What is a Health Coach?

That's a great question.   And I think it's an important one.  Health coaching is a new term in today's health and wellness world.

Let me start with the mission statement I have with my health coaching practice.

"Our goal at Bee Fit is to bring a simple approach to health and wellness based on the same time tested methods our ancestors used throughout human history."

Who would benefit from having a personal health coach?  

If...

• you experience constant weight gain and/or loss and never get a grasp on how to maintain weight loss,
• you are trying to make better, healthier decisions at the grocery store but struggle with the amounts of "healthy" food to choose from,
• you are sick and tired (perhaps literally) from trying to many programs, products, and other weight loss plans or gimmicks,
• you don't want to waste time trying to achieve your best life now when it comes to health, lifestyle, and fitness,  
• you want someone to work for you and help you decided what works for you and what doesn't,
• you feel like you have no will power and there is no hope for you to lose weight and maintain weight loss,

.......then you may want to consider hiring a health coach to get you on the right track.  

But, not everyone needs one.  Many people are great at recognizing an area they want to improve, finding information or methods to improve, and putting forth a great DIY effort with success.  Other people want to make life changes, but simply don't trust any of the different methods on how to bring about that change and want a trained leader in that field to lead them in the right direction.   

For me, I wasn't ever fully satisfied with my body composition and my relationship with food.  I thought I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I worked out and burnt off all those calories.  Knowing what I know now, that was a recipe for chronic fatigue, inflammation and various autoimmune disorders.  I was well into the chronic fatigue and inflammation zones when I recognized the need to improve and find a better way.  You can read all about my story here.   

So what does a health coach do? 

• Empowers you to become an advocate for your own health.
• Emphasizes "whole-health" care like stress management, good sleep patterns, and other practical ways to live a more natural life in todays unnatural world. 
• Provides dependable attention, support, and accountability. 
• Helps you discover what healthy eating really looks like.  
• Helps you develop an exercise patterns that works for you and your lifestyle. 

When shopping for a health coach it is VERY important to find out what education they possess and what kind of programs they offer.  There are lots of health coach certification programs available.  It's also very important to ask for testimonials or past clients that have had success with their program or methods.

A health coach is just that.  A coach.  Just like you would want to hire a coach to teach you a new sport or activity, you'd hire a health coach to teach you about making better lifestyle and eating decisions to set you up for the best chance of success on living a healthy and vibrant life.

Do you have any long term research?

Is this sustainable? What are the long term effects of eating the way you do?

I get this question a lot when people ask about the way I eat.  I eat a higher fat, moderate protein and lower carb diet with my primary fuel source being the fat I eat and fat that is stored on my body.  My fitness and health have never been better.  My recovery thanks to the anti-inflammatory nature of this way of eating is a breeze.   As of late,  I've been venturing into a more primal way of eating.  This basically means expanding upon the massive amount of vegetables that I already consume.

So the TL, DR version from above, I eat some meat, a lot of above ground veggies, healthy fats like coconut oil and ghee, some fruit and very minimal processed meats/cheeses/full fat dairy.

Even more TL, DR.  My diet contains almost entirely real food that grows in nature in the most natural way possible today.

It's essentially what humans have eaten for tens of thousands of years.  But didn't they die young?  Yes, around 33 was the hypothesized average life span.  Complications from childbirth, predators, and infections from flesh wounds were probably the common culprits.   It most likely wasn't from heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.   It also wasn't out of the ordinary for many to live full, healthy lives up into their 60's and 70's, some as old as 94.

Heart disease deaths

My question back usually is, have you looked at the long term effects of what you are eating?  Did you know 71% of the items at a grocery store didn't exist 100 years ago?  While I don't want to make any brash claims here, but take a look at graphs like these.  The two leading causes of death in America are heart disease and cancer.   Look at the graph for Soybean oil and start reading your ingredients list.  Soybean oil is in nearly everything.   But I'm not going to completely throw soybeans under the bus for all people,  and I'm not going to say correlation equals causation.  But the massive increase in the rate of consumption is very problematic.   Consuming to many omega 6 fatty acids leads to inflammation,  one of the primary drivers of heart disease.  For more reading on the harmful effects of soybean oil, here's a start. 

