Simplicity Series: 10 Simple Nutrition Strategies That Work!

My thought process is pretty simple and is based on the results I see in real life. I have been in the trenches of health and fitness for 30 years. I see all the BS that gets put out every year and it is way worse now that the Internet gives free reign on total idiotic nonsense.

I started the 'Simplicity Series' for a reason. Bruce Lee once said that, 'Simplicity is the key to brilliance.' And that is a brilliant statement. We tend to over complicate everything and second guess ourselves. Sometimes it really is just that simple to get where you want to go.

Problem is, nobody ever said simple was EASY! It's just the commitment and dedication level of the individual that makes the difference. Facts are still facts whether you believe them or not.

Gravity exists. Fact! Whether you believe in it or not is irrelevant. If you step off a roof, trust me gravity is gonna be there to ensure you fall right on your ass!

So in the spirit of gravity I am going to share with you 10 simple nutrition strategies that work to help you lose weight. Believe in them or not...up to you. They still work regardless.


1. Give up the barcode and start eating more from bags (Props to Mike Roussell for this awesome tip) That means stop eating boxed processed food and go more natural with stuff in bags.


2. Eat protein and fat for breakfast. Skip the carbs until your first snack of the day. Great for rapid fat loss in women.


3. Eat a nutrition post workout shake 30-minutes after you train to replenish glycogen and metabolic hormone production.


4. Stop skipping meals. Kills your insulin level and makes you dysglycemic. Meaning you are all over the map when you ingest carbs. 


5. Drink more water...being dehydrated makes you store bodyfat.


6. Don't be afraid to eat at night, especially if you want to gain lean muscle. Make it protein based. If you are training the right way, you will not get fat. Learn to eat like an athlete and give your body the nutrients it needs to rebuild tissue. Your brain and your fear of getting fat is what gets in the way here.


7. Stop drinking juices and sodas. Even fruit juices. Eat the fruit instead. 


8. Eat and eat again. (another Mike Roussell gem) Whatever you eat portion size, can you eat the same size again 3 hours later? Meaning if you eat that huge meal, can you eat it again 3 hours later? If not, reduce your portion size to that which you can. Big difference.


9. Ingest 70% of your carb intake for the day at the 2 meals after your workout session. Regardless of the time of time you train. It's all about restoring glycogen and optimizing hormones.


10. STOP starving yourself. Go no lower than 10 x your lean body weight in calories. Lean body weight is your target weight. That number is the minimum amount of calories you need for basic metabolic function. Your body will not allow you to gain muscle and lose fat if you are not even giving it the calories and nutrients it needs for basic survival. Plus you totally imbalance your metabolic hormones because you screw up insulin sensitivity when you starve yourself.


11. Bonus>>>eat more fruit and vegetables.


OK there ya have it...up to you now. Simple! And sure you can disagree with stuff in here and that is ok. It won't make a difference on me doing them. Why? They work.

See ya on the other side.

Perry

How Do You Measure Up?

How do you measure success?

Ok so how do you measure success or failure with any endeavor? There must be some type of system of measurement to determine if what you are doing is actually working. You need a benchmark of accountability to help you reach the end goal. Yes? 

So what are some situations where we measure success or failure?

Losing weight: 

We use a scale to give us a number. Is it going up or going down. We can debate what the scale is actually measuring in another post. You get the point. If it goes up you change your approach. If it goes down, keep doing what you are doing. Simple.

Education: 

We use tests, quizzes and evaluations to determine if we pass or fail. Have we earned the right to move onto the next grade level? If not, you repeat it until you OWN IT!

Career: 

Salary, bonuses, and job performance reviews tell us if we are doing more than what is expected, doing bare minimum or are we getting FIRED!

Healthcare:

We have blood pressure readings, relative ranges in blood work, pulse rates, and hundreds of other measurements to see if we are normal or abnormal...or at RISK for poor health.

So my question to you is... how do you measure movement and the risks involved with exercise?

