Food versus Exercise

Which will provide the most benefit first: 

Changing how you eat or increasing the number of times you exercise?

HINT: It's NOT exercise!

Think about it... 

The average person eats MORE THAN 3 TIMES A DAY.

That's at least 21 chances you have to change the way your body feels each week.

You can ALSO get AMAZING results by simply strength training 3 TIMES A WEEK.

But 3 vs. 21.

Therefore what you are eating is FAR more important than what you are doing for exercise.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

YOU JUST HAVE TO START.

The problem is you are overanalyzing all the diets that worked for so and so instead of LEARNING TO FEEL what works for YOU. 

I have heard all the excuses in the book. 

I hate to cook. I'm not hungry. I'm single and cooking for one is a pain in the ass.

If you learn "which foods represent which macronutrients" the excuses disappear.

For the most part our  food choices can be broken down into 3 main categories

PROTEIN     |    FAT    |     CARBOHYDRATES

I want to you eating something from each category with each meal you consume. 

Make it a game... think PLUG AND PLAY. 

Whether that means you are doing some food preparation at home or you are eating on the run 

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND which foods represent which macronutrients in different situations. You can either be prepared or you can have faith in your ability to make the right educated decision if you yourself unprepared. 

These are the following sources of PROTEIN currently in my fridge, and ready to go.

Chicken sausage, whole eggs, tuna, grass fed beef, greek yogurt, egg whites, cottage cheese, + sun warrior protein powder.

Moving along to FAT

Avocados, dry roasted unsalted almonds, cashew butter, coconut oil, flax meal, olive oil.

Finally CARBOHYDRATES

broccoli, zucchini, sweet potatoes, kale, healthy 8 mix, plantain chips, grapefruit, bananas, wild frozen fruit, brown rice bread, quest bars, sweet potatoes, + white rice.

As you can see the MAJORITY are real whole foods.  I adhere to the 80/20 rule. I practice eating "real food" 80% of the time and save room for my favorite "cheats" 20% of the time.  

THIS IS SO AMAZINGLY DOABLE PEOPLE!!!

What are examples of meals and snacks YOU love that follow this macronutrient PLUG and PLAY rule?

What are your favorite 20% foods?

DIET and EXERCISE, DIET and EXERCISE, DIET and EXERCISE

Is anyone else sick of hearing about DIET and EXERCISE!??!  

I want to set a few things straight.

At Stacey Schaedler Strength we prefer to refer to diet as nutrition and exercise as training.

This post is an intro to our nutrition basics. The next post will discuss our exercise/training beliefs.

When it comes to nutrition, it seems that few experts can agree on what a "healthy diet" is and isn’t.   This can be extremely confusing! I have been a vegetarian, eaten a low-fat + high- carb diet, eaten a high- fat + low-carb diet, eaten to fuel my performance, partaken in intermittent fasting, dieted for physique competitions…the list goes on and on.  These experiences have taught me invaluable lessons about how my body works. 

Your body is smarter than you and if you learn to listen to it, it can teach you a lot!

Hello 2014

Here we are several days into January of 2014. Did you accomplish everything you set out to do in 2013?
Congrats if so!
Personally I think goals are great, however I find that many of us are going about them all wrong!
So you have a goal.
What is it?
Be specific. Don't overwhelm yourself. You have the ENTIRE YEAR and who says you can't add more goals once your original ones have been met.

The good ole #DIRTYTHIRTY

For the past few months I have been using the hashtag #dirtythirty and no it's not some killer Crossfit workout! It was me preparing for my thirtieth birthday which is exactly ONE WEEK away! I always love when people come up with lists of lessons learned in life on their birthdays and I was definitely excited to create mine for this big year!

I would like to think of the following list as lessons learned, mantras I follow, and things I know to be true... all at the ripe young age of thirty! Hope you enjoy :D

                                        photo courtesy of www.jessmcdougallcreative.com 

30 Things I know to be True

1. Practice Yoga. It's good for you and for everyone around you.

2. Strength Train. Your body will thank you. ( Preferably with a kettlebell: its an efficient, total body tool and can be done ANYWHERE)

3. Happiness is a choice.  Life is too short to be anything but HAPPY.

4. Meet yourself, LOVE yourself---> then you will attract that.

5. LESS is MORE. (Especially when it comes to exercise and how much you tell someone the first time you meet them)

6. If weight loss is your main goal, IT IS ALL ABOUT NUTRITION!

7. Go to bed early...wake up early. ( Morning people are more successful and driven and in my experience more pleasant to be around.)

8.  Dreams come true. Know what you want and stick to it. Have goals and follow through.

9. Seek PROGRESS not PERFECTION.

10.  Don't be so hard on yourself.

11.  Surround yourself with people who believe you can succeed...perhaps more than you do :)

12.  Cook your own food and learn to like doing it.  Food is the medicine of the future. ( Look into a farm share)

13.  Move your body and your heart will follow. ( favorite old school lululemon manifesto)

14.  Spend time outside everyday. Vitamin D, fresh air, and nature are all very calming.

15. It's all about the GLUTES baby.

16. BE KIND

17.  Make training for LONGEVITY your #1 priority. Whether you are training for weight loss, general strength gains or competitions, you don't want to get hurt in the process!

