Tag: Nutrition coach

Simple Practices For a Healthier Life

The following are simple practices that I’ve incorporated in my life, they have made my life healthier. They may work for you, this is not to taken as medical doctor before executing.

Exercise: 30 -40 minutes a week, cardio, rowing, walking, running sprinting etc. Strengthen your muscle, you need nothing fancy, just your own body weight and resistance bands.

Water and sea salt- this is great for hydration and far cheaper than most hydration supplements.

Cold water exposure- start out with 30 seconds everyday and gradually increase, this will help burn fat, lower BP, ease depression, inflammation and more.

Nasal breath- this will increase the level of nitric oxide in your body, snoring will decrease and sleep better. 10-20 deep breaths a day.

Eat more protein- it will keep you fuller, boost cognition and keep you strong

Cut out the processed sugar- this means cutting out those sweets! And more protein will fight the cravings too.

Processed carbs, sweets, various deserts etc, the occasional treat is fine, but as I’ve found this helps in the fight for better metabolic health.

Greens- if your body/ stomach can handle them, the darker greens are filled with potassium and magnesium as well. A Greens powder can suffice as well.

Fruits- low in sugar berries of various kinds, love me some berries

Fasting-12-16 hours a few times a week, this will aid in helping repair gut imbalance, help the body recycle its-self and kill cancer cells.

Sun light- contrary to popular belief, some exposure everyday, 10-15 minutes is great for your over all mood.

Go to bed around the same time every night, try for 6-8 hours a night. Limit screen activity a few hours before bed. The darker the better.

Limit caffeine- 1-2 cups a day of coffee or tea, my personal choice has been green tea, and lemon balm tea, both help decrease anxiety, BP, cortisol and even help burn fat.

Read a book! – 30-40 minutes a day, reading helps us see a new perspective, and exercises the brain.

Thoughts on Carbs And Meat

Nutrition is an extremely vital role to our health, and dare I say the most important. Even more so than fitness. For many of my clients that have cerebral palsy and are not as mobile as someone like myself. Nutrition becomes a huge part of their journey, why? Because what we find our bodies determines not only what we see in a physical sense, but also how we feel in our minds.   Some people don’t even think about that, because the food they consume (for them) becomes about feeling good in the moment.

We can see this time in again, in shows such as my 600 pound life. Food is a drug to help them cope with trauma. And so not only do that need to be taught how to eat properly, but they need a new relationship with food.  The problem is, the nutrition world has become as divisive as anything else in this world. There’s the low carb community- keto, carnivore etc., then we have the vegans and vegetarians, and so much. And they all believe that their way of eating is the best.

All the various groups can sometimes get very nasty with one another, and all the more it becomes very confusing. When I was doing carnivore for 2 years, my body and mind felt amazing. My body was lean, joint pain was almost zero and mental clarity was at an all time high. My perception though, of carbs and plants was honestly rather skewed, my thinking was that they were both bad one hundred percent of the time.

And while it’s true that not all carbs are not created equal, in the same vein of thinking not all plants are as healthy. On the carb spectrum, when people think about carbs what do we normally think of? Breads, pastas etc. First we have to be honest about what bread and pasta actually do. For many, bread and pasta are quick spark of energy and even release a lot of the feel good chemicals in our brains. Thus, we keep coming back to them as a means to stay in a elevated state. The same can be said about all types of candy as well, for some people that quick surge of energy might be good. Say for example if a person is a distance runner or one that has a long workout ahead of them. I like to think about these types of carbs like that of a wave in the ocean, it goes up quickly and crashes all the same. And while these types of carbs might be okay once and awhile or even in smaller portions. What I believe is most important, is consuming carb sources that promote a sustained energy. One that doesn’t come with such a heavy crash.

These can range from:

Berries

Broccoli

Kale

Egg plant

Green beans

Avocado

Spinach

And… many of these are high in protein too! As you can see, I don’t think that carbs are the most evil food source in the universe. However, I believe it’s the type and amount of which we consume them.             

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In regards to consuming protein on a daily basis, it is no secret that I’m a big advocate of eating meat. This is not a knock on people who choose to being plant based, but only to say that if a person wants a great source of protein every day, its going to come from meat, especially steak. Now in saying that, the most normal reaction is going to be: “But it causes cancer!” But wait.. does it really? Or have we been led to believe all this time a rather big lie? Consider this response by Kris Kresser: https://chriskresser.com/red-meat-cancer-again-will-it-ever-stop/ in this article he says “ the association between red meat and cancer is not strong (i.e. comparing bacon to cigarettes is absurd), and in fact is often not distinguishable from chance. If red meat really did cause cancer, you’d expect to see a linear (continuous) increase in cancer rates as red meat consumption increased. But that’s not what we see in many cases. In fact, in some studies you actually see a decrease in cancer rates in the people who ate the most red meat”.  

