gas station.

● 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
● 1 cup cottage cheese
● 4 whole eggs (or a few whole with a few whites, if you prefer)
● 2 whole eggs and 2 oz of steak or chicken
● 1 handful smoked salmon
● protein smoothie made with 1 scoop protein powder

Each of these counts for about one serving of protein, and should be balanced with veggies/fruit and a starch. The next time you rush off to work in the morning, think about grabbing a yogurt, one piece of whole fruit, and a slice of toast, or a single-serving package of instant oatmeal.

One Perfect Day of Eating

Use the following sample menu as a guide for how to eat over the next four weeks. Note that this plan does not need to be followed verbatim every day, but is an example of how to portion your meals and choose your foods. Adjust it to your own tastes—if you don’t enjoy the process, you won’t stick with it.

Breakfast

Egg Scramble and Oatmeal

● 2 whole eggs
● ½ handful smoked salmon
● 2 large handfuls of spinach (cooked into the eggs)
● 1 small handful of cheese* (melted on the eggs)
● 1 handful oats (cooked as oatmeal)
● 1 handful berries (fresh or frozen)

*I don’t recommend you eat cheese by itself, but a handful (just enough to fill your palm, not all the way up to your fingers!) can be added occasionally to round out your protein serving.

Lunch

Tuna Salad

● 1 can tuna
● 1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette*
● 1 handful cherry tomatoes
● 1 handful mixed greens
● 1 cup brown rice (tip: you can buy packs of brown rice that can be microwaved and are done in 90 seconds)

Mix all ingredients and enjoy

*Seasonings and condiments that contain sugar and fat should be limited to the serving size recommended on the container.

Afternoon Snack*

● 1 handful mixed nuts
● 1 apple
● Protein shake blended with a banana

*This is optional, and you should only consume a snack if it’s going to be several hours before you have dinner and you know you’ll feel like you’re starving otherwise. Additionally, you can have a snack if you’ve just worked out.

Dinner

● 1–3 handfuls portion of rotisserie chicken (from any grocery store)
● 2 large handfuls of arugula
● 1 large handful mixed, colorful veggies (picked up from the salad bar at your grocery store to make it easy)
● 1 cup black beans
● 1 tbsp oil
● 1 tbsp vinegar

Post Workout*

● 1 cup Greek yogurt
● 1 cup berries
● Protein shake blended with a banana

*Only have this snack if you work out after dinner.

Alcohol and Dessert

We won’t ban these in this stage of the plan but, as with obviously sub-par protein choices like hot dogs, we have to limit them. Here’s the rule: you can enjoy booze, cookies, soda, etc. only when you’re with other people at a social event. You will never consume them alone.

Not going out Friday night? That doesn’t mean you can stay in and throw a party for yourself. And when you do go out, give yourself a maximum of two alcoholic drinks or servings of junk food. No more than two nights per week also.

There you go. Get on it (er, Onnit!), and check out the next two installments when you’re ready!

Fat-Loss Nutrition Plan, Part 2.

Fat-Loss Nutrition Plan, Part 3.

The post New Year All You: 12-Week Fat Loss Nutrition Plan, Part 1 appeared first on Onnit Academy.

First, have a look at the article linked above, as well as its two followups (Part 2, Part 3). They explain my basic nutrition philosophy and lay out a framework for how you should eat to be healthy and perform well. (Trust me, it’s not complicated.) To gain muscle, all we have to do is add a little more food to the equation and amend a couple of the rules, so that instead of dropping weight, you’re putting it on—but only the right kind.

Here are the rules of eating for muscle gain. Try any of them that you like, but NOT all of them—at least not all at once. Trust me, they may seem simple but they’re powerful, and they can add a lot of calories to your day without you hardly noticing (that’s the point!). If you go overboard, you’ll gain fat. So experiment with one or two at a time and monitor your weight. If you’re gaining a pound a week, keep doing what you’re doing. If your weight doesn’t change after two weeks, add one or two more rules to your day until it does. If you start gaining more than a pound per week, you’re gaining too fast and it’s going to be more fat than muscle, so back off. Take it slow when you want to grow.

#1. Eat Protein Throughout The Day

Your body will absorb protein and put it to better use for muscle growth if you consume it in regular and roughly equivalent doses.

A 2018 review in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition concluded that subjects looking to add muscle should take in 0.4–0.55 grams of protein per kilogram of their bodyweight in each meal they have, aiming for at least four meals, or until they’ve hit a protein intake of 1.6–2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight for the day.

So let’s do a little math. To convert your weight from pounds to kilograms, divide by 2.2. Let’s say you weigh 150 pounds—that’s 68 kilos. The minimum amount of protein you should eat in a day (1.6 x 68) is 108 grams, and the maximum (2.2 x 68) is 150 grams. I usually recommend that people eat about 1 gram per pound of their bodyweight, just to keep things simple. In this example, it would be 150 grams protein, which is on the upper end of the spectrum, but not excessive. (For the record, it’s hard to eat “too much” protein. But if you do overshoot your quota a little bit, you’ll be fine. It’s just that extra protein won’t build any additional muscle.)

Now we need to determine how much protein you should have per meal. Generally, the hand-sized portioning guideline I gave you in the fat-loss plan will cover this amount, but let’s do some more math so you can see why.

Multiply your 68 kilo bodyweight by 0.4 grams, the minimum amount of protein you need per meal, and you see that you need to be eating at least 27 grams of protein at each feeding (feel free to round up to 30). Twenty-seven grams of protein is roughly the equivalent of a palm-sized portion of chicken breast, lean steak, and most fish. So, at that rate, you’ll need four meals over the course of the day to reach the minimum target of 108 grams protein, and five meals to get to the maximum of 150. (A meal-replacement shake with protein powder can substitute for one of these meals.)

OK, want the TLDR version? Eat a palm-sized amount of protein or bigger at every meal, totaling four meals and maybe one protein shake by the end of the day. That should give you the right amount of protein overall and per meal to build muscle.

This means that if you’re a person who likes to fast in the morning, you may want to reconsider this strategy when you’re in muscle-gain mode. Fasting forces you to consume most of your food (and protein) in a smaller window of time, and that doesn’t keep the anabolic (muscle-building) signal turned on as well as eating frequently does. Likewise, if you’re a busy person who forgets to eat and ends up having a huge feast for dinner. The science is clear that it’s better to have a nosh here and there than it is to inhale a 64-ounce porterhouse at the end of the day.

#2. Drink Milk (But Not Just Any Kind…)

Obviously, if you’re lactose intolerant, don’t do dairy, or just don’t like milk, skip this rule and move on, but it’s a simple hack that can really come in handy. I know I told you to cut out calorie-containing beverages in the fat-loss guides, but when you’re bulking up, drinking SOME of your calories is a convenient way to get them in. If you haven’t discovered this already, eating to gain weight isn’t always as much fun as it sounds, since pounding extra food can get uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s a relief to drink a glass of milk rather than shovel down another serving of chicken and rice, when you know that it will still give you the calories you need.

I’ll tell you a secret to help you get more nutrition out of your milk: drink one that’s higher in protein. Most milk brands offer about eight grams of protein per cup, but Fairlife’s is filtered in such a way so as to pack more protein per serving—13 grams, in fact. To control calories, opt for the reduced-fat, 2% variety, or skim. Yes, we want more calories in order to gain weight, but too many leads to gaining fat. (If you want to calculate exactly how many you need, see How To Set Up Your Diet for Fat Loss or Muscle Gain.)

In case you’re wondering, Fairlife’s moo juice is also free of GMOs and growth hormones.

#3. Eat Yogurt

Skyr is a mild-flavored Icelandic yogurt that’s naturally low in fat and sugar and high in protein. I like Icelandic Provisions’ brand, which packs 17 grams of the stuff per serving.

If you’re having trouble reaching your protein requirement, eat skyr as a snack between meals. (You can add a little fruit to flavor it.) Also, I have no hard science to back me on this, but I suspect that skyr might make you superhuman if you lift weights along with consuming it. Look up how many times Icelanders have won the World’s Strongest Man contest and you’ll see what I mean!

#4. Drink Casein Protein

Whey protein is arguably the king of muscle supplements (if you’re not sure why, see our guide here), but casein can be beneficial too. Casein is whey’s counterpart, a slower-digesting milk protein that can feed your muscles for a long period of time. Because of its slow absorption rate, I like it as part of a smoothie that you drink shortly before bed. Research has shown that pre-bedtime consumption of protein, including casein specifically, supports protein synthesis overnight—particularly if you work out in the evening.

