Why Your Scale Is Sabotaging Your Health Transformation – With Adam Ross

Podcast Introduction and Guest Overview 0:00

You're probably not just going to get it figured out and just run on autopilot for your entire life like you're going to. There's going to be times where you have to try new things or, you know, you have to be willing to think outside the box or do things a little bit differently and do some tests and see it's like, okay, this made me feel great because didn't, you know, I'll do more of this and less of that and, you know, keep, keep having an open mind and trying things along the way. What we're actually doing is increasing the nutrient density.

We're increasing the amount of vitamins, the amount of minerals, like, you know, for gut health, there will be more fiber in the diet and all of these things, they're going to contribute almost immediately to how people feel, right? So they'll message me within a few days and go, man, I, I feel amazing, like I have more energy. I'm not waking up tired right now. I'm not hitting that afternoon low. And it's literally just a function of putting, you know, the nutrients that the body needs essentially to create energy on the outside. So.

Welcome to the Health podcast, where health junkies get their weekly fix of tips, tools and techniques to have limitless energy. Sharp minds and fit physiques for life. Hey health junkies, on this episode of the Health Fix podcast, I'm interviewing Adam Ross. He is the founder and owner of R nutrition. He is a registered dietitian and a sports nutritionist, and he has a unique approach because he comes from Division one hockey and a professional hockey background. So he definitely knows his athletes.

But he also works with us everyday folks as well. And here's the thing. In this podcast, we go into some really cool stuff when it comes to macros. When it comes to dialing in nutrition. As you get older, thinking about your specific needs depending on your activity levels and also if you have any deficiencies. And so really we talk about a personalized approach to nutrition because right now it's really popular all over social media to be like follow this plan, follow that plan. But what we forget in this follow that plan society is that these are things that work for other people.

And if anything, I found with my own experience, personalized nutrition really is the way to go. So not only does Adam own his own business, Air Nutrition, he also is the head dietitian for Atria Health and Longevity. Clinic or institute? Pardon me? For health in in New York City. And, boy, that place is impressive. If you haven't checked out Atria Institute for Health and Longevity. It's impressive. They've got everything under one roof. So nevertheless, while this is podcast, I want you to think about how your nutritional needs change as you get older.

And we know we can't eat what we used to in our 20s as we get older. And that's really something that we want to think about. What our needs now. Yeah. You might see your body changing. That's because you have different needs. Test. Don't guess. Figure out what you need. Work with someone that can help you dial it in. Adam's one of those folks. I can't say enough about him. I love talking to him. So, nevertheless, let's introduce you to Adam Ross. Adam Ross, welcome to the health Fix podcast.

Adam Ross's Athletic Background and Nutrition Wake-Up Call 3:01

Thank you. I appreciate you having me on. I'm really excited to be here for this on. So yeah, it is. It's my pleasure. We had such a great conversation when I was on your podcast that I was like, we can't not keep talking like we're going to be friends now. I'm just telling you, here we are. So of course, being a nutritionist, a lot of folks are like, okay, usually we go into careers because we were struggling personally with something. And and being an athlete and, and a former professional hockey player, you know, a lot of people think like, oh, athletes.

They have a down like look at their bodies, they know what the heck to do. And as we mentioned before, athletes are sometimes the biggest nightmares when it comes to eating. But give us your story. Tell us a little bit about why nutrition and what did you find as an athlete that you were struggling with along the way? Yeah, absolutely. So knowing athletics is exactly what drove me down the the path of nutrition. So do you want the, the long, version or the short version of how this all started? I guess I'll, I'll try to find a middle ground, but, Yeah.

So like, like we were talking about before we pressed record here at, I was born and raised in western Canada, in a town called Red deer. And in Red deer. You play hockey or you do drugs? Those are your two options. In most cases, you pick one in high school and you go that route. So, I went the hockey route. Yeah. And I was just very lucky, like, you know, played played hockey my whole life. I was a big athlete, big sports kid, like, doing multiple various sports all throughout my life. So I was always just very active, right.

And I was always kind of one of those people who I was just doing enough that, you know, I could eat whatever I wanted. Never really had to think too much about it. You know, fast forward, I, I was lucky enough to get, scholarship to go play Division one hockey in at a school called Merrimack College in Massachusetts, which is in hockey. So we played Boston College, Boston University, northeastern, all all the big schools with, you know, some really big time players. So I entered my first year there really confident, you know, just thought I was going to show up and be the guy and, got a rude awakening, right?

Like I quickly. And so just for some, like, a little bit of background, like I'm six four, I went in there like 220, like I thought I was going to be like, you know, just kind of dominating and whatever. And, it wasn't the case. Right? So I really learned really quickly that I wasn't in good enough shape. I wasn't able to compete at the level that I wanted to compete at, and it just upset me. So, the if you want to know, the actual tipping point was, Boston College has a guy named Nathan Gerbe who went on to play in the NHL.

And there's a really great picture of him because he's about five foot three and he's standing besides the Danish chara, who's like six foot eight. So if you want to look that up. But Nathan Gerbe hit me so hard one time in a game that I basically flew like halfway across the ice and slammed into the boards. And like I said, this guy's an entire foot shorter than me. And you know, it literally like a, I think like something kind of snapped inside me in that moment. I was like, enough, like, I'm not I will not let this happen to me ever again.

Right? Like I was really disappointed with my year. That was near the end of my first, my freshman year in school. So I really just made this decision like, hey, like, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, right. And then this is, you know, where I start getting into nutrition. So I had always been doing the training. I'd always been doing the on ice work. And I'm trying to think like, well, how can I get more fit? How can I get more athletic, right? One thing I had never really paid a lot of attention to is my diet.

So I went back after that freshman year, went back home for the summer, you know, got back into the gym and started just paying close attention to my diet. And this was completely there was no strategy here. Like, I just figured, okay, fat's probably make me fat, so I'll eat less fats. And you know, I like bagels and stuff, so I'll eat more, you know, more of that and try to eat more protein. And, believe it or not, I made, like, a total transformation of my body. So, like, I, my body composition change rapidly.

I put on a bunch of muscle. I got very lean. I just saw this this dramatic change. And only three months in the time between, you know, my, my freshman and sophomore year or so, this is where, like, the light bulb went off for me, I was like, okay, like there's something here, right? Like, I like I really enjoyed the just the feeling that I had. So not only was my body composition changing, I was feeling more athletic. My energy levels were better. All of these things. And from there, it just kind of I just went down the rabbit hole.

Right. So throughout the next three years of college, I got more, you know, just more and more interested in it. And, you know, took it even further. And then I was lucky enough to sign a professional contract. I played for, you know, I never did make the NHL, but I did play for a farm teams of Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. And then that's actually where things took a downward slide, right? So I kind of took things so crazy. And so far with the nutrition on the training, did I completely ruined my athletic career, basically.