As I said above, I firmly believe that we have been lied to for so long about the realities of eating meat. Obviously, if a person doesn’t desire to consume it then they shouldn’t have to. But we have to understand that consuming red meat is not this wickedly evil source of food. In all actuality it could very well be seen as a super food. It can have up to 26 grams of protein and 7.6 grams of fat (which is good for your brain). Now, does a person have to consume it every day? No, not unless you actual try and carnivore approach. A person could do very well consuming eggs, fish and so one. Once again, however, red meat should not be seen as the enemy to health. The nutrition world needs to stop demonizing various elements of food and nutrition and more importantly each other.   

Why I Became A Health Coach

Our health and well-being is one of the most amazing gifts that humanity has been blessed with. Many of us have the ability to breath, move and provide for ourselves and those around us. It would be difficult to imagine life, not being able to walk up a flight of stairs, run to catch at bus or taxi (depending on where one lives), lift a heavy object off the ground or even leap in the air to the highest ability. We go to the gym on a weekly basis, perform our favorite routines and exercises, never thinking about what life might be like if we got injured in some way, how would we adapt? Would we have the mental, emotional and even spiritual faculties to not only endure what has happened to us, but also adapt to the circumstances? My name is Brandon Ryan, and for the past five years, I have been an online health coach, with certifications in personal training and nutrition.
My niche or scope of practice, focused directly on the adaptive community, primarily those with varying degrees of cerebral palsy. Though I do also work with abled bodied clients as well. Why did I choose to work this specific population of clients? Because I myself have cerebral palsy. Being born with cerebral palsy, might parents fought to get me to gain the weight needed to survive and grow, in the name of shattering the narrative that doctors laid before them. Which wasn’t good or inspiring to say the least. They told my parents that I’d never be able to do anything for myself and be dependent on others for care the entirety of my life. That’s a very stark reality to set before anyone. Yet my parents made the choice to fight, which required more mental and emotional resolve than anything else.
Mental and emotional resolve to endure the handful of surgeries that I went through as a child. My mom always told me about how she would run to the bathroom to vomit, while my first operation took place. Which was on my spine. Other surgeries were on the lower half of my body. My dad would have to lift me from my wheel-chair to the bed, and from the bed to my wheelchair and from my wheel chair to the toilet and back. He would also drive me to and from physical therapy. Physical therapy as a kid was very daunting at times, as it would be for any child recovering from any operation. Going through these chapters of my life, though they were challenging on all human levels, it burned into my mind that my dad was one of my biggest supporters.
He is one of the many reasons I am what I am today. At a young age, encouraging me to be strong, through weight training, various calisthenics and martial arts. It’s not as though my adaptable spirit and mindset formed from nothing. No, the Lord saw fit to provide me parents that could help shape who I am today. I’ve always burned with passion for fitness and helping others become the best they possibly could be. To me, it didn’t matter if a person was in a wheel chair or not, used crutches or not, had range of motion or not. I would find something that they could do. After all, the moto for me growing up was “if there’s a will, there’s a way.”
The idea of becoming a personal trainer, always lurked in the back of my mind. People would sway me from the reality of doing so, some would say that the money wasn’t good or that it would flat out be too hard.
Yet when given the chance to work with someone with cerebral palsy or otherwise in any compacity. When all was said and done. Everything seemed right in the cosmos, it seemed as though a shade of my purpose was being fulfilled and the person that was set in my path even felt the same. When the idea of obtaining a certification kept surfacing, it was very apparent that it was now or never. There were a wide range of certifications from various institutions, a lot of them were out of budget. Yet when the International Sports Science binged on my horizons, they weren’t just affordable but they fit the context of my life. It allowed me to study slowly and at my own pace. Though I’m pretty sure that all my questions and concerns annoyed my advisor to no end. Now, as a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, I have been able to let my passion for mental and physical health be put to use. And while I’m well aware that there is much room to grow, I do honestly believe that I am the best person for this path. That isn’t to say that other trainers, coaches or what have you don’t do a good enough job. They do. I’m only implying that more often than not, it takes one that is or is in a similar position.
There’re days when things are slow, or it seems as though that I suck at my job. And yet, as cliché as it may be. If I can help one person, each day I done very well and have succeed in the mission set before me. With everything inside me, I hold the belief that every person with cerebral palsy and other adaptive needs are worthy of health. That they have what it takes inside them to reach their desired goals, be that physically, mentally or vocationally. From the very beginning, it has been a goal to show clients that their body is the machine, that if they can open their eyes to their environment that can many times accomplish a very effective workout simply by using what they have around them. Once again, I’m not implying that a gym is not needed, it can be. The deeper point that I am trying to make, is that sometimes or rather frequently in my personal experience. The gym can be either hard to get to, due to transportation issues. On the other hand going to a gym can be a very daunting and ever scary experience.
For some it can be the reality of having countless people looking at you as you enter the gym. Or it could be the possibility of doing something wrong and having people laugh, it happens. Or it could be the reality of not connecting with a trainer and or feeling like a burden. And so to mitigate these realties very often I’ve had clients start with themselves, their bodies and the environments around them. Then if and when they are comfortable, they are more than willing to try their hand at being in a normal gym. For the vast majority of the clients that I have worked with though, they have been more than content with environmental workouts/calisthenics. And strength training through the pathway of dumbbells and resistance bands. Trust me, I know it’s simple stupid and not the “sexiest” of approaches, but that isn’t necessarily what the adaptive community needs in my professional and humble opinion. Many times in physical therapy as a kid, it was the simplest of things that accomplished the mission.