#5. Go Nuts

A one-ounce portion of raw, unsalted, mixed nuts (enough to fit in your palm) has about 160 calories. Adding this amount to each of your meals, or eating it as a snack between meals, really adds up, contributing to the surplus you need to build muscle while also providing important vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

It’s healthier (and cheaper) than weight-gainer shakes that are loaded with calories and sugar.

#6. Have A Nut Butter and Banana Sandwich

If you need an extra meal to hit your protein number, or find that you’re still not gaining weight after implementing all of the above, finish your day with a peanut butter and banana sandwich (any nut butter you like is OK too). Wash it down with a glass of milk.

Eating it may make you feel like a kid, but at 500-plus calories, you won’t look like one after a few weeks.

While I recommend whole food as the basis for your weight-gain strategy, supplementing with creatine monohydrate can be useful as well. See our guide to creatine (along with more info on whey) here. 

And if you want to get more scientific with your diet, managing your intake down to the last calorie and gram, I’ll show you how to do that in this piece—How To Set Up Your Diet for Fat Loss or Muscle Gain.

The post New Year All You Muscle Gain Nutrition Plan appeared first on Onnit Academy.

By figuring out how many grams of protein, carbs, and fat you need to consume to reach your goal, and hitting those numbers each day, you empower yourself to have complete control of your transformation. It will also allow you to troubleshoot any problems that come up along the way with much less guesswork. Not gaining muscle? You’ll be able to assess how many carbs you’re eating versus fats, and which macro it makes sense to bump up. Hit a standstill in your weight loss? You’ll know how and where to cut calories from your day.

Pull up your calculator app and get ready to write down some numbers…

Step 1: Determine Your Resting Metabolic Rate

Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the number of calories your body burns at rest—just keeping you alive with no additional activity. There are many equations that nutritionists and dieticians use to determine this number and none are 100% accurate, but they all give you a solid starting point. I like the good ol’ Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which has been demonstrated to be more accurate than most. This formula takes into account your weight, sex, age, and even height.

First, you’ll have to convert your bodyweight from pounds to kilograms (divide your weight by 2.2) and your height from inches to centimeters (multiply by 2.54). 

For men:

(10 x your weight in kg) + (6.25 x your height in cm) – (5 x age in years) + 5

For women:

(10 x your weight in kg) + (6.25 x your height in cm) – (5 x age in years) – 161

Let’s plug in some numbers using me as an example. I’m a male, 205 pounds (93kg), 6’2” tall (188 cm), and 45 years old. 

Using the men’s equation, I find…

(10 × 93) + (6.25 × 188) – (5 × 45) + 5

930 + 1173 – 225 + 5 = 1,880

My resting metabolic rate is about 1,880 calories. (Note that it’s OK to round this number off.)

Step 2: Factor In Your Activity

We obviously don’t lie in bed all day (although some days it’d be nice), so we need to factor in how many calories our activities burn. 

If you work out or play sports 1–3 times a week, you perform what’s known as light activity, and you will multiply your RMR number by 1.375.

If you exercise or play 3–5 times a week, you’re moderately active. Multiply by 1.55.

If you train or are active 6–7 days a week, you’re in the “very active” camp. Multiply by 1.725. 

Finally, if you’re crushing it nearly every day AND have a physically demanding job as well, multiply by 1.9.

I lift weights for a total of about two hours every week, and I play tennis up to five hours per week, but my job has me mostly in front of a computer all day, so my activity level is probably only in the moderate range. Therefore, I’ll multiply my 1880 RMR by 1.55. That gives me 2900 (again, rounded), which is the number of calories I need to eat to maintain my weight.

Step 3: Calculate Your Calorie Needs

If you want to MAINTAIN your current bodyweight, aim to eat whatever number of calories you calculated from your RMR x activity factor daily. 

If you want to LOSE weight, start by subtracting 500 from that number. If you want to GAIN weight, add 500.

Step 4: Calculate Your Macros

Once you have your daily calories figured out according to your goal, you can break them down into macronutrients. This not only makes your calories easier to count, it lets you know exactly how much of each type of food you need to consume. You see, you have to take in a certain number of calories to gain or lose weight, but the breakdown of protein, carbs, and fat determines your body composition—i.e., how much of the weight you lose or gain is fat versus muscle. Some muscle loss is inevitable when you’re dieting, and when you’re bulking up, you’re bound to gain some fat too, but the right combination of macros will put the odds in your favor, letting you keep more of the tissue you want while you shed or maintain the kind you don’t.

Protein

Protein supports muscle growth and maintenance as well as satiety (feeling less hungry between meals), so it’s the most import macro. Every meal you eat should feature it, and when and if you snack, you should choose foods that offer primarily protein as well. Aim to eat about 1 gram of protein per pound of your bodyweight each day. You can get by with a little less, and a little more won’t hurt either.

Note that if you’re very overweight, eating your bodyweight in grams of protein is probably impractical and not ideal. In this case, eat one gram per pound of the bodyweight you’re shooting for. In other words, a 300-pound person who remembers looking and feeling their best at 200 pounds will eat 200 grams of protein daily.

Another way to look at it is to have 25–35% of your calories come from protein. Each gram of protein contains 4 calories, so if I’m following a 2400-calorie diet to lose weight (2900–500=2400), I should eat 600–840 calories from protein-rich foods. That equals 150–210g protein. (Again, for simplicity’s sake, I’m happy with eating one gram per pound, which for me is 205g… but since 200 is a round number and easier to remember, I’ll just go with that. I also think it’s a good idea to aim toward the higher end of the protein spectrum when you’re dieting to ensure that you preserve as much muscle as possible.)

Most of your protein should come from the purest sources available, which are animal foods. Chicken, lean beef, fish and other seafood, eggs, yogurt, and cottage cheese are some of the best protein sources, but protein powder supplements are OK too for convenience. Most animal foods will contain some fat as well, so to keep things simple and prevent the fats from adding up too fast, choose the leanest cuts of meat most of the time. Sirloin steak, for instance, has a better protein-to-fat ratio than ground beef. That said, count the fat grams in your protein foods whenever possible.

Tip: If you like to snack on cheese, or use it to garnish your dishes, Parmigiano Reggiano is a smart choice. It has the highest amount of protein, gram for gram, of any cheese—and even more than chicken, beef, or fish. We’re talking 10 grams of protein in a one-ounce serving!

Of course, if you’re a vegetarian/vegan or plant-based eater, you’ll need to get your protein through non-animal sources. Combining foods such as beans and rice, nut butter and bread, etc., can provide the protein you need, but beware of how many carbs and fats you’re taking in as well. Supplementing with a plant-based protein powder may be necessary to make sure you hit your protein goals without overstepping your carb and fat allowances.

Fat

Unfairly maligned for weak associations with heart disease and other health ailments for years, dietary fat is now recognized as an important nutrient for hormone production and overall health, but it still packs a lot of calories—nine per gram, which is more than twice what a gram of carbs or protein provides. That means that while we need fat in the diet, we don’t want to go overboard because the calories will add up too fast. That’s a concern even if your goal is to gain weight. Calories that your body doesn’t convert to muscle will be stored as fat.

I recommend you aim for 0.5 grams of fat per pound of your bodyweight to start. As with protein, if you’re very heavy, you’ll be better off calculating this based on your goal bodyweight. Using myself as an example, I would eat about 100g of fat per day at a bodyweight of 205. At 900 calories, that’s a little under 40% of the total I’m allowed.

Most of your fat intake for the day should come by way of your protein foods, as there will always be at least a few grams in chicken, beef, salmon, etc. Nuts and seeds, olives and olive oil, fish oil supplements, and avocado can make up the difference. You may also prepare foods with cooking oils, but be careful about your serving sizes, as they can add a lot of fat without your hardly noticing.

Carbohydrates

Now that you have your protein and fat numbers figured out, you can simply subtract them from your total number of calories to find the carbs you need. My 100g fat allowance is 900 calories, and my 200g of protein equals 800 calories, so that leaves me with 700 calories for carbs. Since carbs contain four calories per gram, that gives me 175g carbs to eat. This is a little under 30% of my calorie total.

Here’s your list of carb-rich foods: grains (bread, cereal, pasta, rice), legumes (beans and peas), tubers (potatoes, sweet potatoes, other root vegetables like squash and carrots), fruit, and green vegetables. Be sure to count the carbs in your starchy foods and fruits toward your carb total, but the green vegetables are so low in calories that you can eat as many as you want (of course, count any dressings or sauces that you add to them!). Realize that there are also some carbs in dairy foods (milk, yogurt), so try to keep track of those as well.

How Do I Track Macros?

Now that you know how much of each type of food to eat, you’ll have to get comfortable with reading food labels so you can add your macros up properly. A food scale to measure your portions is a good idea too. This may seem like a nuisance at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll memorize how many proteins, carbs, and fats are in your favorite meals and you won’t have to obsess over them.