So I got to the point where I was just doing a lot of more like bro science. I was reading Bodybuilding.com. You know, if you're if you're an athlete, I will state this now, don't follow bodybuilding nutrition advice. There's two very different things. You want to follow an athlete and get their advice from nutrition. But, so that's what I had done basically, as I took it to these extremes where I was training like crazy, like three hours a day in the gym, and I was on the ice and, just going really hard with my training.

And then I had got into, like, I this idea that I should do a paleo diet, but I was afraid to include the fats that, the paleo diet was recommending. So I was essentially just eating protein. One sweet potato a day and a bunch of vegetables. And it wasn't enough from an energy standpoint, right? So I started to break down. I was getting weaker, slower. I was very tired. Definitely had some hormonal issues going on. At one point. And, you know, essentially just started to get a little bit, you know, some injuries and stuff stacking up and kind of burnt out.

Right. And after a couple of years of playing professional hockey, I literally did kind of just burn myself out and decided, you know, enough was enough. And then that's where the nutrition head kind of, you know, at this point, it was so ingrained in me like, it's the only thing I really wanted to do. Like, I just love nutrition, I love training, I love all of it. And that kind of just believe it or not, kind of took over. Like, I loved that more than I loved hockey almost at that point. So, you know, naturally I'm like, all right, well, I got to get into this field, but I got a communication degree my first time through school at Merrimack, so I had to go back to school.

I, enrolled here in Queens College, in New York City. They had a really good dietetics program. So I got into their dietetics program. I did my four years, did my internship, became a registered dietitian. And, you know, essentially the the idea is that I made a lot of mistakes. I've had to kind of live and learn through a lot of this stuff. I didn't take a lot of advice. Or the advice that I was reading on the internet just wasn't, you know, the right advice for the situation I was in. And now, you know, the goal is to help, you know, just kind of make this easier for people.

I do think now with the amount of, you know, tens of thousands of hours I've put in, it's, I feel like I do have a pretty good grasp and a pretty good understanding of nutrition in a way where I can make it very simple for people, so that they can get a really nice result without having to do all the stressing. So that's essentially kind of where we're at now. Yeah. Yeah. That's huge. That's huge. That's huge. Because I think a lot of people, you know, they are following like random magazines, right.

Whether it's teen Asian, whether it's, you know, most people on here are women. So we're going to be talking about shape and women's health and, you know, whatnot. And we're not thinking about the fact that they're just spouting off general info and it's not tailored to us. And and one of the things, you know, that I really wanted to kind of bring about was the athlete component. Like, we look at athletes, we think they're super fit. And like, what happened to you? It wasn't necessarily the case because,

Why Athletes Struggle With Nutrition 10:49

you know, farm teams and and NHL, as we talked about, don't have the same level of nutritional backing. Like like I've seen with the Seahawks and things of that nature. Like, so we're you know, obviously not. That's a very small percentage of the population that's going to get to that level. But what I see is a lot of women, myself included, who are athletes, like heavy athletes pretty much most of their life and in high school big time. And then when we retire, whether we're done after high school or whether we're done after college or we get onto a team and then we're done after that, it seems like we tend to have the biggest struggles with nutrition.

Every single gal that I've had come into my office and I'm like, so, did you play sports? Yeah. Did you eat whatever you wanted? Yeah, now I can. You know, it seems to be a pattern. And you said, yeah, you had seen that too. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's like the biggest misconception is that people think that athletes just have it all figured out. Right? And, and in most cases, you know, and as in, as my experience as a professional athlete, I've worked with a lot of professional athletes. I worked, as a dietitian at the Division one, collegiate level.

Yeah, it's probably, you know, couldn't be further from the truth. Right. Like, I think a lot of athletes are just lucky, right? Like, we're active enough, we're moving around enough, we're gifted enough. You know, physically and genetically that, you don't have to worry too much about it when you're younger, but that's kind of the reality of it, right? Is it? For most people, it's going to end around, you know, age, whatever, 21, 22 years old. And then you get this dramatic, you know, you know, eye opener where it's like, okay, now I'm in, you know, working in a job and just a lot less physically active and stuff like that.

So, you know, my my experience is that the athletes really have, some of the worst diets I've ever seen. You know, it's just running off simple carbohydrates and sugar and not really paying any attention. And then at some point, like you said it, it works in the moment when you're burning through a lot of energy. And, and I would actually I would challenge that and I would say, because this is what I, from my own experience and what I always talk to about people is that the way you feel now, you may have an entirely different gear that you don't know exists.

So what you feel now is, is your normal, and it feels normal, but it may not be, and it probably isn't the best you can feel. And when you start to make these adjustments and when you start to pay more attention to the types of food and the quality of food and the amount of nourishment and nutrients that you're getting from your food, you're going to find another gear and it's going to shock you. Right? So I think this is one thing for athletes or just generally, you know, just active people or even somebody that just wants to feel better, right, is like really starting to pay closer attention to the quality of the food and the actual nutrients and nutrition that you're getting from your food is hugely important.

And yeah, athletes, you know, the thing is, you look at it now, a lot of these it's young people, right? It's like I look at the NHL, it's 18 year old kids that get like plucked out of their house and they give them $1 million. And, you know, you get put in a professional setting and you're you need to kind of figure it out for yourself. And it's not easy, right? Like, even I remember when I was, you know, professional hockey player my first year, I literally had I would buy chicken from the store, and my roommate had bought, like a one of those 5 pound bags of rice and, like, threw it on the floor in the in the kitchen.

And, like, I would just make rice and chicken every day. And then there was a point where I was like, it was like around December, around Christmas time, I was like, oh my God. It's like I haven't eaten a vegetable in like three months. Like, this is a problem. And and so like I started to kind of queue in like, you know, a little bit. But this is the thing, right? It's just kind of, you know, we're, we're kind of left to fend for ourselves in a lot of cases. I know the programs are getting a lot better now.

And, nutrition is something that's being focused on a lot more. But now, I mean, from that athlete perspective, it's a lot of it is just, you know, everybody's just kind of winging it and hoping it works. Well, you know, I mean, chicken and rice sounds a lot better than my Twizzlers and goldfish crackers diet of college. So I'm like, hey, you were. At least there were a whole foods like, God, I don't even know what's in Twizzlers. Like, do we know what's in there? Do we know it's a goldfish? Like, oh, God. Not.

Yeah. We'll keep you going for a few hours. That's a oh, man. I mean, some of my and and this is what happened in college. I started getting into running, right. And I started to do marathons and things of that nature. And I found that, yeah, marathoners, ultra marathoners cure sugar pressure diets. And gosh, that's where the Twizzlers came from. I'd have them stashed in my pocket eating Twizzlers because I didn't like the goo inside of my Twizzlers. Exactly. So gross. Now, now, one thing you mentioned is like, we have these extra gears, right?

Like, and we have no idea how good we can feel in most of my patients. You know, when I first see people coming in, they'll be like, I'm tired, you know, fatigue. The number one thing I hear from so many people and gut issues are kind of second. So I'm like, this is like two birds with one stone looking at food. And one of the things that, you know, and guys, we have a freebie from Adam. It has to do with mastering your macros. And we'll get we'll put that in the podcast notes. But there's so much controversy out there.