My Heart As A Trainer and Coach (For the adaptive community)

Being a personal trainer/nutrition coach, has been something that I have wanted to do for a long time. And as I have written in a previous post, it was something that I hesitated from doing. For reasons of there not being enough money etc. I went ahead and ignored all the antagonist thoughts in my head and got certified in both!

I’ve been working the up hill climb at trying to gain a steady clientele, it’s difficult and even frustrating. Yet, at risk of sounding like an ego filled/puffed up human being. I’m going to brag about a few accomplishments , because I’m very proud of them.

The first notable one, was when I stared working with a young woman who had a worse form of cerebral palsy (CP) than I did. when I first started doing online coaching with her (which is what I do with all my clients) she could barely make her hands in the shape of a fist. In fact, doctors wanted to perform an operation on her to correct it. I didn’t think that surgery should be an option, unless we explored all the options.

After learning about my clients goals, I went ahead both a nutrition and fitness plan for her. For the simple reason, that I wanted her to be healthy and strong from the inside out. Long story short, after several weeks of staying as focused and disciplined as possible. She was able to open and close her hands! Much more, she was able to take a few steps assisted.

This to me has meant so much, and if as coach this is my greatest victory. I’m some what okay with that. There have been others with CP and other adaptive needs, that I have helped, in the areas of weight loss, gaining mobility and strength and so on. But the above story is most notable. Of course, I strive for others with CP and other needs to be their healthiest selves.

For we get one life and one body, and if we don’t take care of it. The consequences are much greater. My heart as a trainer, is to help clients adopt a healthy mindset and vision for their lives. Everything is mindset, which I believe sets me apart from other trainers, because some just focus on the body. Without taking stock of whats going on in the mind.

Our bodies are a gift, they might function differently, but they are a gift non the less. As such, we should be doing all that we can to take care of them each day. Eating more protein, drink more water, consume less sugar and so on. We should be doing all we can to make our bodies strong, even if all you can do is work your arms, do that! Make the most of what you got.

Learn to lay aside the fear, the doubts, the what ifs and start carving out the person you want to be. It’s not as difficult or impossible as you think, it just takes discipline, time and focus. But it can be done!

I’m here to help!

From Pro Body Builder- To Body Lover (My Thoughts)

So,

Theres been this pictures floating around on social media, of once pro body builder, Jolene Jones. Who once went from have zero body fat, weighing chicken, drinking protein shakes. To leaving the body building scene and letting herself indulge and enjoy life a lot more. See Below Picture:

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Now, let me come right out and say, that as a certified fitness and nutrition coach. I actually applaud her for this. With a few side notes of my own.

For one, I applaud her journey in body building, that takes a lot of time, effort and discipline. And to be able to bring your body to that level is nothing short of amazing. I will also submit that women as seen in picture A, are beautiful and that there is nothing wrong with wanting to live that life style.

However, its not maintainable for most people. And as in her case, it didn’t lead to her over all happiness. A lot times, people who are un to serious calorie restricted diets aren’t really happy, that feel unsatisfied because they are more than likely not getting the right amount of calories and fats.

Having almost zero body fat on you in is very deadly in the first play.   I that many of us need to be honest, about the reality that some of us, may never have the physical appearance of a body builder.

I’m going to say flat out, that I think its ok not to have 1 percent body fat. Its okay not to have six packs abs. On the flip side though, I don’t think that this should be an excuse to not be healthy or disciplined.

I don’t even believe that Jolene herself, is openly saying that either. I think its okay to indulge with pizza and beer sometimes. But we still should be disciplined and love ourselves enough to take care of ourselves. Feed our bodies with healthy foods and water most of the week or month. And maybe once a week, or a few times a month, have a cheat meal or two.

But then get back on the path, our lives are too much of a blessing and gift, not to have the the balanced approach of nutrition and fitness, while still indulging from time to time.   There’s no better time to start making yourself stronger and healthier inside and out.

And on the other end of the spectrum, maybe its okay to breath a bit and enjoy, but use wisdom and self control. In the process.