You can estimate your macros to some degree by using the hand-portioning trick I discuss in the fat loss guides. This will allow you to eyeball your portions with some accuracy when you eat out, or otherwise can’t control the exact ingredients and amounts you’re served. But to stay as close to your macro numbers as possible, I recommend you read labels and keep a tally throughout the day. Apps such as My Fitness Pal can be helpful for recording your numbers, as well as telling you how much of this or that nutrient is in your meal.

Try to include at least one food from each of the protein, fat, and carb food lists above in your meal plan each day. Focus on eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, and the vitamins and minerals you need to look and feel great will take care of themselves.

Adjusting Your Numbers

The calories and macros you calculate here just give you a starting point. They should send you in the right direction on your cutting or bulking program, but you’ll have to keep an eye on them. Make sure you record your numbers daily, and take note of any days you exceed your allowances or fall short. If you’re totally compliant for two weeks and haven’t lost a pound yet, cut 300 or so calories from your carb and/or fat numbers (never protein) and see if that makes a difference. If you’re trying to bulk up and haven’t gained a pound after two weeks, add 300 or so more calories, pumping up your carb and/or fat quotas as you see fit.

In either case, slow and steady is the best progress. If you’re losing several pounds per week (when cutting) or gaining more than one (while bulking) you’re dieting too hard or eating too much, respectively, and that means you risk losing muscle/gaining fat. You may lose a few pounds in your first few weeks of a diet as your body sheds excess water weight, but you don’t want to see the scale go down by five pounds or so on a regular basis. 

However, don’t go by the scale alone. Take measurements and progress photos of your physique so you know the weight is coming off or going on in the right places. Monitor your progress in the gym and make sure you’re still getting stronger and have energy enough to fuel your workouts. You have to experiment, be patient, and pay attention to how your body looks and feels.

For recipes that make healthy meals, see the following:

Healthy Pork Recipes

Gluten-Free and Nut-Free Snacks That Taste Great

3 Killer High-Protein Lunch Ideas

3 Healthy and Easy Rice Recipes for Weight Loss

BBQ Recipes

The post How To Set Up Your Diet for Fat Loss or Muscle Gain appeared first on Onnit Academy.

October 10^th marks the 30^th anniversary of World Mental Health Day, a date established by the World Federation for Mental Health—a partner of the World Health Organization (WHO)—to create awareness around mental health issues and promote self-care. This year’s theme is making mental health and well-being a global priority for all. As a health and wellness brand with a worldwide reach, Onnit is proud to recognize World Mental Health Day, and, in honor of the event, offer some education on mental health challenges and ways to manage them. Read on to see why mental health is so important, and what you can do to help yourself and others—no matter what life throws at you next.

What Is Mental Health?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mental health encompasses one’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being, affecting thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It determines how you handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Your mental health is closely linked to your physical health. Depression, for example, is known to increase the risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. By the same token, physical conditions can increase the risk of mental illness. 

With that said, it’s important to understand that poor mental health and mental illness are not synonymous terms. Mental illnesses are specific conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, or behavior—such as depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A person can experience poor mental health and not be diagnosed with a mental illness, and one who is mentally ill can still have bouts of physical, mental, and social well being.

“Many people who have just broken up with a boyfriend or girlfriend will meet the criteria for major depression,” said Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, a mental health expert and the McNeil Family Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School (in an article for Brigham Health Magazine). “Does it mean they need psychotherapy? No. Would psychotherapy help? Maybe.” The point Kessler makes is that while some people develop severe conditions, we all suffer poor mental health and some point.

The CDC reports that poor mental health can result whenever demands placed on a person exceed their resources and coping abilities. This can come from working long hours, caring for others, financial challenges, and many other common problems. If poor mental health isn’t addressed, it can potentially lead to diagnosable mental illness. Abuse and trauma in early life, battling chronic medical conditions, chemical imbalances in the brain, drug and alcohol use, and feelings of loneliness and isolation can all contribute to the risk for mental illness.

Is Mental Illness Common?

For decades, mental illnesses carried a stigma. They often weren’t reported or diagnosed. But health authorities are beginning to compile some powerful statistics, showing that they’re not only common but also a clear and present danger to overall health and wellness.

Look at these numbers:

– More than 50% of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime, and 1 in 5 will experience a mental illness in a given year

– 1 in 25 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, which may include bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

– People with depression have a 40% higher risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases

– 32.1% of U.S. adults with mental illness also experienced a substance use disorder in 2020 

– Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity annually 

“The most commonly-diagnosed mental illnesses are anxiety disorders, which affect around 19% of adults,” says Darrick Nicholas, Director of Communications and Engagement for Integral Care, an Austin-based mental health community center and support service. Depressive disorders and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are also widespread. “These statistics are not mutually exclusive,” says Nicholas, “since people may be diagnosed with multiple conditions.”

How To Tell If You (or Someone You Care About) Is Suffering

Nicholas says you can begin to identify mental health problems by paying attention to the following signs.

– Thoughts of suicide or other self-harming behaviors

– Feelings of sadness that last several weeks

– Loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable

– Intrusive thoughts that cause distress

– Excessive worry or fear, or persistent feelings of extreme guilt

– Social withdrawal

– Extreme mood changes

– Confusion or inability to concentrate

– Developing strong beliefs, or seeing and hearing things that others do not experience or believe.

If you or a loved one experience any of the above, consider looking for mental health treatment. “In general, there is not a wrong first place to ask for help,” says Nicholas, “since a trained mental health professional can help determine what the most effective type of treatment may be. Though some types of symptoms may require medical treatment from a psychiatrist, such as persistent depression, thought disorder—including paranoid thinking and delusional belief systems—and major mood swings, many symptoms may respond to therapy.”

Ways To Care For Your Mental Health

While the stats around mental illness are daunting, there are many ways one can care for one’s self that are practical, easy to implement, and may go a long way toward managing any current problems you have, as well as warding off future illness.

The National Institute of Mental Health recommends the following:

Exercise

It’s one of the healthiest things you can possibly do in a day. Apart from the muscular, cardiovascular, and weight-management benefits you already know about, exercise has been shown to have positive impacts on the brain again and again. An article in the Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry explains that several forms of exercise—including favorites like jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, dancing, and even gardening—have been proven to reduce anxiety and depression. (Scientists think it’s because they boost circulation to the brain and influence the adrenal system, thereby promoting our ability to manage stress. It’s also been proposed that exercise serves as a distraction from our problems, and that the social component that often accompanies working out plays a role too.)

The piece goes on to say that exercise has also been shown to improve self-esteem and cognitive function. Fortunately, the authors note, a little movement goes a long way. “Thirty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking for three days a week, is sufficient for these health benefits. Moreover, these 30 minutes need not to be continuous; three 10-minute walks are believed to be as equally useful as one 30-minute walk.”

Eat Healthy

While many people think of caffeine and alcohol as ways to feel energized or relaxed, they can have the opposite effect—especially if over-consumed. A 2021 review explains that both chemicals, along with artificial sweeteners, can promote feelings of anxiety. Meanwhile, research in Nutrients showed that college students who added fruits and vegetables to their diets saw improved mental health and well being.

Interestingly, a review in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry noted that “Many of the easily noticeable food patterns that precede depression are the same as those that occur during depression. These may include poor appetite, skipping meals, and a dominant desire for sweet foods.” The authors continue that depressed people “make poor food choices, selecting foods that might actually contribute to depression.”

Sleep

Have one sleepless night and you’re bound to feel lousy the next day. But if you sleep badly on the regular your whole life could suffer—and that’s not an exaggeration. A review in Psychological Bulletin explains that sleep helps to regulate emotions and stabilize mood, so a lack of shuteye can actually amplify negative emotions while simultaneously blunting the positive feelings associated with rewarding experiences. In other words, if you don’t sleep well, you’ll never fully enjoy life!

The Sleep Foundation recommends setting habits that help establish consistent, restful sleep. These include maintaining a regular bedtime, dimming the lights and avoiding electronics in the evening, and maximizing natural light exposure during the day (i.e., get outside in the sun).

Relax

Sometimes you just gotta chill, and there are plenty of science-backed ways to do it that don’t involve Netflix. The National Institutes of Health suggest several relaxation techniques, including progressive muscle relaxation (tensing different muscles in the body and then releasing the tension to induce greater relaxation); visualization (picturing images that relax you); self-hypnosis; and breathing exercises.

One review found that diaphragmatic breathing helped to lower stress, as shown by both subjects’ self-reported feedback and physiological markers. 