Macros, no macros, intuitive eating. Do this, do that to the point where I think, you know, when someone coined the term food noise, I'm like, yeah, that is a perfect term for this. But I have found that when I've gotten the best results, I did have to look at macros. And we do have to think about that. So can you explain for folks like I think folks understand that like fat, protein, carbs are your macros, but I don't think we know like how to utilize them, because what'll often happen is folks will come into my practice and they'll have this like generic macro plan that someone gave them, like, or they found on line.

So yeah, let's talk about how to tweak your macros for you. Like how has that look. Yeah totally. So yeah I will absolutely I'll get to that. But I think one thing I did want to just touch on that you mentioned, right, is when people are coming from a position of exhaustion or they just don't feel well, you know, whatever lethargic, all of these things, the macros and the amount of calories.

Micronutrients, Food Quality, and Energy 17:08

Right, like in some cases, probably a lot of people have been under consuming for a large period of time because that's kind of the world we live in now, right? Where it's like eat less, move more situation and everybody's trying to just restrict, restrict or restrict and do more, do more, do more. And then you hit this wall eventually. Right. And then the other piece of that puzzle, and this is where I think can, like you said, with the gut health and the energy improvements and things like that is going to be the food quality.

So beyond the macronutrients, which we'll talk about in a second, I am a huge believer in like macros are one piece of the puzzle. They're actually, to me, the easiest piece of the puzzle because that's just like, okay, these are some numbers that we're trying to hit. And once you understand, okay, it's I need to do six ounces of protein. I need to do six ounces of some kind of a carbohydrate. At that point you're pretty good there, right? Like, you can read reenact that as many times as you can, but the food quality from an energy production standpoint and, you know, feeling and functioning better is exactly where I start with people on that, because I, I don't think people understand the level of importance that your micronutrients play.

Right? So your vitamins, your minerals, on your cellular health. Right. So like all of these vitamins and minerals affect the cell in the cell is what produces energy, right? So it may sound confusing, but it's literally just, hey, we got to have really high food quality. And if we can put in more, you know, like B vitamins and vitamin A and vitamin C and your minerals, your sodium, your potassium, your magnesium, now your cells will produce energy at an improved rate. And now so all of this good stuff is happening on the inside, which means it's going to now start happening on the outside.

You'll start to feel a lot better. And the cool thing about that is that it doesn't take like fat loss might take a month, right? Energy improvements and feeling better can take two days because nutrients get right into the system, right? So it's like, hey, if I eat, I don't know, broccoli, all of the nutrients in that broccoli. It's not taking a week for those to soak into your body. It's happening in a matter of minutes and hours kind of thing. Right. So the coolest thing I always notice with people is that, you know, when they start the nutrition program and they're all excited and, you know, we're we're improving the quality of their food.

What we're actually doing is increasing the nutrient density. We're increasing the amount of vitamins, the amount of minerals like, you know, for gut health, there will be more fiber in the diet and all of these things, they're going to contribute almost immediately to how people feel, right? So they'll message me within a few days and go, man, I, I feel amazing, like I have more energy. I'm not waking up tired right now. I'm not hitting that afternoon low. And it's literally just a function of putting, you know, the nutrients that the body needs essentially to create energy on the outside.

So that's a big one for people, right? I think is like, macros are awesome. Macros are great. I think they can take you where you need to go. But the food quality for me is the huge piece of the puzzle that's going to help with like the the functionality of it all and make this a lot easier. So I'm not just in if it fits your macros guy, I'm like, macros are important, but your food. But so is your micro nutrition. Like your food quality has to be on point. We've got to hit a certain level of vitamins and minerals and all these things to make sure that you're feeling your best, throughout this entire process. Right?

Because then it just makes everything easier. All right. So then that kind of gets me into, like, the macronutrients, right? So in terms of like the macros, like I said, you know, I think for most people it's nothing crazy. So in a lot of cases, people will think like, I have to completely remove carbohydrates or I need to be on a keto diet or, you know, I need to remove all animal proteins or something and go vegan or this will never work. Right. And I think that's to me is like a just a major fallacy.

So, what I really try to have people understand is that it's all about a dietary structure and essentially your goals and your lifestyle are going to determine that structure, right? So from a protein standpoint, I'm always going to on the side of more protein rather than less. Every single I've always been a protein guy, so I've never really had to go through this. But every single person I work with is coming off. A low protein diet, says that they feel amazing when they increase it. You know, protein is not your number one macronutrient that you're going to rely on for energy.

So I don't know exactly what the function of that is, but it's just I've heard it so many times now that I believe it. Right. And then so what I like to recommend for people is about a gram per pound of, you know, their body weight or ideal. I'd say point 7 to 1g per pound of their body weight or their ideal body weight. Or if you're on the heavier side and you are eating in a calorie deficit, I like about a 35%, that seems to work out where it's like still, you know, an adequate amount of protein for people, right?

And then carbohydrate is really the thing that's going to be like, I just call it like your fast fuel. Right? So like any time your heart rate is, is increasing, the faster the heart rate is going, the faster you need energy. And that's where carbohydrates come into play. So if you're a more active person or you're looking to just have a little bit more energy and stuff throughout the day and you are doing more moving around, or, you know, some heavy training or anything like that. I'm going to turn a little bit more to carbohydrate in a case like that.

Right. So in that case, again, you know, I'll usually do things on like a percentage based, but I'll go, you know, about 35 to 40% of the calorie intake coming from like a higher quality carbohydrate. Right. We want things that have fiber. We want more complex carbs. I'm thinking, you know, fruit. I'm thinking, you know, brown rice, quinoa, lentils, beans, sweet potatoes, things like that. And then fats. I typically fill the cracks with this. Right. So, you know, if we're doing, let's say 35%, you know, protein and let's just call it 35% carbohydrate, then obviously we're going to have like about 30% of our diet coming from fats.

And I think the the big thing for that is, you know, for you being, you know, someone who focuses on hormones, we got to make sure that we're obviously taking care of the ability for fats to contribute to hormonal production. That's the big one, right? So I would never have anybody go lower than like 20% of their diet from fats. And then anywhere from, you know, 20 to, again, 35, depending on their activity level. So if they're super like low, low activity, probably give them more fat and less carbohydrate if they're very high in activity.

But we're trying to manage body composition. We would actually leverage more carbohydrate in that in that like situation or scenario. And then your fats would probably be a little bit lower because, you know, they're they're more of just like an at rest fuel. And they're just going to be more related to your hormonal balance and nutrition at that point, too. You'll get some fat soluble vitamins and stuff from there. So I don't know if that answers your helps to answer your question, but yeah. Oh, it totally does.

You get you give us you give us a good idea of like to think about. But one thing too that that you that I want to highlight that you mentioned was shifting the macro intake based on what you're doing activity. Because I think a lot of people just and, and I just called myself out like I had lower protein on late day and I'm like, what in the world was I thinking, right. Like, how did that happen? But these are things like real life, like this. This happens and sometimes we miss it. That's why it's good to have a coach, right?