Next, there is a tremendous amount of new research coming out about the role of sugar in cancer cell growth.  Cancer cells fuel of off the sugar in your blood.  Just like every other cell in your body.  However, there is another fuel source, ketones.  Ketones are made from the breakdown of fat.  Cancer cells cannot use ketones for fuel.  So they struggle to survive.  There is a great evidence based article about that here.  

All that to say.  I'll take my chances eating real food similar to the way humans have eaten for the vast majority of human history.  I've found most people don't ever stop and think about the long term effects of what their diet currently consists of.  But they ask with skepticism about mine as they are drinking soda or juice and eating twinkies or "health" bars loaded with soybean oil.

Scared for Survivals Sake

Our brains are pretty awesome.  So many of us take them for granted and treat them poorly.  Our brains are the number one reason we are still alive.  So thank and be kind to your brain.

I'm sure so many of you remember the days as a child when our friends were leaping from boulder to boulder and when it was your turn, you hesitated.  You were frozen.  You didn't want to jump.  Fear.  Then the taunting began.   Scaredy Cat, momma's boy, and wuss are some pretty common terms used to describe your frightened "friend".  These taunts can be carried with us our entire lives.

A few days ago I was hiking with a friend and rather than taking the trail, we were traversing several boulders.  Some of them had a significant drop-off and would have resulted in serious life altering injuries.  We are both well aware of our limitations and neither want to make a risky decision.  I got the end of a boulder with about a 12 foot drop.  There was a tree larger enough to bear hug that I wanted to cling to and slide down about 3 feet from the edge.  I was feeling good, ready and confident.  But I didn't want to break my watch, so I paused and turned it to face outward.  In that 30 seconds, something happened.  I begin to think about the consequences.  I questioned the safety of what I was about to do.  I began to feel like a failure and weak for not wanting to do what I was just about to do.  Fear.  Remember those taunts from childhood about being "afraid"?  They all came back.

Why is that many consider fear as a negative.  Fear is designed to keep us alive.  Fear is put in place to help us make safe decisions.   Being fearless is bragged about.  But in reality, being fearless could also mean being very dangerous not only for yourself but for others.

I didn't climb down that tree.  And I walked back the way I came, feeling like I let myself down.  When I got to the base of the tree and looked up, it didn't seem very far.  So I wrapped my arms around the tree, climbed up a few feet and tried to lower myself down slowly.  It was hard.  It hurt.  And I realized that my brain may have just saved me from serious injury.

We need to reframe how we teach what fear is.  Being fearful does not mean you are a "fraidy cat".  Just like being fearless is not the same thing as being careless or reckless.  Don't ever be ashamed of not jumping across those rocks, picking up that snake of unknown origin, eating those berries that you aren't sure about, or jumping off the 4th stair from the bottom.  Having a healthy realization of what the fear response is will keep you alive.  There is also a way to move forward while facing fear that is neither careless or wreckless.

But what about adrenaline.  Our brains also control that too.  And when you've got adrenaline pumping, all bets are off.  You feel super human.  But you don't want to abuse or over use this hormone either.  For example, just because I could grab ahold of that tree and slide down it when a bear is chasing me does not mean that I could or should do it when a bear isn't chasing me.  Adrenaline is powerful.

Fight or flight.  It happens every single day.  And our adrenal glands do have a shelf life.

Whoa, Carbs.

Carb refeeds.  What are they and what aren't they? 

If you've been following a low carb/ketogenic lifestyle (50g total/20g net) for a while now, the thought of a carb refeed sounds like blasphemy.   But what is a carb refeed?   In short, it is a day or meal in which you strategically increase your carbohydrate intake.  What isn't a carb refeed?  It is NOT a cheat day or meal.  Sorry, no cupcakes.

But why?  

For starters, if you have more than ten pounds to lose you most likely don't need a refeed day.   But if you have hit a stall or plateau (what a good problem to have, right?) you may benefit.  Often times when following a low carb diet, calories become restricted.  Not really intentionally, but because you just aren't that hungry.  This may cause decreased leptin levels.  Leptin is the "satiety" hormone.  It is responsible for regulating your appetite and energy expenditure.   Having a carb refeed can reverse this and cause an uptick in leptin levels.