18.  The pain you feel in your body is most likely a result of MISALIGNMENT ELSEWHERE.  Don't shoot the messenger... find the source.

19.  Online dating isn't just for creeps.  With the amount of hours people work these days, MATCH.COM could actually be the way you meet "THE ONE."

20.  Appreciate your body everyday. No matter what shape, size, or strength.  It houses your soul and does MUCH more than what it looks like on the outside. You are NOT your body.

21. GRATITUDE

22.  Never stop learning. Consider it investing in yourself.

23. Lacrosse balls/ Foam Rollers are your best friend. OR they should be.  Unless you can afford a weekly massage ( then your therapist can be your bestie)

24. Learn what makes you feel good.  Do those things daily. Learn what makes you feel bad. Eliminate those things from your daily life as much as possible. Many people have no idea how good they can actually feel or that a lot of it is well within their control.

25. No one is an expert at everything, but there are plenty of experts in each field. If you need help with something seek out a coach or a mentor.  Don't struggle unnecessarily.  The fact of the matter is you will teach THEM something too... I guarantee it.

26.  Learn from your pets.  Not only has having a puppy taught me a lot about patience and love it has made me enjoy the little things more and has made me less self centered.  I worry less about my appearance and more about his happiness.  I watch him relax, enjoy sunshine as well as each and every complete stranger we encounter on our walks.

27.  Consider renaming your workouts to "training sessions."  Training is just like practice, there is a plan involved and you are there to get better and better each time. After training you should be able about your day afterwards as opposed to laying on the floor seeing stars. It shouldn't take everything in your power to finish the session each time, and it shouldn't be this monotonous boring chore to complete everyday. Do something that makes you happy and makes your body feel good, and strive to do better each time!

28.  Live within your means.

29. MAKE YOURSELF YOUR PRIORITY. Spend time and money NOW on healthy food and exercise.  People are living way longer than they used to.  You want to enjoy every moment of this life as opposed to taking pills, having surgeries and just being plain uncomfortable right?!

30. LIFE IS CRAZY AMAZING!!!! If you allow these lessons to sink in I believe that you too will THRIVE

xoxo

Stacey

Smarter Training for Longevity

When will this be the "IN" thing?

With Crossfit, Spartan Races and Tough Mudders all the rage;
what total body crushing, leave you breathless phenomenon will come next?

I have nothing against any of these I just need those of you partaking in them to understand the importance of RECOVERY.

I GUARANTEE that RECOVERY is the MOST UNDERUSED TOOL in YOUR fitness toolbox.
We all have ONE body in this life and we don't want to damage it to the point of no return!
Here are TWO easy ways to train smarter starting NOW.

1. Whether it be yoga, foam rolling and self myofascial release, regular massage, or meditation.

These tools all enable your body restore. 

This is not being lazy. It’s called being SMART.

If you don't already have one get yourself a FOAM ROLLER, and get started with this

Position yourself with front of thighs on the roller. Make sure you keep your  core and glutes tight, as to protect the lower back. You may be on hands or forearms. Roll down and up the entirety of the thigh, stopping along points that seem especially tight.

Roll from pelvic bone to knee, emphasizing the lateral aspect of the thigh. When you find a point that is especially tight ( could be the whole thing) hang out there and breathe.

2. In order to stay progressive with your strength be sure to program a de-load week into your routine. 

Again this is not being lazy it's called being SMART. 

Use this to get stronger each block, not plateau or get injured!

Take PLANNED time off and get stronger OR train hard all the time, get sick and be FORCED to take time off and steps backwards. 

Hmm sounds like a no brainer to me.

Whether or not you choose to think of it this way 

EXERCISE IS INTENTIONAL STRESS ON THE BODY. 

When you have work stress, financial stress, kid stress…. 

Ever think you might need some restoration to balance out your body?!?!

This goes for both males and females but I want to strongly emphasize this for my LADIES.

FORGET GETTING LEAN in a constant state of stress.

Those daily killer workouts with no end in sight will eventually cause adrenal fatigue. 

YOUR BODY WILL ACTUALLY HOLD ON TO EXCESS BODY FAT.

Which means no matter how "clean you eat" or how"hard you train"  you will not see the results you are working so hard/suffering for.

YOU NEED MORE RECOVERY!

For almost a decade I have deemed kettlebells and yoga the ultimate compliment to each other.  Any sort of intense strength training needs to be balanced out.

Something as simple as 2-4 days of strength and 1-2 days of yoga. 

Throughout the years my style of training has evolved but ONE thing has remained the same.

The body needs BALANCE in order to THRIVE on this LONG HAUL called life.

Not sure how to get started with yoga? Still not thoroughly convinced?

MORE ON THAT NEXT!