But at the same time, we have to be accounting for the fact that, like, say

How to Set Macros for Your Goals 24:28

you went out and you went on a hike for like four hours one day, you wouldn't want to eat the same that day compared to the day that you were like just going to sit around and chill all day kind of thing. 100%. Yeah. And I think that's the big thing, right? Like we were talking a little bit like, you know, about the ratios. And I do think that they're super important. So you know yeah. The more active person. Absolutely. You know I hate to use the term like earn earn your calves, but like you kind of do. Right.

Like I'm never going to completely pull calves away from people. But you know, more active people, you're going to be burning through a lot more energy, and it's going to probably come more from carbohydrates. So we are going to have a little bit more leeway there, right? If you have days where you're less active and you're just, you know, it's a crazy workday and you wake up first thing in the morning and you know you're going to be sedentary. You know, you probably don't have as great of a need for carbohydrate in those situations.

So, you know, on those days, maybe we don't prioritize it as much and we can prioritize a little bit more. You know, like to me it's calories in protein or the king and queen or the 1 in 1 day of the situation. We always need to have our calories at the level that we want them for. Whatever the particular goal is, we always want to have that high protein intake at about 0.701g per pound. And then from there, the carbs in the fast can be really variable just depending on what's going on or your preferences too.

Like like I really, you know, preferences are a big piece of the puzzle as well. So, you know, if you prefer a higher fat diet, then go for it, right? If you prefer a I'm more of a carb eater. Like I like to have my carbs, so I keep my fats more moderate and you know it helps me keep my calories in alignment. And I can still be high protein. And we're good to go, you know? Makes sense. Makes sense. Now I want to get your take on like, myth reality. Where do you stand on this one? So say you had a day.

Maybe you had the pizza, maybe had the nachos. Maybe there is just a whole bunch of snacks right? Like a lot of carbs. I'll call it a car blow day. And it was just because it was a party or, you know, the day just went to crap, you know, whatever it was. A lot of folks have been trained to the next day, no carbs, cut them all out and like basically starve yourself or fast. That's another thing that that I've been hearing and trained. In some cases. What's your take on, like if you blew the day before, what do you do the next day?

Yeah. So I, believe like I used to be that guy 100%, you know, I, I won't lie to you, right? Like, back when I had really kind of screwed myself up. Like, that's kind of how it went, right? There was a lot of highs and lows and ups and downs and whatever with food, and a lot of guilt around. Yeah. You had a bad day. So now the next day, it was like extra time on the treadmill and extra time in the gym. And really trying to, you know, micromanage your food intake. So I get it right. But, you know, again, like, the more you learn, right?

Knowledge is power in in my opinion. So you start to realize that it's just a game of averages, right. So for everybody, like I always recommend, it's like, hey, it's all about consistency over time, right? What you did yesterday will make no difference if we just get back on the plan, get back on the program, and we just get back to consistent, consistently eating in alignment with, you know, your goals and you know your your dietary structure that's being recommended to you. Right? So yeah, I wouldn't recommend these drastic, you know, kind of like peaks and valleys, highs and lows I would say like if you have a bad day, you know, the day before you just overconsume I've got two ways of thinking about it.

I like to put a positive spin on it sometimes, where if it's a, if it's a one off and you had a party or you just had a day where you're just extra hungry, like some, like sometimes one thing I really try to do more of now is listen to my body. Like, if there's a day where I'm just tired and I'm hungry, like, I'll rest and I'll sleep or I'll rest and I'll eat, and I'll and I'll kick back in the next day and feel great. Right. And I think like what happens a lot of times as we try to battle against that range, like, oh, I feel terrible.

I'm low energy, I'm starving. But I gotta stick to my 1500 calories. The macros say it. You know, I can't I can't do that. The plan today was to work out. So you go, you have a half assed shitty workout and then you starve all day and, you know, you're you're kind of teetering on the edge there of of a disaster. And you never really get that recovery that your body's after. And then you get stuck in this cycle. Right. And then at some point you're just going to fall off the off the rails and, you know, you're going to have that day anyway, right?

Or you overconsume or you just lay around all day or whatever. So I do try to recommend paying more attention to the body. And I'll tell every person I work with, like, if you felt like you needed the extra food, go for it and eat it, right. And then again, you know, we just get back on the, on the tracks, we get back on that consistent eating. And as long as, you know, over the course of the week or the month or whatever, the majority of your days, your calories are in alignment. You know, your your macronutrients are in alignment with your goal.

It's not going to make an impact. Right? So, I'm more of like, yeah, let's play the averages. Don't beat yourself up over one day. Hold yourself accountable and have a standards for yourself so that, you know, we can't be having these days three times a week or whatever, because they're going to start to stack up. So there is a point in time where you have to start calling yourself right on your on your whatever, your bullshit, or just start to at least, hey, maybe I need to do something differently.

Maybe I need to adjust my plan, because I'm feeling super low energy or I'm feeling beat up all the time. You know, maybe you just do need more food. Or maybe we do need to manage your, your training load a little bit differently or whatever, right. But, yeah, so I, I'm more of, like, playing the averages. And then from that fasting standpoint, you know, that's one reason why I've actually kind of gone away from recommending fasting to people in most cases is that it's really a compensatory mechanism, is what it becomes, is that we don't eat till 1:00 in the afternoon.

We have that salad with our grilled chicken or whatever, and we keep it, you know, real, real clean, you know, with air quotes for anybody who's on the podcast listening. But, to keep it real clean right up until dinner time and then it's like, all right, after dinner, all bets are off. If you eat a bunch of junk, you eat a bunch of, like, just food that you know is not in alignment with your plan until nine, 10:00 at night. You go to bed feeling gross. You wake up feeling gross. So you use that fasting the next day to kind of get things back on track, and it becomes this repetitive cycle of I binge eat and over consume at night, I feel gross, I sleep poorly, I wake up feeling gross, and then I wait till 1 p.m.

again, till I feel okay to eat again. Right? Like that's not the cycle we want people to be in. So, you know, in these cases, I've never really not seen it. We're okay if we can shift the food, forward a little bit, we can start to focus on the breakfast. It's going to feel uncomfortable. Obviously, at the beginning. Nobody's going to want to overeat at night and then eat again the next day. But, you know, if we can start to shift the the timing of those meals forward

Handling Overeating, Fasting, and Recovery 31:28

a little bit, it really helps with people's hunger and satiety and cravings later at night. And then we kind of clear that up and people feel a lot better really quickly. You bring up a huge point, the fasting thing than feeling crap. Still like feeling like crap. Still next day, next day. Because, I mean, a lot of the fasting, I don't know where it's coming from, social media, where, but I have a lot of people who are like, I can eat whatever I want in that, in that time frame. And I'm like, how does that work?