• How in the world can you put your body under the duress of hard exercise without knowing how well it moves? 

• Have you earned the right to graduate to the next level of movement and workout intensity? 

• What holds you accountable to passing or failing in the arena of injury prevention and  performance enhancement? 

• How do you determine if what you are doing is working beyond  just looking better? 

• How can you determine the baseline?

Success depends on progression.

What is your scoring system? Allow me to suggest one.....

FMS 

FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREEN

Class dismissed!

Perry Nickelston, DC, FMS, SFMA

Dr. Craig Liebenson's New DVD Series

Pre-Order from Amazon here

5 Favorite Insights from my friend Dr. Craig Liebenson 

                                                 

This is just a taste of why you MUST order these DVD's today! I learn from a lot of smart people that I respect and admire. Craig is one of them! Invest in yourself. Invest in this DVD. Invest in your clients. They deserve it...and so do you!! 

1. Rehabilitation is a PROCESS of care: Assess-Correct-Reasses
2. A big mistake commonly made is to stay too long with manual therapy or non-functional floor exercises. It is best to move on to upright functional training as soon as possible
3. Reducing painful movements is the first goal  of treatment.  Often the most effective treatment is the one which treats the painless dysfunction.
4. Pr Janda evaluated lateral stability upright in 2 ways. First, by assessingsingle leg stance balance by looking for excessive lateral pelvic shift. Second, by assessing lateral pelvic sway during gait.
5. Most treatments for musculoskeletal pain focus on treatment of the SITE of symptoms. By taking a symptomatic approach instead of addressing the SOURCE of pain recurrences are common. (Does this sound like someone you know????)

Click here to listen to my Stop Chasing Pain Podcast with Dr. Liebenson

PODCAST INTERVIEW

Thanks Doc for all the great information. You have taught me so much. 

Now all of you it's your turn. Scroll up and click the pre-order link to buy. I will be interviewing Craig about the DVD's soon. Keep you posted!

Visit Dr. Liebenson's Blog to learn even more... BLOG

Piriformis and Obturator Muscles Connection

I recently posted a short little tidbit of information on my Facebook Fanpage Stop Chasing Pain that said, 'If you always have a tight piriformis muscle, try activating the obturators.'  

Well this little post kicked off a firestorm of questions and comments that prompted me to expand a little more. I will be making a video of this activation protocol and posting it so you can see it in action, but this will be a quick summary of the how and why.


It all comes down to Motor Control Theory. This is based on pioneering work of Vernon Brooks 'The Neural Basis of Motor Control' and it's clinical application by David Weinstock and his NeuroKinetic Therapy. The Motor Control Center located in the cerbellum receives information from the limbic system and then the cerebral cortex before passing the information to the spine.

Your body’s Motor Control Center – the Cerebellum

The cerebellum is like central command controlling every muscle in your body. It is connected to each of your muscles via the somatic nervous system – sort of like control wires. Your cerebellum is where your body stores the information necessary to perform complex movements easily and naturally. 

Sometimes things happen to you that cause your body to protect itself – accidents, pain, and overwork etc. In response to these stimuli, your body creates a new program, or a compensation pattern. These patterns are exactly what your body needs to create in order to protect itself from that trauma. It goes into survival mode. The problem is that your body has no mechanism to let go of the compensation pattern when it is no longer needed Your nervous system has adapted to the dysfunction.

The body has no mechanism to let go of compensation patterns that you no longer need. Long after the trauma has passed, your body continues to over-use the bracing muscles that it relied on during the trauma, and continues to inhibit the muscles that were shut down. This creates a vicious cycle: The inhibited muscles actually start to weaken from lack of use, causing you to use the bracing muscles even more. Eventually, the bracing muscles simply stay tight all the time, lose their ability to fire efficiently, and they hurt. Now you start to CHASE PAIN! And we don't chase pain...we FIX PROBLEMS! 