Get Organized

Getting your sh*t together—even in the simplest ways—can really put your mind at ease. The National Institutes of Health recommend organizing your daily tasks and setting priorities (hint: try “to-do” lists). Get comfortable with saying no to requests or favors that you don’t have time for and that make you feel overwhelmed. You should also spend the end of the day focusing on what you have accomplished, rather than dwelling on what may be unfinished. 

Practice Gratitude

Just as you shouldn’t think about what tasks remain undone, you shouldn’t brood over what you don’t have. In fact, doing just the opposite—showing gratitude for all the good things in your life—is enormously uplifting. Research collected by UC Berkeley indicates that gratitude practice improves mood, self-esteem, relationships, and can even ward off depression and suicidal thoughts.

Keep a journal where you list all the things you’re grateful for each day, and make a point of telling the people you care about that you appreciate them. Make time to talk with friends about what you’re both happy with in your lives.

Stay Connected

“I am a rock; I am an iiiiisland” may make for good song lyrics, but it’s not healthy for the mind or the body. Research cited in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine shows that maintaining social relationships doesn’t just give you plans on Saturday nights—it helps you stay alive.

The authors write, “It is evident that social connection has substantial impacts in many categories of health, from weight management, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression. Some psychiatrists go so far as comparing social connection to vitamins: ‘just as we need vitamin C each day, we also need a dose of the human moment—positive contact with other people.’” They go on to argue that social connection should be considered as vital to human survival as the obvious essentials like food, water, vitamins, and minerals. 

The researchers recommend socializing with friends and family on a daily basis—or at least one per week. (Note: they specify that these should be people you actually like and feel connected to: not your creepy uncle or the neighbor who steals your morning paper.) You can connect face-to-face, or via phone or Skype/Facetime. 

For more help supporting mental health, check out Integral Care’s Mental Health Toolkit, co-created with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The kit contains guides on self-care and gratitude practices, mental health podcasts to listen to, and more. See also their resources page and helpine. 

And on October 10th, use social media to show us how you stay balanced. Post about how you’re changing your diet, adjusting your sleep routine, going to therapy, taking a walk, etc. See our Instagram giveaway on World Mental Health Day for more.

The post 7 Ways To Support Mental Health When Life Gets Overwhelming appeared first on Onnit Academy.

A shrub with yellow flowers that grows in India and parts of Africa, ashwagandha has been used in traditional medicine for generations, and modern science is starting to confirm its potential, from helping to manage stress and promoting cognitive function to supporting testosterone levels and muscle strength.

Here’s what we know about ashwagandha and how it might support your health goals.

What Is Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha is an herb that has many aliases. Depending on which part of the world you’re in when speaking about it, it can alternatively be known as Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry (although it’s by no means a poison), winter cherry, and, it’s technical name, Withania somnifera. The name ashwagandha is Sanskrit for “like a horse,” which refers to its strong smell in nature, as well as its strength-promoting potential. (Again, don’t worry about what the name may imply—modern ashwagandha supplements have no smell, and they won’t leave your pantry reeking like a barn.)

Ashwagandha is an adaptogen, meaning that it’s been recognized for its ability to help the body handle stress. While the exact mechanism ashwagandha works by isn’t clear, research indicates that it may affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Yeah… let’s back up a minute.

The hypothalamus is the region of the brain that controls body temperature, thirst, hunger, and other functions that help maintain homeostasis—the body’s status quo condition. It’s also involved in regulating sleep and even your emotional responses. The pituitary is a gland that sits underneath the brain and produces hormones. It, in turn, affects the production of cortisol, a hormone that’s released from the adrenal glands in response to stress, as well as when blood sugar levels are low.

Collectively, these structures are referred to as the HPA axis, and they control your body’s physical reaction to a range of stressful conditions. Scientists believe that ashwagandha may positively influence the HPA axis to help moderate the body’s stress response, thereby easing the burden on your system and allowing it to run more efficiently in a number of ways.

Benefits of Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha may offer a diverse range of benefits, from helping with mental stress and cognition to physical performance in the gym.

Stress Support

A 2019 study found that ashwagandha supplementation helped lower cortisol levels in men and women, as well as support better sleep quality. Another trial on stressed but otherwise healthy adults found that greater dosages of ashwagandha yielded better responses, as subjects who took the most ashwagandha had the highest reduction in cortisol levels—30% on average. They also reported the greatest improvements in feelings of well-being.

Adding further support to the notion that lower cortisol may correlate with better feelings, an Indian study found that ashwagandha use not only promoted resistance to stress but also self-assessed improvements in quality of life.

Brain Health

Ashwagandha may help you feel more on your game at work. A study in Pharmacognosy Research found that healthy men who took the herb performed better on cognitive and psychomotor tests.

If you’re older and concerned about having “senior moments,” ashwagandha could help you stay sharp. A 2017 trial on older adults with mild cognitive impairments showed that, after eight weeks, the subjects’ memories improved to the point where they could better recognize faces in family pictures. Their ability to process information, juggle tasks, and keep their attention on a particular task was also greater. 

Muscle and Endurance

If you’re trying to change your body, you already know about whey protein and creatine, but you may want to start adding ashwagandha to your gym bag when you read this…

A study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition had men ages 18–50 take ashwagandha for eight weeks to supplement their weight-training. Their bench-press and leg extension maxes shot up while they gained muscle in the chest and arms. At the same time, body fat levels dropped—more than twice what the placebo group lost—and testosterone went up.

Another study from a few years earlier had similar findings, with ashwagandha aiding strength gains while body fat went down. Total and LDL cholesterol levels also dropped.

Ashwagandha doesn’t seem to just help muscleheads either. If you’re into endurance training, you’ll be interested to know that a 2020 review of nine different ashwagandha studies published in Nutrients found that the supplement supported gains in VO2 max among athletes and non-athletes alike. Similarly, the International Journal of Ayurveda Research reported that ashwagandha aided velocity, power, and VO2 max in young men and women.

Lastly, research published in Ayu concluded that ashwagandha promotes cardiorespiratory endurance in addition to quality of life in athletes—as measured by a questionnaire that assessed the subjects’ physical and psychological health, as well as their social relationships.

What’s An Ideal Dosage To Take?

Studies have shown a range of effective dosages for ashwagandha supplementation, and the amount varies based on the reason for taking it, but research indicates that as much as 1,250 milligrams are safe to consume. Nevertheless, ashwagandha can cause digestive trouble, diarrhea, and nausea in extreme amounts, or among those with sensitive stomachs, so ask your doctor before adding it to your regimen—especially if you’re on any medications at the same time.

The post Benefits of Ashwagandha: Is It Right For Me? appeared first on Onnit Academy.

In this digital, everything-is-online age, interacting with electronics’ screens is an unavoidable part of life. Actually, one could argue that it’s becoming our life. A 2020 survey polling 2,000 US adults on their digital device usage found that we spend nearly five hours in front of computer screens, four and a half on smartphones, another four and a half watching TV, and well over three hours playing gaming devices daily. That’s more than 17 hours total every day—and this was before the pandemic. (If you’re curious, the amount of time has since increased by about two more hours.) 

All that time in front of screens saps our eye strength, and, for those of us whose jobs require sitting at a computer for extended periods, limits the work we can get done. While cutting down on our overall digital usage is certainly a healthy move, the fact remains that most of us have to spend a substantial amount of time in front of screens to be productive.

Two plant compounds—lutein and zeaxanthin—may be able to help protect your eyes from the strain and fatigue associated with looking at screens, supporting eye health while also helping you to keep focus on tasks and complete them more effectively.

What Are Lutein and Zeaxanthin?

Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids—the pigments responsible for the color in certain fruits and vegetables. Lutein is found in dark, leafy greens, while zeaxanthin can be sourced from beans, corn, and oranges, as well as greens. Both carotenoids help protect the body from cellular damage caused by oxidative stress, specifically in the eyeballs.

Exposure to light and oxygen produces free radicals in the eyes, and lutein and zeaxanthin step in to mitigate the damage. They’re known to help scavenge free radicals as well as aid in filtering out blue light—the kind emitted from electronic devices that can damage the eyes, disrupt sleep patterns, and negatively affect cognitive performance. In fact, lutein and zeaxanthin can absorb up to 90% of the blue light that enters the eyes.

While the two compounds are structurally very similar, research in the Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics indicates that lutein and zeaxanthin are most effective when taken in combination. A mix of the two outperforms either carotenoid when consumed in the same dose separately.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin for Visual and Cognitive Performance

Lutein and zeaxanthin are notable carotenoids due to the fact that they’re the only ones that get stored in the macula region of the retina—in the back of the eyeball. This area is crucial for good vision, and science has shown that a breakdown in lutein and zeaxanthin over time (due to age and a poor diet) can hurt eyesight.

Fortunately, research indicates that lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation promotes levels of the two carotenoids in the retina, thereby supporting eye health.

