Fitness For Food Lovers

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Welcome to the LenDentonThrive Letter, my weekly newsletter focused on helping 50+ Guys lose weight, get fit, and stay fit for life. We do that by building our ThriveLives!

The ThriveLife is my science-based, food-first, gym-optional approach to building a sustainable, enjoyable, and healthy lifestyle - without relying on crazy diets or grueling workouts. 

Weight Loss is Harder Than It Needs To Be

Losing weight is difficult, especially for 50+ Guys like you and me. As we age, we start to lose muscle mass. With less muscle mass, we burn fewer calories. And, increasing the amount of exercise we do can’t completely compensate, because exercise only accounts for around 20% of our daily calorie burn. Those extra unburned calories end up being stored in our bodies as fat.

This means that while exercise is a great way to build strength and stamina, it's a less-than-ideal way to lose weight!

The problem is that almost all conventional wisdom about fitness tells guys to get into an exercise-first approach to lose weight and get fit. And, if you only need to lose a few pounds (10 pounds or so), that will probably work out well for you over time.

But, if you need to lose a substantial amount of weight (20+ pounds), that’s probably not the best advice for you to follow. See Figure 1 below to see why.

We all know we need a calorie deficit to lose weight. This simply means that we are burning more calories than we consume. Here’s a quick illustration of the calorie deficit equation:

Calorie Deficit = Calories Consumed - Calories Burned

Figure 1 shows the three controls that we all have to affect our calorie deficit, which then controls our weight loss. These are:

1. Our food choices (what we choose to eat)

2. Food amount (how much we choose to eat)

3. Exercise

The combination of our food choices and the amounts we eat constitutes our diet. This also represents the Calories Consumed portion of the Calorie Deficit equation. Exercise represents the Calories Burned part of the equation.

Note that our diet accounts for 80% of the control we can exert over our weight loss, while exercise exerts up to only around 20%. This means that we have a much better opportunity to affect our weight loss through our diet than through our exercise.

The problem is that much of the fitness and weight loss world is telling us to jump into stringent workouts (exercise) to meet our fitness goals. This is bad advice for those of us who need to lose substantial amounts of weight (20 pounds or more). Making exercise the primary focus ignores the amplified benefits of starting with correcting your diet. This is the primary reason that most guys fail to lose weight. They focus on the 20% opportunity while ignoring the 80% opportunity.

Remember - it's impossible to outwork a bad diet. This ultimately leads to frustration and then failure.

Food First - A Better Way

Focusing on your diet first is a better way to tackle your weight loss goals. ThriveLife is a food-first approach to fitness. It is a fitness approach for food lovers!

Following this food-first approach allowed me to lose 70 pounds in 7 months back in 2014. I did that without following any crazy diets. Hunger wasn’t a problem for me. There were no protein shakes or kale smoothies. No magic pills. Just good food, and plenty of it.

And, I have kept that weight off for more than 10 years by simply maintaining this food-first approach.

I call this Eating Smarter. It’s smarter because it puts food to work for us instead of working against us.

You can do the same thing that I did.

You start by examining your current diet to find the foods that are working against you. Then, you replace them with better selections.

I’m not talking about eating less. I’m talking about eating smarter. Instead of reducing calories (which triggers deprivation defenses in our brains), you replace bad calories with better ones. This is how you put food to work for you.

Exit The Red Zone

Start your own diet improvement project by eliminating these six foods:

• Sugar

• White flour

• White rice

• White potatoes

• Corn

• High-Fructose Corn Syrup

I call these Red Zone foods because they metabolize quickly into compounds that cause your blood glucose to spike and result in things like excess fat storage, Type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.

(You can read more about the three ThriveLife food zones here.)

Once you eliminate these foods from your daily diet, you’ll begin to lose weight, and you’ll see an improvement in your energy levels. You’ll continue to improve your diet as you add healthy choices such as lean meats, fish, and vegetables.

I was a 50+ Guy who had a serious weight problem. Following this approach allowed me to lose weight and get fit back in 2014. It worked for me then. It’s still working for me today.

And it can work for you, too!

Food First is the best path to help you lose weight, get fit, and stay fit for life. It’s a fitness approach for food lovers! I call it the ThriveLife!

Take Action

Here are three actions you can take starting today to build your healthy and sustainable ThriveLife:

1 - Decide to give the Food-First Approach a try - it all begins with your decision. Start building your new smart daily habits now.

2 - Check your diet for Red Zone Foods - systematically begin to remove Red Zone Foods from your daily diet. This may take a few days or weeks to complete, so start today! (Note: If you aren’t the cook, you might need to discuss and coordinate this new daily habit with whoever cooks your meals.) Once you’ve learned how to consistently make smart food choices, you’ll never have to diet again.

3 - Max Out Your Green Zone Foods - Avoid hunger by adding plenty of delicious Green Zone Foods to your daily diet. Remember to check out the Food Zone chart here.

Use these tips to help you begin your journey to your own ThriveLife. Enjoy the journey!

When you’re ready for a real and sustainable fitness transformation, here are three ways I can help you:

#1 - Sign up for this newsletter. Every week, you’ll receive tested, actionable tips and strategies to help you build your own customized version of the ThriveLife that fits your needs, preferences, and personal style. And, it’s free!

#2 - For a Do-It-Yourself approach to the ThriveLife, download your free copy of my new ebook: 6 Smart Moves To Your ThriveLife. Just click the button below.

#3 - When you’re ready to join a community of other busy 50+ Guys building their ThriveLives together, check out my new ThriveLife Transformation course. The ThriveLife Transformation guides you through a 30-day transformation process which includes online video training and daily support and assistance through our online community. Join alone or bring your friends. To learn more about the ThriveLife Transformation, click the button below.

Do You Know Somebody?

Do you know a 50+ Guy who’s struggling with their weight and fitness?

Please consider sharing this information with them. Just forward your copy of this email to them. Or, give them a free copy of my 6 Smart Moves ebook!

It might change their life!

(And remember, this works for Under-50 Guys, too!)

Thanks for reading this week.

I write this newsletter to make a positive impact on the lives of 50+ Guys and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week.

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