Brian (1s):
Hello and welcome to the Get Lean and Eat Clean podcast. My name is
Brian (5s):
Brian Gryn. I'm a certified health coach, trainer and author,
Brian (8s):
And this podcast is for
Brian (10s):
Middle aged men and women looking to optimize their health and get their bodies back to what it once was 10 to 15 years ago. I will give you simple, actionable items to get long term sustainable results. Thanks for listening and enjoy the show.
Brian (25s):
All right, Welcome to the Get Lean, Eat Clean podcast. My name is Brian Gryn. I hope you had a great weekend and happy Tuesday. If you listen to us on Tuesday. Hopefully had a chance to listen to my interview with Brene Crawford. He is internationally renowned for evidence-based treatment using traditional Chinese medicine to treat modern chronic illnesses. We discuss how to assess gut health using Chinese medicine along with his thoughts on supplements, the importance of breath work, overcoming allergies with at-home therapies, ways to treat Ed and his one tip to get your body back to what it once was. And if you haven't already, check out episode 4 39, my interview with Brene Crawford. Now in today's micro podcast, you know, we are gonna get back to the basics occasionally I like to do an episode where I sort of bring everything back to, you know, six or seven daily habits and things that we can do throughout the week to make sure that we're living optimally.
Brian (1m 17s):
That was part of the reason why I wrote the stepladder system, mainly to give individuals sort of a roadmap into healthy living. Sticking to the principles. I think a lot of times, especially in the health and wellness field, we can get caught up in sort of that new trend or that new supplement. But today I want to get back to the basics. Talk about sort of my non-negotiables when it comes to healthy living and give you a roadmap to transform your lifestyle. Whether you're doing one of these habits, none of 'em or all of them, I think it's important to reinforce them throughout your day and throughout your week. Number one, if you listen to the podcast, you know, I love daily walks. I think it's one of the well easiest and most underrated exercises when it comes to healthy living.
Brian (2m 0s):
Not only improving cardiovascular health, strengthening bones, boosting mood, getting outside, getting some vitamin D. And so I typically like to use my walks around my meals. So if I have a meal, I go for a walk. Now let's say you don't have as much flexibility in your schedule. You can incorporate walking into your commute by just parking farther away. Let's say you have to go to the train park farther away, getting off at public transport a little bit earlier, using your breaks during work to just walk around. You know, even short bouts of movement matter as well. So, you know, try to make it more enjoyable is maybe walk with a coworker or listen to a podcast like my podcast or, or create a a fun playlist on Spotify that you can go and listen to.
Brian (2m 44s):
I typically like to walk with my dogs and I don't listen to anything. Just sort of enjoy the moment, the outside and just stay present. But either way, taking daily walks is a non-negotiable for myself and I think it's something something if you haven't already to start incorporating next. You know, we talk about managing stress. I think incorporating some type of meditation practice can really help you stay centered and grounded, even if it's just 10 minutes a day, you can use, you know, Headspace or calm one of these meditation apps to help guide you. You know, it's all about just finding a quiet space where you're not gonna be disturbed. And I would just experiment, start small and gradually increase. But I think 10 minutes is plenty and just focusing on your breath or some positive affirmations, you can get these affirmations off YouTube.
Brian (3m 30s):
I've been doing that as well. So I think meditation is a game changer when it comes to managing stress and just enhancing mental clarity throughout the day. Number three, fueling your day with Whole Foods. If I could just think of the most probably basic and simple way to go about constructing your diet. I would say it's just eating whole nutrient dense foods that don't have labels. Things like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins. You know, you can do some starches and maybe some legumes from time to time, but you know, if you can stick to like 80% Whole Foods, these are gonna get you your essential vitamins and minerals that you're gonna need throughout the day to fuel your body. This is probably the sim most simplistic way I can state as far around just constructing a diet.
Brian (4m 14s):
There's a lot of different rhetorics out there when it comes to eating anything from carnivore to vegetarian, but I think if you can try to go the balanced route and adjust as needed, I think that's really the way to go. You know, one way to ensure this is you could do some meal prepping. I've talked on this before, just making sure that you have everything in place for the week. You can have your proteins delivered to your house monthly or weekly. And then just couple that with some type of, you know, perhaps a carbohydrate, like a starch or a vegetable or a fruit. And I think if you can just stay consistent with that, keep it simple. I think that's best way to construct, construct your, your plate when it comes to eating Number four, this one might be tough for some people, especially if they travel and they do a lot of business meals and dinners out, out and about.
