Getting Unstuck

 Hey Brothers, 

Welcome back to the LenDentonThrive Letter. This week I want to talk specifically to Guys who are struggling with their weight loss and fitness programs. In other words, I want to talk to Guys who are feeling stuck. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s jump right into it.

Re-Commit or Re-Examine?

Being stuck might mean you’re falling short of your original goals. Or, maybe you’ve given up entirely. Whatever your level of ‘stuck’ is, I want to talk about it and give you a few options for how to get unstuck.

First, let’s address what being stuck or hitting a plateau actually is and what it is not. It’s a data point - not a failure point. It’s not a personal failure or a character flaw. It just means something isn’t working. 

So, the thing NOT to do is to just mindlessly double down! Doubling down when things aren’t working is the best way to multiply failure! 

But, that’s exactly what our Muscle Culture tells us to do. Just work harder. But working harder on the wrong approach isn’t likely to get you to the next level.

Hitting a plateau isn’t the time to re-commit. It's when you should re-examine:

• Is this the right approach?

• Am I doing this correctly?

• Is there a better way to achieve my goals?

We all hit a plateau now and then. Whether it stops you, or redirects you is all based on how you respond to it. 

So, for all of you Guys who feel like you’re stuck, I’ve created a simple Stuck-to-Unstuck Audit you can use to re-examine where you are and how to start moving forward again. 

The Stuck-to-Unstuck Audit

The Stuck-to-Unstuck Audit is a simple, five-point self-examination that will determine what’s working and what’s not working in your current fitness journey. Use it to do a quick tune-up, or a major overhaul. It operates on a simple Green-Yellow-Red scheme based on the following definitions:

🟢 Green Zone:  things look good! No need for changes.

🟡 Yellow Zone: things are working marginally well. There’s an opportunity for improvement.

🔴 Red Zone: improvement required! Time to shift gears and move in a better direction.

With this grading system in place, let’s look at five specific audit areas. See Figure 1 below.

1.  Check Your Nutrition (Diet)

Your nutrition is at least 70% of your total weight loss and fitness solution. Yet, most Muscle Culture programs focus on performance in the weight room over choices at the training table. Remember, your weight loss battle will be won or lost in the kitchen, not the gym. Proper nutrition is the best way to eliminate additional fat storage in the body. Since the ThriveLife is a food-first approach to losing weight and becoming forever-fit, I’ve written a lot about food. Check out this, this, and this.

So, check you food as follows:

🟢 Green Zone: Your daily diet is:

• Your focus is counting portions, not calories

• At least 70% of your daily intake is Green Zone “farm foods”

• No more than 10% are Red Zone “factory foods”

• You aren’t drinking your calories

• Your daily Meal GPS (daily meal planning) enables you to choose healthy foods for every meal and helps you avoid the Red Zone Trap

🟡 Yellow Zone: 

• You’re eating a mostly balanced diet, but need to focus more on eating fewer ultra-processed foods

• You are occasionally drinking sugary drinks

• You’re doing occasional daily meal-planning (typically less than 80% of the time)

• You’re regularly snacking in the Red Zone

🔴 Red Zone: Your daily diet is filled with lots of ultra-processed ‘factory foods,” fast foods  and liquid calories. 

2.  Check Your Motion

Daily, consistent movement is the key to sustainable weight loss and fitness. Zone 2 cardio (a brisk walk) is the best way to reduce stored fat in the body. People who take at least 7,000 steps a day have a 50% lower chance of death than people who don’t walk daily. Zone 2 cardio is the simplest and most effective path to sustainable weight loss and fitness. Bonus cheat code: moving every hour is an effective way to rev up your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which burns 60-70% of all of the daily calories we consume. Learn more about the power of sustained motion here.

Check you motion as follows:

🟢 Green Zone: Your daily motion looks likes:

• You’re getting 7-10,000 steps a day at a Zone 2 pace (60-70% of max heart rate)

• You’re moving for 5 minutes every hour to increase your overall calorie burn due to increased BMR

🟡 Yellow Zone: Your daily motion looks likes:

• You’re walking daily, but it’s less than 7,000 steps a day

• You’re occasionally moving on an hourly basis to increase BMR

🔴 Red Zone: Your daily motion looks likes:

• You aren’t getting Zone 2 cardio regularly

• You aren’t moving hourly to increase your BMR

3.  Check Your Numbers

Tracking your important numbers daily provides your brain with important information that builds a feedback loop between yesterday’s actions and today’s results. Daily weigh-ins before food or drink enables our brains to connect yesterday’s actions with today’s results. This, in turn, affects tomorrow’s decision processes. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Check you numbers as follows:

🟢 Green Zone: Your daily statistics tracking looks likes:

• You’re performing your daily weigh-in ritual the same way every day; and logging the results so you can monitor it visually. This is the Jedi Mind Trick of weight loss.