General eye and vision problems resulting from prolonged use of digital devices is called Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Symptoms can include eyestrain, headache, blurred vision, eye dryness, and neck and shoulder pain. Supplementation with lutein and zeaxanthin may play a role in combating CVS. 

A 2017 study in the journal Foods had 48 healthy young adults supplement with lutein and zeaxanthin for six months while they were exposed to at least six hours of blue light from digital devices daily. The researchers found that the blue-light filters in the subjects’ eyes increased in thickness over that time while their overall sleep quality improved. The supplementation also seemed to assist with headaches, eye strain and fatigue, and visual performance.

Other research in the British Journal of Nutrition concluded that lutein supported visual performance in long-term computer users. Meanwhile, a study in Opthalmic & Physiological Optics demonstrated that supplementation with either lutein or zeaxanthin aided visual performance in dim light conditions.

And good news for writers and editors: Applied Ergonomics reports that a lutein/zeaxanthin supplement (with added blackcurrant extract) helped subjects resist visual fatigue on proof-reading tasks.

Lutein and zeaxanthin have been connected to sharper thinking too. A 2019 study found that the carotenoid combination helped older adults with cognitive functions, while a 2017 trial showed that they promoted cognitive function and attention in older people, and memory in men specifically.

Who Can Benefit From Lutein and Zeaxanthin Supplements?

As indicated by the aforementioned research, people who work long hours in front of a computer, use digital devices frequently, or who work at night in dim lighting may be able to perform more effectively by adding lutein and zeaxanthin supplements to their diets.

Furthermore, those who don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables (the best sources of carotenoids) may benefit. There is currently no RDA for carotenoids, but recommendations by several health authorities to consume a variety of fruits and vegetables daily have been made, in part, to increase carotenoid intake. (Research shows up to 20mg of lutein per day can be taken safely.) It’s worth noting that carotenoids are fat-soluble, so cooking vegetables in oil, for example, can increase the absorption of these compounds.

As eye health naturally declines with age, older people may get support from lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation (especially as eye health relates to cognitive performance). And, since smoking is a source of oxidative stress, smokers may need more lutein and zeaxanthin; they tend to have lower levels of carotenoids than non-smokers.

The post Lutein and Zeaxanthin for Eye Health and Performance appeared first on Onnit Academy.

“I went through depression at the start of the pandemic,” says Crocker. “I’m a very social person. I liked going to the gym mainly because of the social aspect. My friends were there, and we’d work out and get healthy together. So when my gym closed, I lost that. I wasn’t working out, and I started eating more.”

Luckily, Crocker’s trainer, Justin Penny, had an alternative. An Onnit-certified coach, Penny pointed Crocker in the direction of the Onnit Tribe, a private Facebook group of Onnit fans. The Tribe serves as a support network for people working on their fitness and life goals. Members post messages, photos, and video to encourage one another and to share advice. They also enjoy entertaining each other, showing their senses of humor and socializing—and from that, a brother/sisterhood develops organically.

The Tribe plays a major role for people following Onnit 6 programs—Onnit’s streamable six-week workout plans—and the Onnit 6 Challenges—transformation contests where participants follow an Onnit 6 workout program and try to set healthy habits for life.

One year after joining, and four Onnit 6 Challenges later, Crocker says he’s filled the void the pandemic opened in his life, and then some, thanks to the Onnit Tribe. In this interview, Crocker shares how he’s won friends, gained confidence, and lost three T-shirt sizes along the way—and why he’s now paying it all forward to his fellow Tribe members.

Onnit: When did you join the Onnit Tribe?

Mitchell Crocker: April 2020. When I signed up, it was the day before one of the Onnit 6 Challenges started, so I decided to do it.

What was your first Onnit 6 Challenge workout like?

It kicked my butt squarely, but I had so much fun. I’m the type of person where, if I go to the gym, I don’t just like to freestyle by myself; I like someone to guide me in my workout. With Onnit 6, I had somebody to guide me, and you build a relationship with these people that you’re working out with in the video, like Coach John Wolf. You feel connected to them, and then in the Tribe, you actually get to interact with them.

How do the workouts feel now? Different than one year ago?

Yes, because I put more intensity into them now. I’ve had to alter some of the workouts because of my size, but as my flexibility and mobility have improved, I’ve actually been able to rotate between all three levels of difficulty [editor’s note: Onnit 6 workouts offer different exercise variations based on difficulty, and users choose the move that’s appropriate for their level]. I started with the Onnit 6 Bodyweight workout on Level 1. I did very little Level 3 exercises on the Bodyweight program the first time around, but then I was able to do the harder variations more often as the weeks went along.

How many Onnit 6 Challenges have you done so far?

I’ve completed all six Onnit 6 programs and all four Challenges in the past year. I started April 27th of last year and I’ve taken advantage of every program offered since then.

Congratulations! Which Onnit 6 workout has been your favorite so far, and why?

Definitely Steel Mace. You just don’t realize how many things you can do with that tool. The next day, you really feel it in different muscles you’re not used to feeling. Steel Mace improves my mobility, and it’s just something I have fun using.

What makes the Steel Mace so fun to use?

I like to do things that take my mind off the exertion of working out and make the workout more enjoyable. My imagination runs wild when I’m doing exercises with the steel mace. When using that thing, your mind just goes to different places. I imagine myself as a warrior in a movie, or I’m fighting somebody with a medieval weapon [laughs].

What results have you seen from the Onnit 6 workouts?

I hate running, but now I can run a whole lap around the track. I can do a bunch of laps, running every other one, and I can maintain that for a longer period of time. So, my stamina is up, and I can lift heavier weights, too. Even my flexibility is better now, thanks to the yoga workouts in Onnit 6. I would have never done yoga before Onnit 6, but now I realize the benefits of it.

Outside the gym, my energy levels have been boosted, and people see me as more confident. I’m chosen for different committees at work now. If there’s an idea in my head, I can say it now. I’m not afraid to express myself. All of this has come from physical fitness.

I also have people coming to me asking for tips on fitness. At first, I was like, “Why are you asking ME about fitness? I’m not an expert on that.” [Laughs] But they’ve seen my progress. It’s a humbling experience. Man, I feel good.

Have you lost weight?

I have, yes. I don’t know how much, because I stopped weighing myself a while ago. I first started my fitness journey in 2016, and over the course of the following year, I lost over 100 pounds. But then my arrogance and fear got in the way, and I started gaining it back.

I say arrogance in that I felt like I deserved a reward for eating well and working out, so I would reward myself with unhealthy food. And fear because I had a fear of success. I had a habit of being brave during the hard parts, doing the workouts, but being afraid of the changes.

So now I don’t focus on weight loss; I just try to do better than I did yesterday. That’s my mentality. It’s like going to work every day of the week, or going to church on Sunday. Working out is just part of my daily routine.

I know I’ve lost weight, though, because now I’m able to wear XXL shirts. I used to be 4XL or 5XL, so that’s been one of the biggest rewards. I haven’t worn XXL since high school! [Laughs] I’m certainly on to something, and it feels really good to put on a XXL shirt like it’s nothing.

How has your eating changed since joining the Tribe?

My diet has changed tremendously. I used to eat fast food now and then, but I’ve cut fast food out altogether. Macaroni and cheese was my favorite dish before, and corn bread, but I don’t eat those kinds of things much anymore.

I use an air fryer a lot to cook my food now, and I make sure I have vegetables in my meals. I love kale and beets, and I’m grilling more, too. I have cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. I eat a lot less salt. I also try to eat fresh food instead of processed food. I don’t buy canned food. I love a good steak, and I like seafood, so I eat shrimp and tuna steaks.

Why do you think you’re seeing such great results? As much as we believe in our training and nutrition philosophies, there are a lot of people out there that know how to train hard and eat right but they don’t see the same progress. What’s been the difference-maker for you?

It’s all about the Onnit Tribe. I got in the habit of posting quick videos as a way to check in with people and say that I trained. I’d talk about the workout and how hard it was, but that I got through it, and you can too. People started looking forward to my videos. They expected them.

After the last Challenge, I went silent on the Tribe for a week or two, and I got posts tagging me and saying, “Where’s Mitch’s video today?” I didn’t know the videos touched people so much! I replied, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you all were waiting on me. I feel like I let you down.” I started posting again.

I was still working out, but when I felt like the Tribe cared about me and wanted to hear from me, the workouts became that much more important. I’ve come to look forward to shooting videos after the completion of a workout more than the workout itself, and that’s what keeps me motivated now. It’s not the workout… it’s the video that I post in the Tribe after the workout that keeps me accountable. I get through the workout by thinking about what I’m going to shoot in the video afterward.