Who needs to do a carb refeed?  

No one really "needs" a carb refeed.   If you are steadily losing weight, have plenty of energy, and feel good you're probably fine.  A proper diet should prevent you from needing one.  But that doesn't mean they aren't helpful.  If done the right way, it's most likely not going to hurt you.  But as always, if you are following a specific diet plan under the care of a medical professional, always consult with them.   But if you are just feeling a little "off" on your low carb eating pattern, have plateaued, or want to shed those last few stubborn pounds a carb refeed may be just what you need.  If you are new to keto/paleo/primal, develop good eating habits in your modality before considering a refeed.  

Ok, so how do you do a proper carb refeed?  

It's actually quite simple.  If you've been low carb primal/keto for awhile you've probably missed sweet potatoes.  Well guess what, go buy some.  The first important thing to remember on these days is to decrease your fat intake.  Shoot for no more than 40-50g or fat.  If you've been really low carb at less than 50g per day aim for around 300g of carbs.  50-100g aim for 250g. 100-150g you only need  little bump to around 200.   Then, go work out like you've never worked out before.  Hopefully you've worked out before.  Do some sprints or a hard run.  Lift lots of heavy things.  Go play ultimate frisbee.  Run up a mountain.  Do as many pull ups, squats, and push ups as fast as you can.  Whatever you have to do to deplete your glycogen stores.   Then eat.  Yams, sweet potatoes, squash, fruit, and any other starchy carb.  Grains and legumes are problematic and you won't enjoy the feeling, so stay away.  Remember, you're still focused on health.    Keep your protein at a relatively normal amount by topping off the day/meal with a lean cut.  

How often should you do a refeed? 

That really all depends on how you feel and your goals.  Some do once a week.  Others bi-monthly.  You may feel good at once a month, or none at all.  There is no one size fits all pattern.  Give it a shot, keep it healthy, and see how you feel!  

The Most Important Blog You'll Ever Read.

Calories in, calories out.  Right?  That's what we've been told. If you want to lose weight, eat less and move more.   Makes sense mathematically.  However, there's one problem.  It's not entirely true.

Something you need to know.  You can't out run a bad diet.  No matter how much you try.  Let me clarify, can you lose weight with this method of eating less calorie than you burn?  Yes.  I presume you can.  But is it healthy?  Maybe not, depending on your food choices.   The main takeaway, don't think you can have that extra treat because you are going to run the next day.  Or the worst, don't reward yourself with ice cream or pizza because you worked out today.

I want to keep this as simple as possible which will be really hard to do.  People smarter than I have written entire books about his topic.

Real life example.  In the spring/summer of 2015 I ran about 6 marathons, 10 or so half marathons and several other runs totaling over 500 miles.  In other words, I ran a lot.  I didn't lose any weight.  What?  Right.  I did all that running while burning several thousand calories and didn't lose any weight.  And I had fat to burn!

I'm going to go off the basic assumption that most people exercise because they want to lose excess body fat.  If this is true for you, you have to make the distinction between fat loss and weight loss.  You can lose weight and not lose any body fat.  In fact, you can gain weight and lose body fat at the same time.  This is another reason why it's a good idea to ditch the scale!

Insulin is the fat storage hormone.  When you consume a meal full of carbohydrates, insulin is released to take that energy and store it either in your liver or muscles as glycogen.  When your liver and muscles are full, any excess energy is converted and stored as fat.  Remember, this is the simplified version.  Think about how most people exercise.  They start by "carbing up" either the night before or immediately before a run or workout.   I'm going to make another assumption that when most people "carb up" that their liver and muscles are already filled to max capacity with glycogen.  Commence workout or run.  Insulin (the fat storage hormone), provided the exerciser had carbohydrates that morning, is present in the blood stream taking consumed energy where it needs to go.  Then you eat another carbohydrate filled something usually a GU or other energy bar releasing even more insulin into the bloodstream taking that energy where it needs to go.  All is well as far as carb fueled performance goes. But most people rarely activate the counter hormone, glucagon, to use the energy you already have stored on yourself whether from glycogen stores or fat cells.  So while you have have energy and fuel for your run.....

