Module 1 – Tracking+
The truth is, if you want to be successful forever — you must become an expert at tracking! In some form or another. It’s the truth – some of the best most successful people in the world track everything from their food to sleep to lifts to finances ( Like Richard Branson, Dave Asprey, Dr Layne Norton etc). You need to be able to monitor and create awareness around your progress, bad habits, where you do well and what is working for you.
I know it can be a pain but I seriously attribute my 15+ years of success to tracking. I track my food, fluid, supplements, sleep, walks, exercise, heart rate, HRV/recovery, stress levels and self care ( which I categorize as stress management ) daily. I attribute it to my continued success.
Please listen to the below podcast and it would be in your best interests to start tracking in either Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, or you can even create a private instagram account and allow me to follow it ( this way you can post pictures of each meal ), or… just jot things down in a note book. My favorite is “Cronometer”, and I have Cronometer professional, so I can view and edit my clients diaries. There is a Cronometer walk through video in the forum or you can find it below.
If starting tracking immediately feels too overwhelming to you, hold off, we will be coming back to it in a few weeks. 
Tracking is NOT mandatory right now.
Note; Cronometer is FREE. My Fitness Pal has started charging monthly I believe.
Do not worry too much about calories and portion sizes – we will address them in time and MyFitnessPal does not vet or monitor all of its numbers (Cronometer does), so that means most are inaccurate.
Tracking is super beneficial but I can’t “make” you do it and not everyone needs to track to see success.
RESOURCES;
We don’t count calories per say, when we are focused on proper nutrition but this below is handy to know – its just an FYI – it is a “basic” calculation method, that doesn’t consider your current weight, height, build or lifestyle… so always run numbers by me.
How to calculate your daily calories for weight loss
Multiply 10-11 calories per pound you WANT to weigh. This is just an FYI, we will NOT use this in the beginning or maybe never!
Morning Routine
Routines are very important to humans, they support our internal clocks and circadian rhythms. Women especially respond well to routine, as our internal clocks are a little more sensitive to mens, because of all our lovely complicated hormones. Starting your day off with structure gives you the advantage of starting the day off strong and activates essential processes in your body, including hormones/rebalancing hormones.
So your morning routine looks like;
"Inner bath" after you wake – this is 500 mls of room temperature water with 1/4 tsp of sea salt and 1tbsp or more of lemon juice. This will support detoxification, the adrenals and cellular function.
Followed by 15-30 mls of apple cider vinegar – you can add to warm or sparkling water if it makes it easier for you to get down, but honestly just shoot it and get it over with!
Wash down with a green tea, yerba mate tea, or peppermint tea or warm water with some organic lemon or lime juice (preferably peppermint green tea with organic lemon or lime juice for best results. Or there is a good green yerba mate blend I like - ask me about it).
*If you get a histamine reaction to green tea, let me know. This could include nasal drip, wheezing, watery eyes or mucus production for example.
Next is your coffee of choice (organic and high grade). You can use heavy cream or coconut cream or milk, and cinnamon or other spices if you like.
Aim to get 15-30 minutes of direct sunlight into your eyes withing the first two hours of waking.
This helps with hormonal regulation.
Lastly if you can get your bare feet in direct contact to the earth early in the morning, then DO!
This will help release free electrons/free radicals in your body by donating them to the earth. This helps to neutralize your body and thus helps with inflamation and oxidation. This is called “Grounding” or ‘Earthing’ and it has many health benefits. Weather permitting of course. *The more I study everything, the more I am realizing how importanaant neutralizing your body is. Especially for cellular health and redcuing inflammation.
*Morning routine PNG and video are also available in the Facebook forum.
Measuring you and your progress
By measuring appropriately we can monitor our progress and create awareness around what is working and what is not. I find it helps to set goals for specific outcomes, beyond losing weight. These would be changes in biomarkers, as discussed more below. What you measure improves and connects you to intention. Its also hard to change something you are unaware of.
Numbers are objective measurements, and biomarkers are subjective. Your subjective measurements can be influenced by/and reflective of many things. And there is not on objective measurement (like a number on the scales or pathology test), that is useful to us without subjective measurements to conincide with it. Remember this – it will help you to not obsess over the scales.
Remember —
health and healing first. Fat loss is a bonus!
“Biomarkers” are; changes we notice in our body, both physical and mental. They are NSV’S or non scale victories. Biomarkers are more than just the number on the scales. They are other biological changes we see in ourselves, even when the scales does not reflect progress.
Biomarkers or non scale victories can be seen as;
an improvement in sleep
reduction in anxiety and or depression
increase in energy
improved hair, skin and nails
no longer needing medication
feeling good
loose fitting clothes
shopping for clothes in a smaller size
reduction in cravings
reduction in hunger
improved bowel movement
reduction in PMS cramps ………and so on.
You will hear me ask about your biomarkers on a weekly basis, generally a Thursday morning. We should be constantly aware of our progress and effort, so this is a valuable ‘awareness’ tool.
“Measuring” is kind of self explanatory. We will measure your progress through 2 different ways along with biomarkers (there is a third optional option). Measuring your results helps you capture a snapshot of your current health and progress.
Your objective measuring tools are;
your weight in pounds – ON day 1 and weekly. *If you have a Bioimpedance scale you can also monitor body fat % and BMI etc. You will find the scale I use and recommend under the my favorite products tab.
before pictures – trust me you will be glad you take these! You can take them in your underwear, swim suit or leggings and a top. Be sure to at least get front and side pictures. And remember I do not share these pictures without your consent. *please take pictures in a way that I can see the outlines of your body.
OPTIONAL BUT ADVISED; Measurements of inches/waist and hips – before day 1 and 4-6 weeks later. Measure your waist circumference 1 inch above your belly button and at your belly button. Make sure the tape measure is not too tight and that it’s parallel to the floor. Don’t hold your breath, and write down your results in inches or cm’s. Be sure to date them and keep them somewhere safe. Measure the circumference of your hips at the widest point. We will then also calculate your waist to hip ratio by dividing your waist number by your hip number.
OPTIONAL. one of the best ways to monitor body progress is with a skin fold caliper. I find this is especially helpful for those who get upset over the scales not moving and believing this is a marker that they are not making progress. A skin fold measurement is one of the most accurate indicators of health and body progress, especially for those who exercise. Skin fold caliper PDF here. Save it and you will find a caliper recommendation in the my favorite products tab.
Some of you may need other measurment tools like blood pressure, blood glucose, and other blood markers, but I will discuss that with you on an individual basis.
There is SO much I have to teach you, it may seem overwhelming at times, I am sorry, but I will try and make it as clear and understandable as possible . I designed this, not to deprive you but to teach you how to incorporate and enjoy real food that your body likes, while reaping the rewards and supporting your body through times of illness etc.
This is a map, get good at reading it and navigating through it, to get you to your destination as easily and efficiently as possible!