Like, maybe it works for like a couple months, but I would figure it's got to backfire at some point, right? Yeah, yeah. And I can't remember if we were talking about this on on my podcast as well, but I think it's like that with a lot of these like call it just fad diets, right? Like a lot of people make changes and feel really great at the beginning, but it's really important to always stay very mindful of what's going on. And like, like that's the thing I was like, okay, you felt great for a couple months, but now you're extra hungry, you're tired, you're training is suffering because you're not eating for half the day.

Maybe you're training in the morning or something like that and then not eating. You're not getting any stronger or you're not feeling great in the gym. But we're like stuck in this pattern of like, oh, I, I do fasting, right? But it's not working anymore. And a lot of times this will happen with like vegan, right? It's like people pull out the, the animal proteins and they feel amazing for the first little while. But then some nutrient deficiencies start to creep up. And maybe you're not as excited about eating vegetables every meal and stuff anymore.

So your food becomes a little more processed and whatever. And then again, we're not feeling our best, but we're now we're kind of tied to that, that lifestyle. So I think it's really important to understand when something is no longer working for us and be willing to make that adjustment. Right. And I think there's a lot of power and. Yeah, just just staying mindful and staying kind of inquisitive and being very aware of like, how your body's feeling and functioning at all times and being being willing to try different things.

I think that's the the biggest thing I've learned over my short time here in the nutrition space is like, you're probably not just going to get it figured out and just run on autopilot for your entire life, like you're going to. There's going to be times where you have to try new things, or, you know, you have to be willing to think outside the box or do things a little bit differently and do some tests and see it's like, okay, this made me feel great because didn't, you know, I'll do more of this and less of that and, you know, keep, keep having an open mind and trying things along the way.

And that way you can create something that feels really comfortable and really good and gets you the result you want at the same time. That makes that makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of people are tied to the scale, unfortunately. And, you know, kind of what you're saying trying new things. I think of it like when a plateau happens and someone's not seeing the scale moving, that's when we'll try things. But at the same time thinking about, you know, you can't eat the same thing at 40 as you do at 60, like things shift.

Right? And I think a lot of people aren't realizing that we're in constant shift with our body. So knowing more about it is important. So I'm guessing you've probably seen some plateaus along the way and people being very focused on weight. Yeah. What's what's your what's your go to what you like spiel. What's well how do you work with those kind of things? Hey how junkies struggling with sleep. As a former insomniac, I can relate. Devin Burke is a pal of mine. He has the Sleep Science Academy. He's been on my podcast twice, and we've talked a lot about how to work on sleep naturally without supplements, without medications.

Devin's program really does work with you to help you understand what is going on in your brain and body when it comes to sleep. And as a listener of the Health Effects podcast, he's given us a code for 10% off of his program, Dr. J ten so if you're interested, use that. I highly recommend his program. So let's get back to the podcast. Yeah. Yeah, totally. No, I try to get people away from the scale as often as possible or as quickly as possible. Right. Like I totally understand, you know, if you're one of those people and you're on the heavier side or whatever, like the weight is the easy thing to focus on, right?

Because it's like, yeah, I mean, everybody's telling you, your doctor's telling you. It's clear. Like, we get it, you need to lose 30 pounds or whatever, right? Like it's it's it's clear. But I think what people don't understand is the relationship between weight and body composition and how different that can be. Right? So the thing that I'm always trying to get people to understand is that body composition is, is what we want. Like when you look at whoever your favorite Instagram influencer is or like you mentioned, shape magazine, that that lady on the front of shape magazine, you look at her and every person says, man, if I just weighed 10 pounds, I look like that.

And the reality of it is that you wouldn't, you could lose 10 pounds, you could lose 20 pounds, and you wouldn't look like that person, because you would have to change your body composition by a 10 to 20 pounds swing. And that means increasing your amount of muscle mass or lean mass and decreasing your amount of fat. Now. So when you see the person that has that athletic, muscular, lean, toned, you know, whatever, use whatever words you want type of build. It's not that they weigh 120 pounds, right?

It's that they have, a large amount of lean mass, a large amount of muscle mass, and they have a low amount of body fat mass. Right. So that's what the scale is not telling you. The scale will tell you if you have lost or gained weight. It doesn't tell you if that is losing or gaining muscle. It doesn't tell you if that is losing or gaining fat. And in a lot of cases I've worked with, I've had a lot of experience with this too, where people will, you know, shift their body composition right. So like one good story I have is I was working with this lady, she was getting ready for, a movie that she was going to be in, and she dropped a couple of pant sizes.

And so she was about to go to the store and buy new pants, and she was texting me. She's like, oh, this is amazing. I'm going to buy new pants. I'm down two sizes that everything's working so well. This is great. So she got all excited and then she hopped on the scale, and then she was the same weight as she had been when we started. And she had a meltdown. Right. And she's like, I don't understand this. Like, I have to go buy new pants, but I'm not any lighter. What's going on? I'm like, well, you're eating more protein.

You're training on a regular basis, you're building muscle, you're dropping fat mass, your body composition is changing, and that's what people can see, right? I always say like, I'm like, you're not walking out of the bathroom in the morning with your scale number stamped on your forehead. Nobody knows. Like, but what you are walking out of your house is with a physical presence. People can see what you look like and that is your composition. That has nothing to do with your weight. Right? So that's the the I think the big thing that I would love for everybody to focus more on.

And like I said, I mean, we've all been through these cycles like I used to do it. I used to go to the gym. I used to hop on the scale before I did my workout, and if it was at a number, I like to keep it around like 212. If it was anywhere over 212, I was literally do an extra time on that treadmill. Like that was the first place I had it. Now I, I, I might be lucky if I get on a scale once or twice a year. Like I look in the mirror. That's what I do. I, I, I do the, the I check how I look, I think about how I feel, I think about how my clothes feel.

Am I able to, you know, wear the same pants every day for however many years I've had them then great, right? Am I happy with what I'm seeing in the mirror then? Great. I'm not. I'm no longer concerned about the scale because it is not a great representation of the body composition. Right. And how your, you know, your, your muscle to fat mass ratio. Right. And then I think for people that are do need to lose weight again. We get it. You need to lose 30 pounds. You can get on that scale and stare.

Stare at it as many times as you want. You can get on it every day and sometimes for people, they like it as a way to, you know, manage progress and keep themselves in check a little bit.

Why the Scale Can Be Misleading 39:28

But I think, you know, if we look less at, those outcome oriented things like the scale and we think more about the action oriented goals of like, okay, I want that scale to be down 30 pounds by the end of this year. What the hell do I have to do? Because it's not getting on the scale and standing on it every morning. That's not going to drop the weight, right? What's going to drop the weight? I need to eat healthier. I need to sleep better. I need to exercise more or differently. I need to walk more.

I need to manage my stress better. I like all of those things. Those are the action oriented goals that you can actually rely on. And I can guarantee you, if you just put that scale aside for, you know, three months, got your sleep on point, got your nutrition on point, got your training on point, got your stress management on point, you pull that scale back out. You're probably going to like the result. Right? Or maybe at that point there's no need for the scale. And you just you love the way you look, feel and function and you just keep rolling with it.

