Stop Overdosing

Coaching clients for many years (January will mark my seventh year!) has enabled me to understand the frequent struggles that the average person faces. The most common error people encounter while attempting to achieve their fitness goal (or any goal, really) is following the wrong information. In the current world we all live in, access to information is ultimately endless. The powerful devices we all carry in our pocket unlocks the ideas, thoughts, and studies conducted throughout the world at an instant. The problem is not the information, but rather the deciphering of that information. As we search the internet we are emotionally charged and in search of a “cure” or “quick fix” to our problems. Marketers now thrive off of you like a leech. They get you hooked with (wild and extraordinary) claims like “lose 30 pounds in 30 days”. The blood sucking leech has now attached. Your life energy is being sucked away as you attempt this straegy. The failures accrue and so does the weight. 

I have a similar problem with this world of information. I attempt to be my own doctor often. I sometimes will spend numerous hours researching a topic that I have absolutely no expertise in. However, I justify it by my understanding of basic human anatomy and physiology. This basic understanding tricks me into thinking I can self-diagnose my aliments because I can relate to the concrete in which the subject lies. By the end of my research I am always convinced that I understand my health issue. The only problem is I considered the worst possible thing that could be going on. To be completely honest I have convinced myself I had a DVT, heart attack, and even a rare blood disorder. I became a full-blown hypochondriac. These problems once evaluated by a trained professional, or EKG showed no trace of being real. The only way I overcame my anxiety about my health was to stop investigating the issues myself and rely on a professional to understand my issues. Your problem may be that you want fast results for weight that has taken years to put on or something similar.  We both experienced the Dunning-Kruger effect because we have a limited amount of knowledge or competence in a given subject, so we greatly overestimate our own knowledge or competence in that domain. This remains true if you are someone who consumes fitness content on a regular basis as well (typically guys). I have met several men (sometimes women) who claim to “know what they are doing” just because they have spent a dubious amount of time on youtube watching videos*. The professional is waiting to help, but cannot reach these people after they shackle themselves to the idea that they “know what they are doing”. The scratch on any topics surface is a quick polish away from losing truth once you understand the deep and endless nuance. (*These people aren’t coachable so they never get here, to the point of discovery where everything gets blow up, but you are reading so perhaps you’re different if this describes you*)

You: “If deciphering information is the most common problem among us, then what is the most effective way to improve my bodies look, feel, and function from an experienced professional perspective?”

Me: “Doing the least amount possible to make the most amount of change”

If you have ever trained with me, I guarantee I have said these exact words at some point in time (typically when the client will ask to go faster, see more results, or wants to know why we are taking our time). Dosing the appropriate amount (balance) is the key for almost everything in life to work well. Think about it. Relationships need balance. Medicine needs balance. Jobs and life need balance. As Karl Albrecht said “when everything is a priority, nothing is really a priority”. Everything really is dose dependant in order to receive the optimal response. The easy example is medicine, lets take Tylenol or more specifically Acetaminophen. This is something you take for minor aches and pains. So when you get a headache you pop 200-400mg and wait 4-6 hours until consuming another dose because you know the medicine (just like everything) can harm you when overdosed. Yet, Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause for calls to Poison Control Centers (>100,000/year) and accounts for more than 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths due to acute liver failure each year.

This is very similar to exercise and diet. The parameters are the same. You should take time to decide where your first “move” is and every “move” after that must be very strategic. Like a game of chess you need to set up your board (body) to both attack (lose body fat) and defend (keep body fat off for good). Notice I said body fat reduction, not weight reduction. All too often people are tracking the pounds coming off. Some weight you would ideally like to keep (muscle, water, etc.) because it ensures you have a healthy roaring metabolism. Unfortunately people will overdose on exercise and diet which leads them down a road of losing muscle and fat, or even worse hitting a hard plateau and stalling progress altogether.

STOP.

Instead do the smallest change possible that will elicit the greatest response. Stop drinking soda or alcohol. Watch as you lose 10 pounds without trying. Next, try walking for a set goal each day. See, as you melt away another 5 pounds. And so on. The point is you want to make a small, tiny, baby step that will propel you forward without much effort. The key is you need to stick with these new habits for the long haul. You shouldn’t attempt to add new baby steps until you can prove that you are maintaining the previously adopted habit effectively. This is fundamental habit change, done slowly and easily. After you hit your goal weight you can now follow the 80/20 rule or some variation of it. Progressing your exercise routine in the gym is no different. You do exactly what you need and no more. You don’t gain muscle in one set, one day, or one week. You gain muscle over several (well progressed) workouts strung together for months. Therefore the approach is the same. Do the right amount of work to make you slightly sore. Maintain that until you are no longer sore. Then add just an ounce more work (one more rep, 2.5 more pounds, etc.).

This topic has much deeper nuance, which is where having a professional to program, periodize, and plan this out for you would be ideal. If you are in need of a passionate coach, I currently have some openings in my schedule. Reach out to me at mattptcantrell@gmail.com for more information before my schedule is full!