Are You Thriving Yet? (Part 3)

Reading time: about 8 minutes

Hey Brothers,

I’m Len Denton. Welcome back to the LenDentonThrive Letter. 

In a recent edition of the Letter, I outlined the dimensions of the current fitness crisis that American men are dealing. Basically, American men have never been more obese, and the problem is getting worse every year.

I also explained why I think the primary reason for this unprecedented obesity epidemic has a lot to do with three big lies that we’ve been told. They are:

1. Corporate Food is unhealthy and addictive.

2. Healthcare is actually Sick Care.

3. Fitness is about how big your muscles are. (More muscles equates to better fitness.)

In each case, it seems that corporate profits are being prioritized over health. 

So, how do we win at this game?

It’s simple…we don’t play.

Instead, we play a different game. One where the odds are stacked much more favorable for us.

Instead of eating highly-processed corporate factory food, we consume more real food - the kind grown on farms.

Instead of waiting to get sick, then taking pills for life to manage our illness, we take charge of our health and focus on prevention and staying fit and healthy.

Instead of relying on one-size-fits-all gym-training, we choose exercises that accelerate fat-loss that we actually enjoy.

Basically, we adopt a smarter, not harder approach to self-directed health and fitness. It doesn’t have to be complicated, grueling or expensive. It should be simple, effective and tuned to your particular needs and preferences. 

I call it the ThriveLife! And, I’ll show you how you can build your own personalized version, in 30 minutes or less a day. And, you’ll see real, sustainable results in a few weeks. In 30 days, you’ll build a healthy lifestyle that will keep you fit and healthy for the rest of your life. All without crazy diets or grueling workouts. 

Let’s jump in and have a look. 

The ThriveLife 30-Day Plan

This 30-day plan is the same approach that I used back in 2014 to lose 70 pounds in 7 months. I’ve used the same plan since then to maintain my weight loss and improve my overall fitness. If you follow this approach, I’m confident you’ll see similar satisfying results.

The plan is based on five simple daily practices (habits) that I’ve used to lose weight and stay fit over the years. Best of all, these habits can be done in 30-35 minutes a day. The focus of the plan is quick reductions of weight and body fat. It will help you to become lighter and leaner quickly. Now, let’s look at the 5 daily practices:

Daily Practice #1 - Get a Check-up 

Practice #1 isn’t actually a daily activity, but it’s so important to a healthy lifestyle that I’m including it here. One of the best tools to help you achieve a long, healthy life is an annual check-up.

Here’s why:

First, it’s always a good idea to get checked out by your doctor before starting any fitness program.

If you are over 40, this is an especially good idea. The risk of death for any reason (called All-Cause Mortality) rises exponentially as we age. The primary killers of American men are chronic diseases like heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The best defense against dying from one of these chronic diseases is early detection and treatment.

If you haven’t seen your doctor in a year or more, make the call and get a checkup.

Time required: 30 minutes one time per year, then 0 minutes per day.

Daily Practice #2- Eat Smarter 

Food choices are the secret to losing weight. A smart guy once said: We lose weight in the kitchen and build strength in the gym. Said another way: “Your weight loss battle is won in the kitchen, not the gym!”

As American men, most of us have been consuming the Standard American Diet (aka SAD) for our entire lives. The SAD is filled with hidden sugars and excess calories. Coupled with the large portion sizes that are so common today, it’s no surprise that the rates of obesity and diabetes have exploded among American men. The SAD is slowly killing us.

But, the antidote to the SAD is NOT to simply eat less. The secret is to eat smarter. Eating smarter will enable you to avoid the most damaging aspects of the SAD. Here’s a quick two-step process to immediately begin eating smarter in 5 minutes or less per day.

Step 1 - Daily Food Planning - Here is an important fact to keep in mind. It’s easier to avoid consuming calories than it is to burn them off through exercise. With a little planning, you can avoid hundreds of calories every day. Five minutes of planning can save you an hour and a half of exercise!

For example, let’s say you have a business lunch on your schedule. Check the restaurant’s menu online to choose a healthy meal before you arrive. This way you can know what to order before you get there. No good choices on the menu? Then, I’d change the restaurant. Using the same planning approach, you can also ensure that you’ll have access to quality foods throughout your day.

Planning helps you to avoid calories. A calorie avoided is worth 5 calories burned.

Time required: 3-5 minutes a day

Step 2 - Avoid Red Zone Foods (Glucose-spiking foods) - The single most important action that we can take to eat smarter is to eliminate sugars and foods that spike our blood sugar (glucose) levels. This spiking of glucose leads to all kinds of bad things like excess fat storage, insulin resistance, obesity, and disease (including diabetes and cancer). I refer to these as Red Zone foods. Hint: we need to stay out of the Red Zone!