So that's kind of the way I look at it, you know, or try to have people understand it. Absolutely. I kind of think the scale was created to keep women occupied, like you really to really do. I hate the dang thing myself, you know, and and, you know, as someone who has struggled with their weight for probably most of their life, you know, it's it is something that and I've never been very overweight, but just let's say composition change changes fast for me. And it's one of those things where it's like saying what the heck, you know?

And I think for a lot of women, it is something that we see as we're starting to, to get older. And for a lot of people, I think we get to a point where if we've been eating healthy and eating clean most of our life, and then we start to see body composition changes, I think it really does throw a lot of people for a very big loop or tailspin, like, and I'm sure you've seen it too. Yeah, 100%. And I think that's the thing, right? Where like for whatever reason, the scale really does have just like that power over your mind.

And I don't think it like it's not it doesn't matter who you are. Right. Like I have a funny story about that. Or one day, like like I said, I keep my weight pretty steady at like 212, right? So one day I got on our bathroom scale and it said, like 192. And I was like, oh, wow. And I was like, look. And mind you, like, I wouldn't even want to be 192. I'd be like a stick figure if, you know, I'd be way too skinny. What I was like looking in the mirror and I knew the scale was like broken or something. Right?

But then I see the number and I see 192, and then I'm looking in the mirror at myself. I'm like, oh, wow. Like, am I like almost my leader, like, what's going on? But meanwhile I know the scale is broken. So I'm like yelled to my wife, hey, can you grab like some new batteries for the scale? I think this thing's broken. So she grabs a new batteries. I put them in. I step back on the scale on 212 again, and I'm like, like I go back to like, my plain old self, right? But like, it's it's the number.

Like, I don't know what it is, but it just does that to you. So even though, like, I knew the scale was broken and I knew I didn't lose 20 pounds, like, meanwhile, like that would be a bad thing if I did. I think it still had that effect on my on my brain where like I was looking in the mirror with a different image of myself as opposed to what I, how I saw myself at 212 as opposed to 192. So yeah, it's it's tough, right. And I think that's why like I try to keep this whole experience as positive as possible for, for myself being in it and for my, my clients being in it.

Like, I don't love things that are volatile like that. Like I like to just be like, all right, what can I do every day to to do well, like, let me focus on that. Right. If I'm, if I'm, you know, I just want to put my I don't want to put myself in the position to be like mentally in a bad place. Like I don't want to feel bad about my, my process. Right. So I do think like that's something where, you know, the less times we, we focus on the outcomes and the more times we focus on the actions. The actions are exciting.

The actions promote more, you know, positives, right? Like the more of the actions I do, the more it gets me excited. You know, I'm doing a great job. I should do more of this, right? As opposed to like if I'm just getting on that scale every day and it's just counterproductive to my process. Like, I don't love it. And then, you know, with my role, then I'm working at this, concierge health service. We have a lot of women in, like, midlife, like going through, you know, whatever, menopause and things like that.

And I think even now, like, with the push for, like, more training, more muscle mass, more protein, which is, like, big and just like the world of longevity and health and, that type of thing. Like, it's hard to go from the world of like the 80s and 90s where everything was be as like tiny as you can possibly be, and you didn't want to weigh anything. You didn't want to have muscle, you didn't want to have like a, you know, a muscle. But, you know, now everything's about having a big or whatever ass, but like, it's it's hard, right?

Like for, you know, I had a discussion the other day with a woman, like, just leading into menopause, and she's saying the same thing. She's like, I've been trying to be tiny my whole life, and now I'm eating more protein, and I'm focusing on weight training, and she's doing all these incredible things for her her health, her bone mineral density, her longevity, her strength, her ability to stay active. And with her kids. She has like teenage kids, and they like to get out and do cool stuff. So there's all these improvements that it's making.

But she's having a really hard time with like, well, my clothes fit a little bit differently. I'm a little more muscular, right? And it's so it is. It's one of these things that I think it's a constant battle. And in the fitness and nutrition world, I think like the whatever call it dysmorphia or whatever you want to call it. It's just I hate to say it, it's kind of par for the course. It's kind of part of the game, you know, and I think so many people deal with it. And it's one of those things where you, you know, I think if you can understand, it's like, yeah, probably not going to feel my best every day.

Probably going to feel fat some day is probably going to feel too skinny. Some day is probably going to whatever, you know, go through the highs and lows. You can kind of expect that, and you can again, you know, kind of rationally try to fight back against it where it's like, yeah, okay, I don't feel my best today. But, you know, what are all the positive things that I've done for myself. And, you know, we we again hang on those things and hope to fight another day. It's true, it's true. It's such a like that's why I don't do weight loss per se in my office like I can't.

It's too it's too much. It's too emotionally charged and and definitely with, with myself like having struggled, you know, for years on it. I'm like I am not the person. However, I do have the recommendations right for the the basics when it comes to hormones. But other than that like, yeah, not going there. Now, we've kind of talked about the folks who are disciplined, you know, and the folks are really, you know, kind of dialed in things. What do you think for for folks who just can't seem to get their nutritional stuff on point, what do you think the biggest barrier is?

Do you I don't I don't think it's knowledge. I feel like it's like consistency. It's there's something there. What do you think? Yeah. Yeah. To me it's it's all mindset. And it's all mindset. And then it's environments, routines and habits. Those are I, I wouldn't even touch food until you got that stuff figured out. And I see this, you know, even with people that I work with, I get very frustrated sometimes. I'm like, just stop going to Starbucks and getting the 400 calorie latte with like, 60g of sugar and 60g of fat, like, just stop it.

Like, what is the there's no there's no hard thing here. Just don't go right. Like it kills me, right? But again, you then you got to take that step back and you got to look at it from the perspective of the person. And it's like, okay. Like they've been asked to stop. They've told me they want to stop. They know they need to stop, but they still keep going, and they still keep driving through that drive through or whatever it is. So like, what is it? Right. And I think that's when it comes down to the mindset, like, dude,

Mindset, Habits, and Planning for Success 47:48

do you believe that you have what it takes to make the change? And unfortunately in, you know, I mean, hey, like, let's be realistic. Like the large majority of human beings in the United States are overweight or metabolically unhealthy, right? They've tried. Right. A lot of people like, you know, the, the those stats are out there where it's like, hey, weight loss is not our problem. Weight loss maintenance is the problem, right? A lot of people do diets, they lose the 10 pounds, they lose the 15 pounds or whatever.

And then immediately they gain it all back and maybe even more. Right. So the weight loss is not specifically the issue in a lot of cases for people, it's the ability to maintain the weight loss that they've created. And to me, that's going to come down to I do think, like having the proper plan and something that's not just like a crash diet or whatever for a month or two, obviously is a big piece of the puzzle. Learning to create a lifestyle for yourself, right? That you actually feel like you can stick to long term is going to be a huge piece of it, rather than detox teas and, you know, whatever.

