Healing and Tending the Mind: Eat and Move

Having trouble relaxing and staying focused?

Looking for the benefits of Ritalin (focus) or

Prozac (anti-anxiety, relaxation) without the pharmaceuticals?

Exercise (cardio, resistance) raising heart rate and dialing in your nutrition greatly improve your focus, energy, and relaxation.

Mental Model Flywheel concept: slow inexorable momentum, all connected and related, incremental gains over time (The Slight Edge): easy to do, easy not to do.

Logbook: That which is measured is managed.

Move/Exercise: Keys: raise your heart rate, functional movement, maintain strength and mobility.

ESD: aerobic, anaerobic zone (glycolytic, phosphagen)

HR: perceived exertion

Resistance exercise: multi-joint, functional movements: Don't lift weights, load movements

FITT principles: frequency, intensity, time, type

Better off doing a little consistently, than a lot infrequently while still allowing time to recover.

Eat/Nutrition

More than just body composition and athletic performance.

Energy, physical and cognitive performance, sense of wellbeing (more neurotransmitters in your gut than head)

Lean meats, vegetables, little fruit, nuts and seeds.

No sugar, alcohol. Limit processed foods.

Be cognizant of foods that cause allergic or inflammatory response.

Look at food as a drug. It has hormonal effects beyond that of satisfying your macro and micro nutrient needs.

Zone, Paleo, Keto, Mediterranean, Whole 30.

 

-Matt/Mike: personal anecdotes:

 

Key take-aways: Flywheel (momentum), slight edge (easy to do/not do), incremental gains: FITT principles, frequency is chief among them.

A good cardio session is like a little bit of Ritalin and Prozac (focus, calmness). With eating and nutrition, it may be difficult to upfront but stay focused on the benefit on the back end (post-meal, post-exercise session, 3-12 months from now)