Brian (5m 0s):
But you know, stop eating three hours before bed is a big one for one. This will stop your late night snacks 'cause we all know that probably nothing that serves you is being eaten late at night. So eating too close to bedtime can also obviously disrupt your digestive system, increase your risk for heartburn or indigestion and keep you tossing and turn it all night. I would aim for having a fast those last three hours before bedtime, and I think that'll promote deeper and more restorative sleep and help you avoid things like heartburn and gerd. You know, my people make fun of my wife and I, but you know, we aim to eat around 5 30, 6 o'clock. So even if we go out to dinner with another couple or family, we try to have it on the earlier side.
Brian (5m 45s):
It's just a good habit to get into. It's not gonna always work out perfect, but getting into the routine of eating earlier I think is a great way to not only improve the quality of your sleep, but to also make sure that, that you're digesting your food completely before you go to bed. Number five, big one for me, I've been doing it for over 20 years. Gosh, actually more than that, over 25 years I've been incorporating resistance training at least three times per week. And I think the key when it comes to resistance training is just staying consistent. You know, we all know that resistance training can help build strong bones, improve metabolism, even like boost longevity and lean muscle mass is so important to maintain, especially as we're getting old, older, most of us have heard of the term sarcopenia, which is muscle loss.
Brian (6m 30s):
As we age, we wanna make sure that we maintain that muscle, lean mass as long as possible and it'll help reduce the risk of any kind type of chronic disease. So I would just think of it this way, schedule your weightlifting sessions, like their appointments, you know, as oppo, you know, just like you do for work, put 'em in the schedule Sunday night, you know exactly when you're lifting Monday, Wednesday, Friday at this time. And it's just a non-negotiable, even if it's 20, 30 minute session, it doesn't have to be an hour, hour and a half long session, but you wanna keep it consistent and the same time each week. Number six is limiting screen time before bed. And obviously we know screens are a big part of modern life.
Brian (7m 12s):
A lot of people are looking at screens throughout the entire day and we all know that electronic devices a blue light, which can suppress melatonin later in the day, this hormone that helps regulate your sleep cycle. So I would just make it a habit to either turn off or quiet your device an hour before bed, pick up a book instead, maybe do some meditation like we talked about. And if you need to be in front of a screen, or let's say you just wanna watch a great basketball game that's on, since we have the NCAA tournament going on right now, just get some blue light blocking glasses. You know, it's not, they're not perfect, but they definitely can reduce your eye strain, improve the quality of your sleep. And one other thing is you can also activate night mode feature on your devices to minimize that blue light exposure as well.
Brian (7m 54s):
So yeah, let's limit screen time before bed. If you could do it an hour before, I think that's a great habit to get into. Lastly, you know, I've talked a lot of like quote unquote sleep experts on the podcast and one that keep that kept coming up when it came to sleep was sticking to a consistent nighttime routine and wake up time. You know, you're obviously, we all thrive on routines and especially when it comes to sleep. So going to bed and waking up at the same time every day will help regulate your internal clock, also known as your circadian rhythm. So I think if you emphasize maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, you're gonna have better energy, better mood and focus throughout the day. So for me, typically I like to go to bed around 10, 10 30 and get up around between around 6, 6 30 and that usually gives me plenty of time of quality sleep.
Brian (8m 41s):
One good tip is you can set your alarm to remind you to start preparing for bed rather than just to wake up. Typically we think of an alarm as to wake us up, but if you can set that, that alarm on your clock, like like an hour before just to, to give yourself time to prepare to have a quality sleep, I think that's a great way to go. So stay consistent when it comes to bedtime and wake up time. So there they have it. Just wanted to get back to the basics here. You know, it's not about overhauling your entire routine, you know, it's about starting small and being consistent. I would just say begin with one or two habits, and as they become second nature, then you can add on from there. Staying consistent and committing to these daily habits. Like I've talked about, walking, meditating, eating whole foods, prioritizing sleep and resistance training, you're definitely gonna be well on your way to healthy living.
Brian (9m 27s):
And remember, progress is more important than perfection. So let me know in the comments or shoot me an email at Brian at Brian Gryn dot com. What healthy habit are you gonna start today? And if you're looking for some guidance when it comes to gaining energy muscle and improving sleep and stress. So I'll leave a link in the show notes for a 15 minute breakthrough health call with me today and we'll get you well on your way to started. I think having a coach is important, especially if you find yourself getting back into your old routines. So look forward to talking with you. Have a great rest of the day, and thanks so much for listening.
Brian (10m 0s):
Thanks for listening to the Get Lean Eat Clean Podcast. I understand there are millions of other podcasts out there and you've chosen to listen to mine and I appreciate that. Check out the show notes at Brian Gryn dot com for everything that was mentioned in this episode. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast and share it with a friend or family member that's looking to get their body back to what it once was. Thanks again and have a great day.