To begin eating smarter, eliminate these six glucose-spiking foods from your diet:

1. Sugar

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup

3. White Flour

4. White Rice

5. White Potatoes

6. Corn

Time required: 0 minutes a day

These two simple and effective steps will help you to start eating smarter and will help you lose weight quickly.

Daily Practice #3 - Daily Weigh-In Ritual 

If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

If something is important to us, we track it. We track our bank balances, golf scores, and fantasy football stats. 

Tracking your weight is even more important!

Weighing daily and writing it down creates a feedback loop in your brain. It also tells your brain that THIS is important. Once that happens, you’ll subconsciously begin to make decisions and take actions that reinforce the importance you’ve placed on your weight loss.

It’s not magic. It’s neuroscience.

Create your own daily weigh-in ritual where you do it the same way, at the same time every day. I weigh the first thing every morning before I get dressed or consume any food or fluids. Being consistent is important. That’s why I call it my weigh-in ritual.

Time required: 1 minute a day

Daily Practice #4 - Get Your Daily Steps 

There is power in motion (exercise). Exercise is an important component of any healthy lifestyle. First, exercise helps to strengthen your bones, muscles, and heart. Second, it can help you develop a calorie deficit, which is essential to weight loss.

In the beginning, prioritize Zone 2 (Z2) cardio over strength training. (Zone 2 cardio is the range of activity where your heart rate is 60-70% of your max heart rate.) Z2 cardio burns body fat faster than any other exercise approach, which helps with weight loss. Brisk walking is a great way to start Z2 cardio.

How much cardio is enough? In this beginning stage, I suggest that you walk 20-25 minutes a day. Over time, I suggest that you set a goal of 7,000 total steps every day. This includes your planned exercise sessions, as well as routine steps you take as part of your daily routine. (Any fitness tracker can help you keep track of your total steps.)

Why 7,000 steps? 

Recent research from the UK shows that when people walked or ran a minimum of 7,000 steps daily (including moderate walking), their overall risk of death declined by 50-70%! That is like a Do-It-Yourself life extension program. Sign me up!

This is such an important benefit (with so little effort required) that I recommend that every guy should get “7K Every Day.”

But, what if you aren’t able to walk or run 7,000 steps a day? 

No problem. Start wherever you are, and make 7k your goal. Whatever your current capability, start moving! Read more about 7K Every Day here.

Time required: 20-25 minutes a day

(Note: You can add strength training as you begin to lose weight. Body-weight exercises is a great starting place for strength training without a gym.)

Daily Practice #5 - Get Better Sleep 

Most of us aren’t getting enough quality sleep. All Guys need 7-9 hours per night. 

We’ve learned a lot about the importance of sleep over the last decade. Sleep determines how well we process incoming information; our memory performance; how well our bodies recover from stress and illness; and even our brain health.

Sleep experts recommend two key steps to get better sleep:

Step 1 - Good Sleep Planning - Good sleep planning involves making sure that your bedroom is conducive to sleep. Things like comfortable bedding, proper levels of darkness, a cool temperature, and quietness are fundamental to getting a good night’s sleep.

Step 2 - Create a Night-Time Ritual - Create your own night-time ritual to help you gradually slow down from a busy and hectic day to allow your mind and body to prepare for sleep. I have found this ritual idea to be extremely useful in my effort to improve my sleep.

I’ve written extensively about the benefits of sleep and how to improve your sleep here.

Time required: 0 minutes a day

Finding The Time

The ThriveLife 30-Day Plan packs major health and fitness benefits in a small amount of time. But, if you’re super busy, you still need to find the time. So, here are 5 ideas from my own experience to help you find the 30 minutes per day that you need to put the Plan to work:

1. Reduce time spent consuming media like TV, Netflix, social media, or surfing the Internet.

2. Get up earlier to create some workout time.

3. Take fitness breaks during the day, like during lunch.

4. Add bonus steps to your day by doing the following:

   1. Park further away from the entrance to the office, restaurant, etc.

   2. Walk during breaks

   3. Hold walking meetings where possible

5. Get 200-300 steps every hour. (This is especially useful if you have an office or desk job.) Most fitness trackers can help you with this.

Tips For Getting Started

Being too busy to get healthy is a real problem for many men. The ThriveLife 30-Day Plan can help you build health and fitness into even the busiest schedule. 

This is maximum health benefits in minimum time. 

After 30 days of using this plan, you’re likely going to notice four things:

1. Your weight will be going down (likely 1-2 pounds per week)

2. Your energy levels will be up!

3. You’ll be tuning these 5 Daily Practices to better fit your personal circumstances

4. It will become easier to follow the plan as you make more progress.

This is an investment in your healthy future. Let’s get started!

Health is the first wealth…Ralph Waldo Emerson

Smarter, not harder!