Tag: food

Sustainable Nutrition Tips

Oscar AgramonteNutrition

Thank you for exploring effective nutrition with me in our two previous blogs.

Now, let’s talk about building habits that can change how you approach food and health:

To build lasting habits, start small and add one new practice at a time. Research shows:

  • Trying one new habit has an 85% chance of success.
  • Trying two new habits drops success to 35%.
  • Trying three drops it to 10%.

Here are some best practices:

  • Consistency: It’s okay to make mistakes; what matters is practicing regularly.
  • Clear Goals: Make sure your goals are easy to understand and measure.
  • Smart Choices: Find the most important thing holding you back and focus on that first.
  • Confidence Boost: Ask yourself, “How sure are you that you can do this daily for the next 2 weeks or 30 days?” Feeling confident is key.

What’s Most Important?

Getting enough nutrients and being able to process them well are crucial for success with nutrition.

Here’s a framework to think about:

  • What’s most important to you?
  • How can you tell if you’re succeeding?
  • What should you try next?
  • How can you keep it up?

These ideas will help you make nutrition choices that last.

Sifu Oscar

 

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are ways we can help you get started.

1. Schedule a time to observe a class.
Interested in Kung Fu or Tai Chi?  First step is to watch a class and see if we would be a good fit! Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for an appointment.

2. Become part of my exclusive Coaching Group with CYH Remote Coaching.  Get personalized coaching delivered right to your phone and catered to your specific goals. Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for info.

There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Diet

Oscar AgramonteNutrition

I don’t believe there’s a single, absolute best diet for everyone, always and forever. Here’s why:

Diverse Needs

Body Types: People vary from tall and thin to short and stocky.

Dietary Preferences: Some eat a lot of meat, others none at all.

Budgets: Budgets range from extremely low to unlimited.

Food Choices: Some eat only packaged foods, others only organic.

Nutrition Knowledge: Some follow specific diets, others know very little.

Time: Some have plenty of time for health and fitness, others very little.

However, successful diets, despite their variety, share common traits.

When done properly, diets like Paleo, plant-based, high carb, and low carb all accomplish the following:

  1. Increase Nutrition Awareness:

   – Focusing on your diet, whether it’s the specific foods or just being mindful, is crucial.

  1. Emphasize Food Quality:

   – Paleo and low carb diets promote natural, animal-based foods.

   – Vegan and high carb diets promote natural, plant-based foods.

   – All recommend whole, minimally processed foods, which is key for nutrition.

  1. Eliminate Nutrient Deficiencies:

   – Proper diets shift focus from processed foods to nutrient-rich ones, correcting common deficiencies and making us feel rejuvenated.

  1. Control Appetite and Food Intake:

   – Awareness and quality food choices lead to eating less, feeling more satisfied, and improving body composition without calorie counting.

  1. Promote Regular Exercise:

   – Focusing on diet often leads to increased physical activity, essential for a balanced health routine.

Each diet has its strengths, but the best approach is one that suits your individual needs and promotes overall well-being.

 Sifu Oscar

 

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are ways we can help you get started.

1. Schedule a time to observe a class.
Interested in Kung Fu or Tai Chi?  First step is to watch a class and see if we would be a good fit! Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for an appointment.

2. Become part of my exclusive Coaching Group with CYH Remote Coaching.  Get personalized coaching delivered right to your phone and catered to your specific goals. Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for info.

Tip of The Week: Slow Eating

Oscar AgramonteNutrition

I’m a big believer that slow and mindful eating is one of the MASTER SKILLS for fat loss.

Because the goal is to eat a sufficient amount to be reasonably comfortable, but not more than that.

This week I wanted to share some recent research published in Appetite on how what you hear while you eat can impact how fast you eat.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

The scientists report that:

  • People ate faster when they listened to music with a fast tempo (145 bpm). (Example: “Born to Run”—Bruce Springsteen)
  • People ate slower when they listened to music with a slow tempo (45 bpm). (Example: “Call Out My Name”—The Weekend)
  • When people listened to any kind of music—even the up-tempo stuff—they ate slower compared to when they ate in silence.