But so that's part of it. But I think the big thing for people is like, they've tried a lot. They've failed a lot. You know, and it get I'm sure it gets in people's heads. Hey, can I actually do this? You know, am I actually worth it? And, you know, do I have what it takes? Like, there's so much evidence on the flip side of, like. Yeah, no, like you're just that person you drive to the drive through, it's whatever. And I think so the mindset really gets people. So I really would, you know, kind of challenge people to like start really like really you got to mentally prepare yourself.

Right. Like this is one thing I did when with, when I started my, my business, my coaching business is like I told myself my whole life, I hate money. I want nothing to do with it. I just want to, like, go about my business. And, like, I was uncomfortable asking people for money, which is not good if you're trying to start your own business. You know, I wasn't confident. I never took a business class. I don't know what I'm doing. I had all these reasons why I couldn't succeed. Right? So, like. And then I listened to enough self-help stuff, and I love I actually love Jen Sincero.

She's great. So I listen to some of her books. And I literally started to pep talk myself in my car every morning. Like you, you are like, you do deserve money for what you're doing. You are good at what you do. You like, you can figure this out. You're not an idiot like you. You know, like whatever it is I had to tell myself, but started to get my mind in the right place where I felt comfortable acting in alignment with, like, who I'm trying to be. Right? So I think that's big for people to start is like, start creating a more positive process.

Start telling yourself that you can do it. Stop doubting yourself. Stop going back on your word right? And then so that's the mindset piece. And then it's to me like environments habits, routines. Right. So like it's so routine for people just to drive through that Starbucks every morning. It's so it's a it's literally not even a thought in people's heads. And it amazes me like when I because I interview a ton of people about their nutrition all the time and I say like, well, what did you eat yesterday? And they're like, and they, they don't know.

They're like, I don't really know. You know, like I just, I just eat some stuff and it's like you're you're just going through the day and you're just letting it kind of take you like a bag in the wind, right? And you're just eating whatever comes in front of you or, hey, you know, I'm driving home. I'm hungry. I see that sign for that. That I don't know, whatever. You know, McDonald's over there. It's the closest thing to me. I'm hungry right now. Let me just stop. Right. So I do think, like, habits, routines, and environments are going to be the biggest thing that people can, start to adjust, right?

So just to be very aware of that, the habits that you have or that you have created that aren't in alignment with who you're trying to be or your health, your wellness, your nutrition goals, whatever it is. Right. Those habits will be huge. And then obviously, like, everything's just routine and habit. So like, is there a way we can adjust your routine so that, you know, we create some new habits that are going to be more beneficial for you? And then the environment comes into play, right? So it's like, hey, if I'm trying to lose 20 pounds, but, you know, I go to Applebee's every Friday night and drink margaritas and have nachos with my friends.

Like, is that the best environment for me to be putting myself in if I am? You know, if I have a candy drawer full of chocolate and, and Starburst and, you know, Twizzlers, like, you know, like you said, and and Cheez-Its or whatever it was, or goldfish like, is that an environment I want to be in? It's going to promote, you know, my ability to eat healthier and potentially lose weight. Probably not. Right? Like, we want to adjust that environment somehow. Right? So those are the kind of the main things I try to work on with people where it's like, yeah, you, you need to have some faith in yourself.

You need you need to have the belief that you can make these changes because, you know, once you once you believe it, it's a lot easier to act in alignment with it. And then obviously we then we start to get to work on the routines and the habits that are affecting it. And then, you know, start thinking about, okay, how can we create an environment that's more conducive to your success? You know, absolutely agree. I think so many people are on autopilot with with food, with driving through drive thrus.

I mean, it's just like their brains like just goes there, right? They don't even have to think about it. They just drive right there. I mean, I know in the past, like I've talked with patients, like, I have no idea how I ended up in the drive thru. Yeah, I was just there. It's like it's it's mindless. Right? Yeah. And and that's the thing I like kind of going back to like athletics, like there was not. And I'm sure you can think of this as well. And anybody who's ever played a sport and this isn't just for sports, but there was always a game plan, right?

Like I never you never showed up to a game not knowing who your opponent was and how you were going to have some kind of a way to, you know, to win that game. Right. So I think of, you know, nutrition and just life in general as, you know, the same thing. Like, you're not you're not showing up to work most in most cases with just zero idea of what you're going to do. And then just hoping that it kind of figures itself out, like you're going to make some kind of a plan for the day, right? Or, you know, people with kids, they probably have to plan the plan the hell out of their day, right?

Like, I'm sure I don't have kids, but like, you probably got to have everything ducks in a row, right? But they don't do that with food. So to me, having a game plan is it just gives you the opportunity to succeed. If you don't have a game plan, then that's when you literally just find yourself like, oh my God, I don't know. It's just going to drive through. Or like, I was just it was 8:00 and I was starving. And the only thing that was close by was this pizza place or whatever, right? Where like, I'm, I'm big on the fact that, like, take some time to plan your day, have have a plan in like in order, right.

Whether that's you have meals prepped or you know how you're going to get meals, you know that you're going to be out running around with the kids all night. But you know that there is a restaurant down the street from the field where you can order some kind of a decent meal and bring that home after that long day or whatever. Right. Like that. To me is enough to get, like to start creating positive changes, right? So that's my big thing is like, and it doesn't even have to be that you have, you know, you spend every Sunday cooking for the entire week and you have this fancy prepped meals all sit stacked nicely in your fridge.

All you need to do is be one step ahead of yourself, right? So, like, you know, for me, I go into New York City a few days a week for, for my job. So it's like on the days I go to the city, I either have a meal with me that I'm bringing, and if I don't, I know that there's two places on either end of the block where I can go get food. So like, I'll at least have thought that through. And then I'm not just like finding myself in the break room eating kind bars and like, nuts, basically. Right? Like or whatever. Right?

So I think that's the thing where people don't put enough attention and emphasis on is the game plan, or they think that everything has to be so planned to down to the last detail that it sounds or it feels like too much and they don't want to do it right. So my big thing is just to stay a step ahead of yourself, just be a little bit proactive. Just know that when you wake up in the morning, you know what you're going to do. Know that when it comes to lunchtime, you know what you're going to have for lunch.

Know that you have a snack planned for 4 p.m. and know that you have a thought process for dinner. If you have those things in place more often than not, you'll you'll default to those things. When you don't have that plan in place, you're going to default to convenience and convenience. Convenience is never typically the best to think. So. No, it never ends well. I can tell how dialed in your nutrition is like, because when you when your snacks are kind bars or nuts and you can't think of anything like I'm like, yeah, you and I have dialed in to that point because, yeah, like I'm like, nuts.

Yeah, yeah. Because my that's it, you know. But yeah. And that's. Yeah, it's it's a long process but it come, it comes to that. It's okay if you're part squirrel I'm looking for for part squirrel friends. But no, all joking aside, I mean, sometimes, you know, we do dial ourselves in to the point where, yeah, you, when you start to get desperate, it's like your only thought is like nuts. Yeah. Something like there's that. And especially when you eat clean enough. But you guys, I don't want I don't want to turn it into all that.

