My approach to bodybuilding training is very much from the inside-out; "mind first" and "body second". My theory is mental well-being facilities a healthy body and a healthy body is far more responsive to hard training. Instead of conventional bodybuilding training which focuses on effort and struggle (something I know lots about!), I've tipped it on its head and opted for following the path of least resistance - a much gentler and kinder approach. My experience is gentle encouragement and kind words to oneself and others seems to extract far more focus in the gym, which then translates into physical results.
This method works exceptionally well, it's transformative for both mind and body. Results and habits are ingrained into all elements of life and it's sustainable long term, because it's such an enjoyable process. Of course this strategy won't work for everybody but it is amazing what happens when you follow the path of least resistance, rather than opting for the hard struggle every time.
Moving the focus away from "food" to "relationship with food"
What about a diet that never even mentioned food? I wanted to really see if I could apply the inside-out approach to dieting. How can we still get weight loss results but change the way we look at diets from something that emphasises limited food options, deprivation and and having an indomitable will to something far more gentle, expansive and kind?
Of course this is the question I pontificate most over and I believe it's because we ask the wrong questions. Perhaps the question is not to identify foods that are good and bad but rather focus on a person's relationship with food and eating habits. How can you get to an emotional place where you just really "want" to eat clean wholesome unprocessed food? and will this still work on a strict bodybuilding prep diet?
Being a scientist, I like to observe everything. I could probably even watch cement dry and not be bored. Over time, I have noticed that women (and men) often report they lose weight when they stop trying, pressure is removed or they just relax...and this is really interesting. Conversely I also observe more comments about failed weight loss attempts despite trying really hard. This really paves the way for hypothesises about the biology of emotion; does emotion create physical state or state create emotion? Most likely probably both happen....
The cycle of thoughts, emotions and physical state
Thoughts and emotions create changes to the neuroendocrine system as well as to the central nervous system and some evidence now to even suggest at the fundamental DNA level. Fear creates quite a different state to being in love. An example of this could be an increase in the hormone oxytocin during bonding with loved ones. Oxytocin, testosterone, cortisol; they all affect metabolism and how the body uses fuel. It is also virtually impossible at the moment to single out a hormone and attribute a precise role or set of roles to it, because we don't really know and I'm not fan of this kind of reductionist approach to how hormones (or nutrients) work in the body. The human body is incredibly complicated; suffice to say, science will most likely always be one step behind. The nobel prize winner Richard Feynman, renowned for his contribution in quantum mechanics sums this up beautifully when he said "science is the belief in the ignorance of experts". Essentially this means, science is negativistic; we just won't ever know all the answers but we'll generate more questions. It is a method that can try and provide understanding or a reason for why things happen but ultimately there is real value in just observation without trying to understand. Personally when I'm stressed during competition prep, I don't see fat loss results no matter how hard I try. There is no fat loss, no muscle gain.... just a bleary eyed emotional mess. This is also the case for many others I have spoken to going through the same thing. For any sustained period of time, stress and fatigue tend to equal lack of results and staying calm is often accompanied by obtaining positive results with ease.
In alignment with my path of least resistance manifesto, I therefore prioritise staying calm, happy and optimistic and this comes first; always. From this state; the possibilities for progress are infinite. In actual fact, I can even get away with quite a lot on the diet which makes me wonder whether building a resilient system can buffer the effect of foods that may not have otherwise be included on a conventional prep diet plan. In my case the odd whisky and chocolate!
In this current decade of knowledge, science is really gaining momentum and developing fast. New scientific fields are being created all the time to include research on consciousness and the biology of thoughts and emotion. The placebo effect is now accepted as "real" and good quality science is now being conducted in the areas of mind-body which has huge implications for understanding health and mental well-being, rather than just understanding disease and ill health which has historically been the focus of traditional western medicine.
My current interest area is how quantum mechanics affects biological systems, I recently came across a book called the "Edge of Life" by Jim Al-Khalili and JohnJoe McFadden, which does an excellent job of communicating that. In essence, there is some evidence to say thoughts can affect the way genes are expressed. This is interesting because it means DNA and the genetic blueprint is far less rigid than we thought over a single lifetime. Humans are incredibly adaptable to environment and I have often felt uncomfortable about the way our ancestors behaviour is used to explain our modern day behaviour. Perhaps we might be have been able to digest meat a bit better in prehistoric times but most of us would have perished within about ten minutes of being thrown back to neolithic times. I can guarantee without sat nav I would walk head first into a primordial bog and probably mistakenly self-poison myself with berries along the way.
The point I'm trying to make is although humans evolve over generations, they also evolve over a single lifetime (short-term) and our knowledge of this short-term genetic change is still completely in it's infancy. We don't know what the the limit or even the average number of human mutations over a person's lifespan are and even really how that happens; whether it is truly spontaneous or if there is something else driving it?
Application to the real world of eating
With advancements in neuroscience, we also know that neuron circuitry in the brain is far more malleable than we thought; and repetition and learning of new skills is one way to facilitate this neuroplasticity. Although we once believed information only passes one way - from DNA into protein, it now looks plausible information can pass the other way and that emotion and physical state can affect gene regulation at this very fundamental level.
Perhaps we don't have control over the creation of spontaneous thought (I suspect we do in a round about way) but we can master what we do with those thoughts. We can chose to accept and let negative ruminating thoughts dissipate before they gather momentum (the essence of mindfulness training) or we can attach meaning to them and then go careering off a precipice of doom and depression.
Mindfulness is about cultivating awareness of eating. Really listening and understanding one's body then lends power to making good decisions about food choices. Appetite and desire change on a day to day basis and that's ok, and also necessary. Feeling confident about waxing and waning with one's diet, differentiating real hunger from emotional hunger is incredibly empowering and a really useful tool for sustainable weight loss. It is also fairly easy and just requires slowing down and paying attention to food and appetite.
It is also easy to go one step further than simply awareness and induce a positive state before eating. Although I follow no form of organised religion, I rather like the concept of saying "grace" before a meal. It cultivates a lovely peaceful state of gratitude before eating a meal and really need take no more than a minute.
The take home message
The conclusion to all this, is positivity and calm are necessary for health, happiness and weight management. Optimism and positive mental habits can be learned and furthermore we just don't know what the true effects of this can be to our long term health and physicality. We may not ever know the answers but it's sure worth a try because the alternative doesn't work that well and isn't that much fun!
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