The researchers hypothesized that faster music makes people feel more aroused or excited, stimulating their senses and making them eat faster. 

Slower music, on the other hand, may help people feel calmer and more relaxed, which could lead to more mindful eating.  

The study’s findings also affirm something bigger: What people feel while they eat is important.

Folks who struggle to eat slowly and mindfully may be more likely to succeed if they take steps to feel more relaxed during meal times.

And if slow music—or tunes of any tempo helps—you do that, then it could be worth trying. Think of it as “setting the mood.” (But please: No Muzak.)

PMID: 32682852

Mathiesen SL, Mielby LA, Byrne DV, Wang QJ. Music to eat by: A systematic investigation of the relative importance of tempo and articulation on eating time. Appetite. 2020 Dec 1;155:104801.

Sifu Oscar

 

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are ways we can help you get started.

1. Schedule a time to observe a class.
Interested in Kung Fu or Tai Chi?  First step is to watch a class and see if we would be a good fit! Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for an appointment.

2. Become part of my exclusive Coaching Group with CYH Remote Coaching.  Get personalized coaching delivered right to your phone and catered to your specific goals.
Email: kungfu@wahlum.com for info.

The Simplest Way to Eat Better

Oscar AgramonteNutrition

Hello Wah Lum® Family,

I get a lot of questions about nutrition, and I notice that most people worry about the minor details:

  • “Are potatoes fattening?”
  • “If I don’t drink a protein shake immediately after my workout, was it even worth exercising?”
  • “Is keto really the best way to lose weight? Or should I do Paleo? What about the alkaline diet?!”

Yet, those same people eat over the kitchen sink, in their car on the way to work, or in a total daze in front of the TV (myself included at times!).

I don’t blame you. We’ve been conditioned to think endlessly about WHAT we eat, while completely ignoring HOW we eat.

That’s a missed opportunity, because eating slowly and mindfully is one of the most powerful habits for driving a major physical transformation.

Instead of stressing over complex meal plans, exact macros, and strict portion sizes (which have their place, of course), slowing down your eating is the absolute simplest way to feel better immediately.

Why does this work?

  1. Satiety signals take time: It takes about 20 minutes for your brain and stomach to register that you’re full. Slow eating gives that internal system time to catch up so you know when to stop.
  2. You feel satisfied with less: When you slow down and actually savor your meal, you tend to feel content with smaller amounts and don’t feel “deprived.”

Of course, people struggle with this habit. It sounds simple, but it is surprisingly tough to pull off consistently.

How to practice it:

Treat slow eating as a skill. You won’t be perfect every meal, and that’s fine. It’s actually why focusing on just this single habit for a full month can be so effective.

If you want to test it out, pick one of these practical strategies for your next meal (or try a 30-day slow-eating experiment):

 

  • Take a breath: Before you start, pause. Take one deep breath, take one bite, and then take another breath. Go one bite and one breath at a time.

 

  • Add one minute: Start a timer at the beginning of your meal. See if you can make this meal last just 60 seconds longer than your last one.

 

  • Pause between bites: Set your fork or spoon down completely between bites, take a sip of water, or engage in a quick conversation with whoever is at the table.

 

  • Savor the experience: Pay attention to the food. Is it salty or sweet? What’s the texture like? Truly taste what you are eating instead of just rushing to clear the plate.

 

  • Notice your environment: Background noise and screen time speed up your eating pace. Some people even find success playing a 20-minute relaxing playlist during dinner to keep their pace down.

 

And as a simple rule of thumb: Don’t put more food on your fork if there’s still food in your mouth.

Give one of these a shot at dinner tonight.

See you in training,

 

Sifu Oscar

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways we can help you get started:

  1. Request a time to observe a class Interested in Kung Fu or Tai Chi? The first step is to watch a class and see if we would be a good fit! Email kungfu@wahlum.com for an appointment.
  2. Join our 30-Day Mindful Eating Challenge ($19) Want to build better habits before the holiday season hits? Join our 30-day guided challenge inside my coaching app to practice slow eating, gain control over your nutrition, and lock in real results before Halloween and Thanksgiving arrive. Email kungfu@wahlum.com with the subject line “CHALLENGE” to claim your spot.