Because I do want people to think about, like, making choices from where they're at versus long term stuff. So yeah, let's let's talk about your freebie. Let's talk about that kind of stuff where folks can find you all of those things. But like mastering your macros, you kind of talked about a lot of this today. Is it kind of an extension, the freebie kind of extension of that? Give us give us a scoop? Yeah. The Mastering Macros freebie is literally just kind of, like a, I don't know, X's and O's walkthrough of.

I think the biggest thing people like I think us in the nutrition space macros is just a term that gets thrown around so much like we just feel like everybody should know. Most people, when they come to me, have no idea what macronutrients are, or they know that they're proteins, carbs and fats, but they don't know what proteins, carbs, and fats are like. I'll say, well, okay, well, what are your carbs? And I'll be like, bread. Okay, that's one of them. But like, what about the restaurant? I don't really know. Right. What are your proteins? Peanut butter.

No, peanut butter is not a protein. So we need to get that figured out right. So I think then again to me knowledge is power. So basically in that document all it is is just kind of a walk through on, you know, what are the three macronutrients.

Free Resources and Where to Find Adam Ross 58:18

What are the foods that provide those three macronutrients. And how can you start to think about structuring a day? You know, again, if we're trying to be high protein and we're eating nuts all day long, unfortunately we're going to be getting a very small amount of protein. We're getting a lot of fat and even more carbohydrate and protein. Right. So protein is the last thing you're actually getting from your nuts and your peanut butter and stuff. So that's a big thing I want people to understand is just kind of how to structure those macros.

And I also do have a like, I, you know, how I talk the percentages and the ratios and all that stuff that's in there as well, for people just to grab and try to utilize. So that's a cool freebie. And then also too, if people go into my Instagram, like the link in the bio or whatever, I have, like a video where I literally walk people through, like what I think is the thing that's kind of getting in their way in terms of like people who are really trying to eat healthy but feeling like they're healthy.

Eating still isn't, you know, doing what they're what it's supposed to do. I kind of have like a again, like X's and O's videos where I kind of walk through like, okay, here's how we can structure a day a little bit more accurately or a little bit more aligned with goals. Right. So in between those two things, I think that's a great place for people to start. Awesome. Yeah. I think it's awesome to hear that you walk people through it in the video to some, you know, freebies. I think it's great. I like the video too.

So having the back up so they've got the freebie on one side and then they could watch the video and have it all all there to put it right, right together. So a freebie with a backup with a backup. Yeah. You know, the knowledge is the power. I want people to have the knowledge. And then the coaching side of things is the support, the accountability, the the idea of, you know, having that outsider's perspective, bouncing things off, hey, I'm, I'm hungry today. I'm tired today. I feel I don't feel great. I'm whatever.

I'm like, you know, like that's where to me the coach comes into play. So yeah, I'm really working on just like giving away all the X's and all stuff for free. And then, you know, people can reach out, like, if they desire basically. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, I find it like this day and age where we're looking at children and teens and young adults having some serious struggles with their health and their weight, like, if we can help mom and dad and the whole family with information and kind of get everybody so huge, it's so huge.

I'm sure you found that like even with with coaching mom or dad, you're probably seeing the family benefits too. 100%. Yeah. It's the coolest thing, right? Like everything's just works through osmosis, you know, and even with, like, family, I was. I see this a lot, too, where there's a lot of pushback at the beginning. Oh, why are you doing that? Oh. You don't you're not going to do this. You're not going to whatever. Right. And it's like, like I always say like misery loves company, right? So you making those healthier choices and doing the things that some of those family members know they should be doing.

But again, don't have the structure in place to be able to do them. It makes them uncomfortable. Right. And then they're going to try to drag you back into their situation just so that you guys are on a loving a level playing field. Right? So yeah, my is a guy, one of my roommates, and he used to always say like, man, come, come get pizza with me. And I'd be like, nah, I'm good. Like, I'll just eat origami. He's like, man, come on, misery loves company. I need someone to come with me to eat the pizza.

So I stole his line. But. So that's where it'll start. They'll they'll kind of get on your case. They'll try to bring you back into their world. They'll try to drag it back down. But when you show that you're committed and you stick to it and you're making great changes and they see the progress that you're making now, they're going to start asking about it, right? And they'll, wow, why are you doing that? Why are you eating this way? Like or the kids, right. Like at the beginning. Oh, this is gross.

This sucks. I don't want to do this. Whatever. And then you stick with it. You show them that you're you're, you know, you're all in on it. And then through osmosis, they start to kind of, you know, okay, why are we doing this? Why are we doing that? Oh, I want to try that. I want to try this. Right. And I think that's one big thing is like, again, this is not change is not easy. Right. There's a million different reasons why it's it's hard. Whether it's personal, it's family, it's relationships.

It's whatever. But I, you know, I do think and it's always worth it, right? Like, it's never going to not be worth it to just whatever have that that mental clarity, that peace of mind more energy, you know, more vitality, look better or feel better or whatever. Right. So yeah, it's it's tough. But I do think if, if people can, you know, kind of make that decision, put the foot down and go all in on it. The benefits definitely outweigh any of the sacrifices that you kind of got to make or the adjustments that you got to make.

You know, I wholeheartedly agree, and I do think it is important for folks to have a coach at least some time in their life to really master, and, and have someone to, to be accountable to, like you were saying, you know, and just like I mentioned even earlier, you know, I was like, oh, man, I dropped my calories on my like, you know, just dumb stuff that like, you know, but you need someone else to call you out on it because sometimes you just you're on autopilot. You didn't catch it. So no, I think it's absolutely valuable to have a coach and and definitely just get some insights because, yeah, you can look at all of Adam's freebies, but no one's going to catch you on like the glitches in the system. So, Adam, tell us where folks can find you on Instagram and your website and your podcast, because we got to definitely shout out for all of those things.

Amazing. Yeah. Thank you. So the website is, are nutrition dot net, so just you are nutrition all one word dot net. Instagram is where I really do the large majority of like any social media. So that's nutrition coach underscore Adam. So nutrition coach all one word underscore Adam. And those are basically the two best places to to find me. So the podcast again is the achieve results nutrition and wellness podcast. So that can be searched on any I to come on all those major platforms. So whether it's Apple or Spotify or Google or whatever, it's it's on all of it.

And yeah, if you go to the website, there's also links to get to the podcast and stuff there. So air nutrition dot net or nutrition coach underscore Adam on Instagram. Those are probably the two best starting points to start getting some access to some of the stuff that I've got. Good stuff here. Adam, thank you so much for coming on and sharing all your insights. I sincerely appreciate it. You know, I appreciate your time. Doctor cross, it's a pleasure to, to be here. And I really appreciate you having me on.

This is an awesome conversation. That stuff. Hey, fellow health junkie, thanks for listening to the health podcast. If you enjoyed tuning in, please help support me to get the word out about the podcast, subscribe, rate and review and just get that word out. Thanks again for listening.