It’s a pay-it-forward thing. You never know what people are going through. I’ve come to realize that I can’t just be silent, because people are using these videos to stay on track and stay positive.

People reach out to me and say, “Your videos helped me through a difficult situation… I look forward to seeing your smile,” or, “your enthusiasm,” or, “your effort,” and it just drives me. I never would have thought they would touch people like that. It’s heartwarming that I can help people get through life situations just with a video. So I do it for the people. Onnit Tribe has been a lifesaver for me, so I’m going to be there for Onnit Tribe.

How do you approach making the videos?

When making a video, I try to do something comical, because laughter is the best medicine sometimes. When people are laughing, they’re not thinking about their own problems or being discouraged about their workout not going well, or the fact that they missed the workout. So I open up with a big, friendly, “What’s up Onnit Triiiibe, baby!?” When I do those videos, people thank me, saying, “You inspired me.”

And it’s reciprocal. I look forward to their posts, and we’ve formed friendships. They need me the same way I need them.

Gyms have opened back up again, but I don’t feel the need to go back. I have a well-equipped gym at home now, thanks to Onnit. I have a steel mace, kettlebells, and now, instead of having people to support me in person like I had in my old gym, I have the Onnit Tribe online.

Are you saying that the relationships you’ve built with people in a Facebook group—mostly folks you’ve never even met face to face—are as strong as relationships you had with people in person?

Yes. I didn’t know you could build such strong relationships and bonds with people online. That’s something new to me. But the Tribe is a place where you’re loved and supported, and that’s very unique for an online space. Putting something online… that’s the scariest thing you can do. But in the Onnit Tribe, people pour their hearts out. They feel free, and that’s a big confidence-booster. They may be depressed or feel discouraged, but I’ve seen the Onnit Tribe change lives. It saved my life. Especially this past year, it’s been a big part of my growth. 

Visit the Onnit Tribe Facebook page. It’s free to join anytime. And if you’re looking for a workout system that will change your body and your life, try Onnit 6.

The post “The Onnit Tribe Has Been a Lifesaver For Me”: Q&A with Mitchell Crocker appeared first on Onnit Academy.

When Freddy Lopez, 47, of Bastrop, TX, took on the Onnit 6 Challenge—a six-week fitness and lifestyle transformation program—he expected only to get back in shape. Nearly a year later, he’s a part of a broad but tight-knit community that’s changing lives. As a member of the Onnit Tribe, a private Facebook group of Onnit fans, Lopez has found the moral support he needed to drop more than 20 pounds, reclaim his health, and be the best family man he can. We asked him to tell you his fitness journey in his own words.

Onnit: You were an active, in-shape guy as a younger man. Tell us about being a movie stuntman.

Lopez: I used to teach at a martial arts academy, and a friend that taught with me did stunt work for movies. When they shot The Alamo [2004, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Quaid] in Austin, he got me work doing stunts. We played Mexican soldiers in the Alamo battle scene. To this day, I have a T-shirt that the crew gave us that says, “I got blown up, stabbed, and shot, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.” [Laughs]

In the scene, I had to jump back from an explosion. I knew how to land safely, but the crew moves things around on the set for every take. Well, somebody moved a crate right behind me and I didn’t know it. I fell on it on my right side, and the way my body folded over that crate, I looked like an accordion. I had a couple of slipped discs, and my hips shifted to one side while my upper body shifted to the other side. I went through physical therapy, but ever since then, if I didn’t consistently do certain core exercises, my back started to shift and it would hurt again.

Did that injury make you stop martial arts?

No. I still taught martial arts from 2004 to 2008. Then the recession hit, and everything went to crap. I lost my house, and my business took a hit. I had to decide whether to continue my dream of teaching martial arts or going back to the remodeling work I had done before. My family’s wellbeing is the most important thing to me, so I went into the remodeling business. Since then, I’ve been working like crazy. When Covid hit, the jobs were fewer, so I had to work extra hard. That’s when my health really started to suffer.

What were you eating?

A lot of drive-thru. My schedule was terrible. I was working 60 hours or more a week. I’d get home around 11:00 p.m., veg in front of the TV for an hour, and be up at 6:00 the next morning. So I was getting Whataburger on my way home from work—a double burger and a large soda was a typical order.

I’ve always loved Coke. I would drink two cans of soda with breakfast, two or three at lunch, and then a two-liter bottle with dinner. A lot of sugar and caffeine. By summer 2020, my weight was up to 247 pounds.

How did you find Onnit?

I was on Facebook [in April 2020] and saw an ad for the Onnit 6 Kettlebell Challenge. I wanted to get back in shape, so I got the program and started doing it, but I fizzled out after a few weeks. I didn’t really understand what the Onnit Tribe was all about, so I didn’t participate in it. [Editor’s note: Onnit 6 Challenge participants are encouraged to join the Tribe for support and group interaction.] I didn’t want to post anything in there because I didn’t feel that I looked the part. I didn’t want to show everybody that I was out of shape.

The turning point for me came last summer. My wife, my daughter, her family, and I get together and go out every night between 7:30 and 8:00. We either walk or jog, or ride bikes together. We call them Moonwalks. So we were out on a Moonwalk and I was running with my grandkids, and they’re little. It wasn’t long before my knees were hurting and I was out of breath. I thought, “These kids are under five years old. What’s going to happen when they get bigger and I’m even older? How am I going to keep up with them?”

That’s when I went back to Onnit and the Tribe. I said to my wife, Tonie, “We both want to get back in shape, and these Challenges seem to be working for these people who do them, and hey, we might win $6,000 for doing it, so let’s do it together.” [Editor’s note: Onnit 6 contestants are eligible to win a grand prize of $6,000 cash.] With her there to support me, and the Tribe, I knew I would be successful this time. So we did the Onnit 6 Bodyweight Challenge, which started over the summer. I thought it would be easier than the kettlebell one because I wouldn’t be lifting weights. Man, was I wrong! [Laughs]

How did the Bodyweight Challenge go?

In the middle of the very first workout, I had to stop, walk out of my house, and catch my breath. My wife asked if I was OK, and I was just so mad at myself that I had gotten so out of shape. But I went back in and finished it. The exercises in the program are scaled by difficulty. The Level 1 moves are easier and Levels 2 and 3 are tougher. We started with mostly Level 1 exercises, and now, whenever we do bodyweight training, we’re doing mostly Level 2’s and some Level 3’s.

The Onnit Challenges include yoga, and I have to say that it’s helped with my lower-back problem immensely.

How did your opinion of the Tribe change while you were doing this Challenge?

I realized that the Tribe is just people who want to get healthy. There are a lot of people in there who aren’t ripped—they’re normal people from all walks of life who have the goal of being better for themselves and their families.

Everybody was so positive, telling each other “you got this,” and encouraging them to stick with the workouts and healthy eating. At 47 years old, I’m pretty comfortable with who I am. I can sit around with anybody and not feel like a little kid at the big table. But when I’m on the Tribe Facebook page, there’s this junior high kid in me that comes out, and it’s like I’m trying to learn how to shoot a basketball again and this upper classman says to me, “Hey, you did pretty good.” That’s what it feels like when they tell me I’m doing well. I get so inspired by these people.

Let me put it this way, when I go on Facebook now, I always check the Onnit Tribe page to see what people are saying. Then, maybe, I’ll look at my own page [laughs]. But I always check the Tribe one.

Angi Sanders is the member who may have had the biggest impact on me. She made me realize that I can be exactly who I am and show that to other people. Once I spent some time on the Tribe page, I lost the mindset of “I need to get in shape” and switched it to “I need to get healthy.” Now I was ready to change my habits.

How did you change your diet, and make those changes stick?

I started with portion control and making some better food choices. I went to drive-thrus, but instead of getting the double-burger, I’d just get the regular one. Instead of soda, biscuits, and hashbrowns at breakfast, I’d get orange juice and oatmeal and eggs. It was hard in the beginning, so I’d tell myself that if I ate right today, I would let myself have the junky stuff tomorrow. But the more I saw and felt the benefits of eating better, the more often I wanted to make the right choices.

Getting off soda was the hardest. I tried to quit cold turkey, but I got horrible headaches—withdrawal from the caffeine. So I had to wean myself off. Instead of drinking two or three cans at breakfast, I’d drink one. Then I’d have just one or two cans at lunch. Less and less over time.

Today, I cook a lot more. I never knew how much I would enjoy prepping food. Now I can make veggie pizzas with a cauliflower crust that’s delicious. I’m done with drive-thrus, and I haven’t had a soda at all in the last three weeks. I don’t get headaches anymore. I really like drinks with flavor, and I’ve found that the Mio water-enhancers really help me to drink more water. They’re sugar-free.