........you never get your stored body fat.

Ok, so how do I do that?  That's another long answer.  But the short answer is.  DIET.  In order to burn stored fat, your body has to know how to use fat as fuel.  Whether that's ingested fat or stored fat.  FAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU FAT.  Ok, well, it does if you over consume it.  Just like if you over consume any type of food.   Fat is an ESSENTIAL macronutrient, there is no need to be afraid of it.  It's never usually high fat that is a problem, more often than not it's a high carb/highly processed food diet that will cause health concerns over the long term.

And the process for becoming a fat burner is for another blog.  And it's exact reason why if you are serious about losing body fat and becoming metabolically flexible that you need a health coach.  Someone that is trained in understanding how the body processes macronutrients.  You shouldn't have to go to the gym multiple times a week for hours to maintain body weight.

80% of your body composition is determined by the foods you eat.

The Comparison Thief

You may have heard it said that comparison is the thief of joy.   So many times we compare other peoples best with our own worst.  Why do we do this to ourselves?

I've done this.  I've seen others post their run times and desperately want to run as fast as them.  I'd do the only thing I knew how to do.  Run more and push myself harder.  But it never worked and I always ended up injured and demotivated.  But why?

The short answer is variables.   There are so many different things involved in increasing your running speeds that I didn't know about.  Heart rate, fueling, recovery, HIIT and many other things you need to pay attention to.  Do you know the differences of the aerobic or anaerobic system?   There was a time I didn't either.  Your nutrition is a HUGE variable in your running.

So what's one way to avoid this?  Having a goal and a plan.  Wanting to run faster is a great goal.  But be more specific.  Do you want to run a 6 minute mile?  8 minute mile?  12 minute mile?  And then work with a running coach (experienced runners do not always make good coaches) to create a plan and make this goal a reality.

Real life experience.  I was ticking off 8:30-9 minute miles and enjoying it.  But to achieve my goals I had to slow my pace down to around 13-15 minutes per mile.  And I'm ok with that.  I'm ok with being the last person at all the group runs.  Why?  I have a goal.  I have a plan.  And I have the confidence in the process.

My Story

They say if you love something you should let it go and if it comes back it loves you too.  I love food, all types of food.  And because of that love, excess weight came with it.  So I said goodbye to certain foods and hello to a lot of exercise.  I was beginning to think that my extra weight and foods really loved me.  Because every time I let them go,  they always seemed to come back to me.

Relationships with food can be incredibly complicated.  Food plays with our emotions.  Not only does it impact our physical selves, it impacts our psychological selves too.  The wrong food makes us feel good at night and leaves us after a one night stand with a note on the pillow saying thanks for the good time and sorry for any negative consequences it left you with.  For many...this happens night after night.

Over the course of my life I've gained and lost over 100 pounds.  I'll never forget my first affair with weight loss.  I was 25.  Just married earlier that year to my amazing wife.  We were planning a trip with friends to the beach at the end of the summer.  Myself and some friends decided on a weight loss challenge for the 2 and a half months prior to the trip.  Game on.  I weighed in at 211.  I'm 6 feet tall so I wasn't that overweight.  Although I'm pretty sure I had visible six pack abs 2 years prior.  Commence severe calorie restriction, massive will power and two hours or more a day at the gym or other exercising.  Easy to do when you have a flexible work schedule, don't have kids,  and there is money and bragging rights on the table.  It worked, I lost 36 pounds.  Weighed in at 175.   Though, I didn't win the competition.  Which was unfortunate because this was hard!  But hey, I didn't lose entirely.  I was still in great shape and lost a bunch of weight.