• You are tracking your steps on a daily basis

• You are measuring and tracking your waist measurements weekly

🟡 Yellow Zone: Your daily statistics tracking looks likes:

• You’re performing your daily weigh-in a few times a week

• You aren’t consistently tracking your steps 

• You aren’t tracking anything else

🔴 Red Zone: Your daily statistics tracking looks likes:

• You aren’t tracking anything

4.  Check Your Sleep

Most Guys aren’t getting enough sleep. Experts say adults need 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night. Anything less puts you into a sleep deficit. Sleep is important to health and fitness for many reasons. Adequate sleep helps you regulate key hormones like cortisol and ghrelin. Both affect appetite and weight loss. Sleep has also been called a free ‘anti-aging wonder drug.’ Learn more about the power of sleep here.

Check your sleep numbers as follows:

🟢 Green Zone: Your daily sleep habits look like:

• You get 7-9 hours of sleep nightly

• You follow a ‘night-time ritual’ that helps you slow down and ease toward sleep every night.

• You maintain regular lights-out and wake-up times, even on the weekends.

• You track your sleep hours daily

🟡 Yellow Zone: Your daily sleep habits look like:

• You get less than 7-9 hours of sleep a few nights a week

• You have a night-time ritual that you follow occasionally 

• Your lights-out and wake-up times vary

• You don’t regularly track your sleep hours

🔴 Red Zone: Your daily sleep habits look like:

• You aren’t getting 7-9 hours of sleep regularly

• You aren’t following a night-time ritual

• You aren’t tracking your sleep

5.  Check Your Traps

Are there weaknesses or vulnerabilities built into your day that put you in a tempting food situation? Are you tempted at a certain time every day; or whenever you encounter a certain situation? I call these traps, and there are basically two ways to deal with them. You can avoid them or prepare for them. For example, if you are tempted to raid the refrigerator every night at 9PM, you can fix yourself a healthy snack and place it in the fridge before you are tempted. Then, when 9PM comes around, you can simply open the fridge and enjoy the healthy snack you pre-positioned earlier. 

Check your traps as follows:

🟢 Green Zone: Your trap avoidance behavior looks like:

• You know where your temptations lie and you’ve prepared an alternative to avoid falling into the trap

• You are able to avoid the trap all together so you aren’t tempted

🟡 Yellow Zone: Your trap avoidance behavior looks like:

• You know where your traps are, and you occasionally take action before-hand to address the temptation

🔴 Red Zone: Your trap avoidance behavior looks like:

• You haven’t considered where your traps lie and you haven’t taken any actions to address them yet.

Smarter, Not Harder

Getting stuck is a natural part of progress. The only failure is staying stuck. 

When you find yourself stuck in your fitness journey, re-examine what you’re doing. Use this Stuck-to-Unstuck Audit to chart a new path forward. Success is a process, not a destination.

The ThriveLife is the smarter, not harder way to reach your forever-fit goals. 

The best time to start your ThriveLife journey was years ago. 

The second best time to do it is TODAY!

Whether you are in your 20s, 50s, 60s, or beyond, NOW is the best time to start your journey to the ThriveLife!

You don’t need crazy diets or killer workouts. Your ThriveLife is built on a few smart daily habits that fit into your life and that you’ll actually enjoy doing. 

Here are two ways I can help you build your own ThriveLife:

1 - Subscribe to the LDT Letter for weekly tips and strategies

2 - Join the wait list for my upcoming new book ThriveLife Transformation, where I’ll show you how to build a healthier version of YOU with 6 Smart Daily Habits that you can do in 30 minutes a day. 

To join the waitlist, just reply to this newsletter and say “Sign me up!” I’ll email you when the book is available.

Thanks for reading today.

And remember, God loves us. He wants us to thrive. 

All the best… Len

Healthy dads raise healthy families!

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