I discovered the Dolce Diet, and I borrow a lot from that. Nowadays, I’ll wake up and drink 32 ounces of water right away. I’ll have oatmeal with blueberries, chia, almond butter, and cinnamon for breakfast. Later, I’ll have a protein shake with an orange. Lunch will be a salad with chicken breast, spinach, red bell pepper, orange pepper, and vinaigrette dressing—it’s delicious! For a snack, I might have slices of apple with almond butter and chia seeds. Dinner is a steak with veggies or a burger without the bun. I buy better quality meat now—usually organic. It’s more expensive than what I used to buy, but I understand that it’s an investment in my health.

How much weight did you lose doing the Onnit 6 Bodyweight Challenge?

I went from 247 to 225 in those six weeks. I loved the training so much, I’ve kept up with it since, and I’ve gone back to give the kettlebell challenge another try. I’m doing it now. These days, I don’t get as winded when I play with my grandkids and go on our Moonwalks. I don’t have to ask them to stop and wait for me. I’m either right there with them or even ahead of them!

Are you using any Onnit supplements?

There are three things I know I’m going to do for the rest of my life: 1) Love my family and take care of them. 2) Do yoga, because it makes my back feel better. And 3), take Total Human. I’m not going to say that it gave me boundless energy, but three days into taking those day and night packs, I felt the difference. My energy is steady throughout the day now.

I used to come home, take out the trash, do the dishes, and sit down. Now I have the energy to play with my grandkids instead. I do remodeling, so some days I have to move granite, or tear down a wall and build another one back up. It takes a lot out of you, and I feel pretty tired at the end of the day. But I’m not as weak or tired as I was before I started taking these supplements.

Are you working to change your schedule to get more time with your family?

Yes, I’m still trying to shift my work hours. I come from the mentality that as long as I work and my family is provided for, it doesn’t matter what I have to do. But I’ve realized that when you do that, you lose time with the people you care about. And the Onnit 6 Challenges and the Tribe help me take advantage of the time I do get with the ones I love. That’s why I don’t look at workouts or prepping food anymore as something “I have” to do. It’s not, “I have to do this.” It’s “I get to do this.” Because when I do it, it helps me stay able to keep up with my grandkids. I can keep up with my son who’s training for the Air Force. I can box and go to jiu-jitsu class with him. There’s a difference between being the grandfather that sits there and watches the kids play, and the one who can actually play with them.

What would you like people to know about the Onnit Tribe that only a member would know?

Sometimes, just to know that someone besides the people who love you cares about you makes a big difference in your life. The Onnit Tribe cares not just about me but my family. They genuinely care. I’ve shared problems that some of my family members have gone through, and the Tribe members have offered so much support. They pray for you, and they check in with you.

And I care about these people too, even though I’ve never even met them in person. I know Onnit is a business, and I have a business too, so I know they have to make money. But when I work on someone’s house, I care about the people who are living there. I believe that Onnit cares about me in the same way. Creating the Tribe was a great idea to bring in business, but it’s changing lives too.

*All photos courtesy of Freddy Lopez.

**Visit the Onnit Tribe Facebook page. It’s free to join anytime. And if you’re looking for a workout system that will change your body and your life, try Onnit 6.

The post “The Onnit Tribe Helped Me Be A Better Grandfather”: Q&A With Freddy Lopez appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Just completing the workouts would have been enough for most people, but Marcus managed to gain eight pounds over the course of six weeks, and won the whole contest. “Truthfully, [the training] was more therapeutic than it was challenging,” says the 33 year-old Denver man with a smile. “Exercise is the best medicine.”

You Never Think It Could Happen To You…

Marcus wasn’t the type to take life for granted. The CEO of his own startup media company, he was also a business coach, musician, yogi, outdoorsman, and, as his friends would tell you, the gracious host of many a pool party and backyard barbecue. “Until August 2019, I was in great shape,” he says. That’s when he was diagnosed with cancer.

It had started as stomach pain after dinner at a friend’s house, so, at first, Marcus suspected he had food poisoning. But the agony built throughout the night and into the next day until he was forced to go to the hospital. There, doctors examined him and discovered a growth in his chest. He was sent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for special treatment.

“It doesn’t serve me to think about why it happened,” says Marcus. “I ate my fruits and vegetables, and exercised regularly. Cancer just hit me out of nowhere. My mom was devastated. But she’s a doctor herself, and we knew that I had a good chance of beating it.”

While he hoped for the best, Marcus was enduring the worst. The cancer ulcerated his stomach, causing unbearable pain. With no appetite to eat, Marcus had to be force fed through a feeding tube, a procedure he says he “wouldn’t wish on anybody.” A little more than a month after being diagnosed, he had lost 30 pounds, his bodyweight dropping to a gaunt and ghostly 126.

“They don’t know why it became a digestive issue,” says Marcus, “but Hodgkin’s tends to be very inflammatory, and it shows itself in differing ways. They told me mine was one of the most unique cases the Mayo Clinic had ever seen.”

Nevertheless, the chemotherapy treatments were effective, and Marcus began to get better. By February 2020, the growth in his chest was no longer visible on a PET scan, and his condition stabilized. Able to eat on his own again, Marcus’ doctors encouraged him to take in as many calories as he could to help him put on weight, but he didn’t want to eat indiscriminately.

“I had been taking so many medications that I did not subscribe to ethically,” says Marcus. “It was hard to sit there and take chemo and listen to doctors say they just want to see me put weight back on and they don’t even care if it’s fat. As long as I got back up to 155 pounds, they didn’t care if I was drinking milkshakes all day. ‘Yeah,’ I thought, ‘If I do that, I might weigh 155 again, but I’d be in worse shape than I was when I was in the depths of the cancer.’ I didn’t want to trade cancer for being pre-diabetic! I thought, ‘I have to take this on myself.’”

Marcus was cleared to return to Denver that March, though he remained on a chemotherapy regimen. He hired a nutritionist, and researched diets that have shown promise with cancer patients, ultimately leaning toward a low-carb approach. “I started using lots of Onnit products to help with low-carb eating,” Marcus says. He found that MCT Oil added flavor to his coffee without adding sugar, and Krill Oil supplied healthy fats.

Marcus didn’t want to gain weight by food alone. He wanted to regain the muscle he’d had before he got sick, and that would require some form of strength training. The Covid-19 pandemic swept the country that month, closing gyms in its wake, but Marcus still had his backyard. “My roommate, Adam, who had been a huge support for me throughout my illness, found out about the Onnit 6 Challenge,” says Marcus. “He said, ‘Why don’t we do it together? It will make for a great story when we’re done.’”

Building Disciplines

The Onnit 6 (O6) Challenge is a six-week fitness transformation contest where the goal isn’t just a better body but a fuller life. Participants choose an Onnit 6 workout program—streamable video workouts led by Onnit trainers that can be done from home—and aim to establish healthy habits they can sustain long-term. Winners are the individuals (one male and one female) who demonstrate the greatest improvements physically, mentally, and spiritually. Grand prizes include free Onnit products, access to all O6 programs for life, and $6,000 in cash. The contests are held several times annually.

Marcus and his roommate signed up for the spring kettlebell Challenge, beginning in April 2020. Though he was still undergoing nauseating treatments, Marcus was determined to build himself back up, and he established a schedule that kept him focused. “Starting is always the hardest thing in any commitment,” he says, “so I built my own disciplines to stay on track with my recovery.”

Marcus got up every day at 7:30 a.m. to meditate. At 8, he and his roommate did their Onnit 6 training. Then he’d have coffee with MCT Oil, or eat a bone broth soup, and try to get some work done. Lunch was often a Cobb salad with eggs and avocado for extra fats, and dinner would be salmon with asparagus or grass-fed steak and broccoli. Along the way, Marcus kept a journal.

“You need healthy tools that let you express yourself and release the pressure valve, emotionally,” says Marcus. “We tend to relive negative emotions and events in our life, and we don’t pay attention to how that directly affects our current state. If you’re sitting there dwelling on bad news, you still have those negative chemicals running through your body. But writing in a journal really helps get them out. Seeing words form on the page helps you move forward. So, if I felt myself relapsing to a dark place and feeling negative, I could go back and read how I was the day I last felt that way and it would make me feel like that’s an emotion of the past now. Thinking about it that way, I don’t have to choose to stay in that negative moment. I can choose to be positive again.”

Gaining Muscle… On Chemo?!

Marcus downplays the rigors of performing his kettlebell workouts on chemo. Yes, he was often in pain, but he had his roommate to hold him accountable and encourage him, as well as the Onnit Tribe—the Facebook group that Onnit 6 Challengers join to lend support during the contest. In spite of the intensity of the training, his O6 sessions were often the highlight of his day.