I can't say I remember for certain what my diet looked like.  I know I didn't give up drinking Miller Lite.  Pretty sure I stuck with mostly vegetables and chicken.  Lots of salads, yogurt and granola.  No fast food but an emphasis on low fat and low calorie.  One thing I'll never forget is that first stop on our trip the Outer Banks.  We all went to IHOP.  I felt lost.  I felt like I was betraying all that I had worked for.  I don't know what I ate, but I remember the feelings.  And after that meal....It was game over.  No more dieting.  I let loose that week on all things food and drink.  In a way, it was good to not stress about food.  But over the next year, my weight crept back up.  I couldn't sustain the work I had done to lose all that weight.   Nor did I want to continue restricting the amount and kinds of food to be had.  This only confirmed what I thought about losing weight was correct,  that I needed to eat food that I didn't really like, be hungry,  and work out a lot to lose weight.

The next affair with weight loss came when a friend told me about this "paleo" thing.  Basically a caveman diet.  So I tried that.  I set a goal that if I got down to 180 I could buy a pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes.  My rules were simple.  If a caveman could eat so could I.  Well, apparently I thought cavemen could eat popcorn, salad dressing, cheese and beer.  Regardless, I got to my goal weight over the course of a few months with a similar exercise load as the first go around.  After I got my shoes, all progress was halted and all weight crept back.

I'm sensing a pattern.  Eat whatever I want, gain weight, get frustrated at weight gain, put a reward out there for me to get, cut calories, exercise a lot, lose weight, get reward.   I had several of these weight loss affairs usually lasting a few weeks and 10-15 pounds at a time.  I never found anything that stuck.  Why could I not maintain?   Why could I not continue?  I assumed it was because I lacked will power.

My next fling I decided to run a 77 mile ultra marathon.  If I just ran a lot I could eat whatever I wanted, right?  I was about 30 pounds overweight at the start of 2015 when I started running.  And did I ever run!  Up through August  of that year I had completed about 6 marathon distance trail runs with nearly 15 half marathon distances tossed into the mix.  Let alone all the single digit mileage runs.   I ran right through pain and into an injury.   I didn't listen to my body at all.   But even after having run all those miles...I still had quite a gut on me.  You could call me fit fat.

I had gotten to a point in my life where I had given up.  My wife and I had children now.  We both had careers we were busy with.  We both had life stress.  Food and exercise were the last of my worries.   I wrote off ever being fit again and tried to settle into this new life.   At this point food was my drug.  I loved craft beer and whiskey.  I kept Jelly Belly jelly beans with me all the time.

In January of 2016 I got wind of this thing called the ketogenic diet.  It is a high fat, low carb diet.  First, I had to figure out was a carbohydrate was and once I found out that carbs were in all my favorite foods I decided it wasn't for me.  I didn't want to give my beer and candy and I thought fat made you fat! But in the Spring of 2016,  I knew something had to change.  I was going downhill fast.  I was overweight, I had no control over my eating habits, and my mental health was in decline.

On May 9 2016 at lunch time I ate a salad and had a beer and decided the keto diet was what I was doing.   I was committed from day one knowing and believing it would work.  And it did, I lost about 35 pounds in 3 months with most of that coming off in the first month.  I've been maintaining happily every since.  No more yo-yo's.

It wasn't long after beginning the diet I co-created a Facebook group for others also interested in the keto diet and as of the day I'm writing this we've collectively lost well over a ton of weight.   And the more I listened and learned about the ketogenic way of eating, I also learned the right way to eat in a primal aligned way.   I knew it was time to take my journey to another level and get some proper education on the subject.  Enter the Primal Health Coach program based on the Primal Blueprint philosophy.

Whatever your goals are we will work together and I will help you achieve them.  It would be an absolute joy to share what I know and eliminate any guess work you have about what it takes to have the health and wellness you desire.   Losing weight and getting healthy take time, and time is valuable.  No one wants to commit to months of effort only to be going about this journey on the wrong path.  Let me help you find the one that fits you, whether that's a ketogenic diet,  a Primal Lifestyle,  or just learning what food choices benefit you instead of hurt you.  Let me help you find the pattern of health that you can commit to for a lifetime.  It's time to get married to the new you.  No more affairs with bogus health advice.

Let's sit down and have a conversation about what having a health coach looks like for you.  Be a part of the Bee Fit Family.  Check out Bee Fit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beefitfamily and our website launching this winter www.beefitfamily.com.