No matter how much progress you're making, how much stronger you're getting, how consistent you are with setting new positive habits, low quality sleep can quickly override all the progress you're feeling. So, the question here is how much detail do you put into your daily sleep hygiene? What we do with our sleep is essentially like how we charge our phones. Do you want to wake up in the morning with a 30%50%/70% battery, and then have to scramble to get as much in before you crash, or do you want to wake up with a near 100% charge and know that your meals and habits will take you through the day with plenty of energy? Here is a simple list of my do's optimize sleep quality so you wake up with that near 100% wake score. (If you have an Oura Ring or Whoop Band, you know what I'm talking about) Do - Have your last meal 2 hours or more before bedtime. Digestion can affect sleep. Particularly if you eat a high protein dinner, it will take hours to digest and can elevate your resting heart rate (RHR) - Take sleep/relaxation supplements (Magnesium Glycinate (1-3 caps), Ashwaghanda (1 cap), Prestige Sleep (1-3 caps) I take these about an hour before bedtime. My Oura score improves by 15-20 out of 100 when I take these. https://www.amazon.com/shop/ywfbryce/list/8IZ4VZ3PK2FE?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_aipsfywfbryce_7W4F9YHKEBKDG29CCQYT https://refer.prestigelabs.com/?af=bd0p8kqj - Have a personal wind down routine. Journaling, meditating, breathwork, praying, reading, talking with your partner. The goal here is to remove screen time in the last hour, relax your mind, and put you in a state of gratitude before you go bed. - Keep your room as dark as possible. Any additional light (particularly from your phone or tv) that you are exposed to is going to decrease the amount of melatonin you are able to produce. Meaning you'll feel groggy and unrested in the morning. - Shut off water and fluid intake 2-3 hours before bedtime. This may sound simple but can be challenging to apply. If we can cut down your middle of the night or 2-bathroom trips, you will get more deep and REM sleep. - Use a Hatch Clock or similar https://www.amazon.com/shop/ywfbryce?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_aipsfywfbryce_ZNJS39T73D5F88KM7NKY instead of getting startled out of bed in the morning to your phone and start scrolling, this will give you an opportunity to wake to light and peaceful music or sounds.

A common conversation viewpoint that I've had several times/day is the ability to have delayed gratification. Whether you can see or feel it, most of us have conditioned ourselves to be in pursuit of a daily or instant Dopamine fix. When dopamine is released and we are temporarily "happy." Bad day? Have a bottle of wine and a big dinner! Boss is a dick? Hop on social media and scroll away! Work is killing you? Book a vacation! Family is stressing you out? Go on a shopping spree! It seems logical to want to get out of a bad mood or negative space with things that make us "happy." Rather than seeking the fastest way to relieve this temporary stress, if we can delay the instant happy to dig a little deeper to figure why we get triggered in the first place, we can find better inner fulfillment towards our long-term solution. Think about having a victim or creator mindset in these situations. The victim will seek a way to feel better. A creator will find a way to resolve the conflict. ...if you get really good at rewarding your negative life experiences, you are actually subconsciously training yourself to become addicted to your suffering. Introspective Thoughts 1. What have you gotten better at seeing your delayed gratifications? 2. Can you go back and look at times when you were the least happy and see the victimhood mindset you may have put yourself in? (I was the poster child victim mentality Covid person, FYI) 3. What is something that you want long term that would be beneficial for you to believe in more?

Part of getting really good at balancing your macros is the ability to be flexible with your food selections. If you genuinely enjoy eating the same foods every day, it's extremely simple. However, if you like to mix things up, it helps to know how much you can move around to fit other things in. Here is a basic list of what 30 grams of carbs looks like to make your meals easier. Weight of food for 30 grams of Carbohydrates Apple = 220 grams (114 calories) Berries = 250 grams (130 calories) Melon = 380 grams (114 calories) Banana = 140 grams (116 calories) Orange = 260 grams (122 calories) Pineapple = 230 grams (115 calories) cooked rice = 130 grams (144 calories) cooked quinoa = 140 grams (168 calories) cooked potatoes = 135 grams (117 calories) uncooked oats = 45 grams (169 calories) corn = 200 grams (161 calories) black beans = 130 grams (164 calories) carrots = 310 grams (127 calories) tomatoes = 750 grams (135 calories) lettuce = 850 grams (100 calories) pasta = 40 grams (149 calories) flour tortilla = 60 grams (184 calories) bread = 60 grams (162 calories) cereal = 35 grams (131 calories) Check your labels on more processed options. These are rough estimates, there will always be a slight variance even on fruits and veggies. If the calories are higher on any of these, it means it also has protein and fat. There is next to no difference between WHITE RICE and BROWN RICE and WHITE POTATOES and SWEET POTATOES. The micronutrient profile varies a little, but don't think you can only have one or the other. Reflective Questions 1. What are your primary carb sources so far? 2. How often do you swap in and out your carb sources? 3. Has your opinion of any of your food choices changes since you started?

Pre and Intra workout formulas may be looked at as a novelty training supplement. However if your goals are: More reps - more training volume Less required rest Better brain focus Less muscle fatigue Increased recovery Better muscular pump Faster strength and endurance development The only downside is making sure you’re taking a quality brand, there are a lot of brands that cut corners. If you are someone who takes training and recovery seriously, these can be a game changer to your workouts. This are my personal go to brand, because I know the quality and thoughtfulness went into the design. Prestige Energy Prestige Recovery https://refer.prestigelabs.com/?af=bd0p8kqj Action Items 1. Do you take any supplements currently for performance and recovery? 2. Have you organically progressed in weight selection and strength? 3. Have you seen noticeable changes in body composition and muscle size and/or definition in the last 6 months? *if you’ve never taken a pre-workout supplement, start with a half dose **beta-alanine will give you a tingly/itchy sensation in the beginning. Your body adapts to this very quickly.

For those of you who love to try new recipes, I highly recommend following the following: @theflexibledietinglifestyle Hopefully most of you are finding your groove on managing your macros. The challenging part about doing a macro-based diet though can often be getting into so good of a groove that you become stagnant in what you're eating, and/or having a fear of going out to eat. A huge benefit of doing a macro-based approach though is that you are not stuck into eliminating certain foods or food groups. While it is highly beneficial to eat the majority of your calories from whole foods, it is equally as helpful to be able to look at foods like cereal, bread, pasta, etc, and understand that they can still have a place in your daily/weekly diet. If you're not starting to analyze the data on Nutrition Labels, you can see a lot of foods that you may have demonized, can now easily fit without having to completely rewrite the script of your day. The Instagram share is a great example of how you can turn nearly any meal you want into a macro friendly choice with a few adjustments. ...you also may notice that some foods that you thought were healthy, may actually be the opposite, and you really have to carve out the detail to fit them in now (nuts and nut butters, protein bars, salmon, steak, etc) Action Items 1. What foods have you eaten that fit better into your macros than you thought? 2. What's been a favorite dish of yours that you didn't think would fit your macros? 3. What foods are you surprised that you're having a hard time now fitting in?