“It always sucks to work out in the morning, because you’re tired and you don’t want to,” says Marcus. “But once the endorphins start flowing—and especially once you’re finished—you feel empowered and great for the rest of the day… I’m a big believer in just showing up,” says Marcus with a laugh.

O6 workouts offer three levels of difficulty. Since he was still on the mend, Marcus mainly chose exercises from the most basic tier, Level 1, sometimes pushing to Level 2 when he was up to it. He never needed to regress to easier moves than what the program offered, and he was able to hang in there for all its challenging training protocols, including EMOMS, circuits, and Tabatas.

Marcus’ strength came back quickly. He started with a 25-pound kettlebell and was swinging the 35-pounder by the end of six weeks (none of the O6 kettlebell workouts require heavier weight than that). When the program began, he weighed 145 pounds. By the end, he was 153—nearly the size he had been before he’d gotten sick. “Onnit 6 brought back the definition I had in my shoulders and my abs,” says Marcus.

While his physical comeback was inspiring, Marcus impressed the O6 Challenge judges even more with his humble (and relentlessly positive) attitude. He never asked for special treatment or sympathy, and even seemed somewhat unable to recognize just how far he’d come.

“When I got home from the Clinic,” says Marcus, “I asked people how they were doing, and they’d say things like, ‘Oh, things aren’t great with the wife,’ or, ‘Business isn’t going well, but it’s nothing compared to what you’ve been through.’ I found that they would belittle their own emotions. But I’ve learned that everybody has problems, and the more we can be transparent and support each other, the more we’ll remember that everybody’s fighting battles that we know nothing about. My battle was very public and obvious and intense, but I hope I can inspire people to be more open about their own weaknesses and struggles. At the end of the day, hard is hard. It’s not meant to be compared.”

Marcus won the spring kettlebell Challenge, and finished his chemo treatments in July 2020. He has been healthy ever since, and continues to train according to the Onnit 6 template. He says he’s almost back to the shape he was in before the illness.

“I didn’t have any idea I’d win the Challenge,” says Marcus. “I didn’t even think about winning it… I was just happy to have it.”

All images and video courtesy of Seth Marcus.

Learn more about the Onnit 6 Challenge HERE.

The post Training With Cancer: How Seth Marcus Came Back From The Brink appeared first on Onnit Academy.

That’s what you might find yourself saying when you step on the scale January 1, especially if media reports are true that the holidays will bloat you up like a certain morbidly obese, gift-giving elf.

According to a 2014 article that reviewed research on weight gain over the holidays, the average gain between Thanksgiving and New Year is only a little over a pound. However, the author went on to say that the range in individual weight changes is large, and that “When the average gain across the year was also measured, the holiday weight was the major contributor to annual excess weight gain.”

Your Holiday Survival Guide: Tips To Stay Lean This Season

Big, decadent meals and missed workouts due to travel and family time can knock you off your game, expand your waistline, and set a bad precedent for the month (and year) to come. But approach the holiday season strategically, and you can keep up with your training, prevent overeating, curb the risk of winter illness, and still have a jolly good time. Stuff these tips into your stocking and you may even be able to give yourself the gift you’ve always wanted: abs.

This is an excerpt from our FREE e-book, Your Holiday Survival Guide, which offers even more tips for fighting off fat and staying healthy.

#1 Avoid the aisle seat.

If you’re flying to see relatives, forgo the extra legroom and try to sit by the window. A study in Clinical Infectious Diseases found that plane passengers who sat on the aisle were more likely to get sick, even on a short-duration flight. Scientists think it’s because they were exposed to more people in the cabin as the passengers boarded and walked around.

#2 Eat more cheese.

Seriously. According to Dom D’Agostino, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of South Florida and one of the world’s top experts on low-carb and ketogenic diets (ketonutrition.org), cheese platters are often the best hors d’oeuvre option at a holiday party. “They sometimes offer a variety of nuts and meats as well,” says D’Agostino. “Eating low carb helps control your appetite because fats and proteins tend to be more satiating and typically don’t lend themselves to overeating.”

Fibrous vegetables are another good choice, so load up on veggie platters that offer broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, and celery. “The combination of fat, protein, and fiber will prolong gastric emptying,” says D’Agostino (i.e., the rate at which your stomach processes food). “It keeps you satiated and prevents a spike in blood glucose,” which leads to energy crashes and fat storage.

You don’t have to crunch down your veggies dry, either. “Most veggie dip has a mayo and/or sour cream base,” says D’Agostino, “so it’s usually a very keto option.”

#3 Avoid bread, crackers, cake, cookies, and rolls.

Processed foods made with refined grains and sugars spike blood glucose, creating an insulin response in the body that promotes fat gain. If you’re not sure which foods are “bad carbs,” D’Agostino recommends sticking with whole foods to keep it simple. Before you eat, ask yourself if your food ever walked, crawled, swam, flew, or grew in the ground when it was alive. If it’s close to how it looked in its glory days, it’s probably OK to eat. Bread, crackers, and other grain-based products don’t exist in nature.

“You can’t go wrong with meats and vegetables,” says D’Agostino. “Just watch out for condiments that might contain sugars or flour,” such as ketchup, and barbecue and Hoisin sauce.

#4 Swap out carbs for veggies.

When cooking for yourself, you can easily replace starchy carbs with vegetables in a number of instances. Make spaghetti squash in place of pasta (shredding it with a fork makes noodles). Cauliflower is highly diverse, and can be boiled down to make faux mashed potatoes, or pulverized in a food processor to form rice or low-carb flour for pizza crusts. It contains only five grams carbs per cup.

#5 Take the smallest serving size.

Research shows that the size of the portions you serve yourself greatly influences how much food you ultimately take in, and that overeating at one meal doesn’t cause you to eat less at your next one to compensate (as some people assume).

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition had subjects eat macaroni and cheese for lunch one day a week for a month. They were given one of four different portion sizes to consume every time, but told that they could have as many servings as they liked. Ultimately, the people consumed 30% more calories when served the largest portion than they did with the smallest one, showing that the more food they were presented with, the more they ate.

The take home: if you serve yourself less, you’ll eat less overall. So, whenever possible, eat the smallest serving size available to you, be it one slice of pizza, a single brownie square, a paper cup of holiday punch, etc. You can go back for more if you’re still hungry or thirsty, but odds are you’ll eat less overall than if you filled your plate every time.

#6 Eat more slowly.

A landmark study from the University of Rhode Island had women eat lunch on two different occasions. In one instance, they instructed them to eat as quickly as possible. In the other, they were told to chew their food slowly and put down their utensils between bites. When eating slowly, the subjects ate less and consumed fewer calories. Nevertheless, they actually reported feeling less hungry an hour later.

The stomach needs time to signal your brain that you’re getting full. Plus, the women in the study also chose to drink more water during their slow-eating meal, which further promoted satiety.

#7 Don’t eat mindlessly.

The times we tend to overeat the most are when we’re distracted—by conversation, television shows, games of pool with Uncle Ted, etc. Research shows that simply paying more attention to your food when you eat can help you avoid taking in too much, so try to keep snacks out of reach when your mind is elsewhere.

#8 Pre-game with protein.

Protein promotes satiety, so chugging a shake before a big meal will help prevent you from gorging. But here’s the thing: the drink needs to look creamy, like a real milkshake.

A study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that the thickness and creaminess of a protein drink heightens your perception of its protein content, which helps promote the sensation of fullness even further. In other words, those fruit-flavored, clear protein drinks won’t work as well.

#9 Add greens to your smoothie.

If you already regularly make protein smoothies with fruit and healthy fats (such as the popular banana and nut butter combo), add a cup of fresh or frozen spinach to the blender. You won’t taste the greens at all, but they’ll bulk up the drink with fiber, helping you control your appetite further (not to mention add health-boosting nutrition).

#10 Drink wine or hard liquor.

If you must drink at all, that is. Dry white or red wines are low in sugar. “White Girl Rosé,” not so much. “Dry Farm Wines offers fantastic low-sugar wine options,” says D’Agostino, “which can even be enjoyed if you’re on a ketogenic diet.” Liquors such as whiskey and vodka by themselves don’t have many calories, but watch out for mixers. If you want a soda or energy drink to stir into it, make sure it’s sugar-free.

Most beers are high in carbs, but lighter beers can have less. “Check the labels first,” says D’Agostino. “A lot of lighter beers provide the nutrition facts.” To avoid doing too much damage, D’Agostino recommends stopping your drinking at the first sign of a buzz. That’s a good way to get the best of both worlds—the relaxed feeling you want from alcohol without putting excessive stress on your system.

Get all 25 tips in our Holiday Survival Guide!

The post Your Holiday Survival Guide: Tips To Stay Lean This Season appeared first on Onnit Academy.