Pain is where your problem ended up...NOT where it started!

So what we do is very similar to Muscle Activation Techniques where we test the strength of various muscles in relationship to pain. You can stretch and rub that tight muscle all day long, but until you reset the motor program it will not let go. Hence pain always returns.

So for the Piriformis we evaluate antagonistic and synergistic muscles for weakness and then reactivate them. 

Antagonist

Evaluate internal rotators of the hip

Synergist

Usual Culprits: Gluteus maximus, medius, obturator internus/externus, quadratus lumborum and hamstrings.

Once you find the weakness, you have 30-60 seconds to reset the Control Center via muscle activation. Once we reset and reactivate the obturators the MCC lets go of the piriformis so it can heal. The nervous system wins every time.

The video will show you how I test the obturators....and how I test them is how I activate them in conjunction with releasing the spasm.

You will see what I mean on the video...it all comes down to isolation and positioning. Got ya curious now don't I?? 

****Special Thanks to Jeff Elam, CBW for information referenced in this post. Visit his website for more information about his work.

JEFF ELAM

See ya soon!

Doc P.

Fibromyalgia and What?

  Check the gut and adrenals!

One of the conditions that a lot of people see me for is help for symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. This autoimmune disorder can be very difficult to treat and people suffer for years without any help or resolution from Western medicine beyond just pain medications. People are discovering how successful laser therapy can be in alleviating the pain and discomfort associated with fibromyalgia and it is encouraging to see that many doctors are now beginning to refer patients for help with laser therapy and fibromyalgia.

When clients come to see me for treatment of fibromyalgia, I use the  LCT-1000 deep tissue laser therapy and have some fantastic success with that program. However I am also bringing in some of my own experience in the past of suffering from severe adrenal fatigue and thyroid cancer. 

Because I had such a dysfunction in my hormone system and my own internal body environment, I devoted time to learning exactly what environment would cause the body to turn on itself. So I began to take a look inside of the body to see exactly what is happening with primary systems that can relate to hormone function.

Through my recovery from adrenal fatigue that was causing a lot of my underlying symptoms even after I had my thyroid gland removed  from the cancer, I started to do some evaluations on fibromyalgia patients and found some very similar underlying conditions. I began to do some saliva testing on the adrenal glands and how the underlying hormone system of the body was functioning. 

My thought was the body was turning on itself from a lack of balance in the hormonal system. It turns out that every single client that I had evaluated with saliva testing had adrenal fatigue at all different phases from mild, moderate and severe. And because of this underlying hormone dysfunction their internal body environment was ripe for turning on itself, a.k.a. autoimmune disorder .

Learn more about saliva testing here...SALIVA TESTING!

Also, began to look at the internal body environment in regards to pH potential hydrogen of the intracellular matrix. I discovered that the majority of people with fibromyalgia suffer from a highly acidic intracellular body environment. Thus, basically all the cells were sitting in a toxic environment. I sort of equate that to people checking the pH of a swimming pool or a fish tank. 

There is a very delicate mixture so the fish don't die and that you can actually swim in the pool not full of mold, fungus and bacteria. Just like if the fish tank pH balance is too acidic or too basic fish will die. The same thing happens for the internal environment of the human body. All the cells of the human body will be sitting in toxic waste, and the body begins to turn on itself. Cells die!

Evaluate the gut lining for any underlying inflammation or mucosal infection. 50% of the immune system strength comes from the intestines, so if it is compromised in any way, shape, or form people will be prone to illness. We evaluate saliva testing and stool samples (fecal) for underlying gut inflammation, food allergies, food sensitivities, possible parasites or bacterial infections, which can compromise the function of the immune system. It also compromises how the body can absorb nutrients. 

If you have an inflamed gut lining you do not absorb the vital nutrients that you need for optimum function. Good nutrition is really not about what you eat it's about what your body can absorb. You can eat the healthiest food in the world but if your gut lining is inflamed and you cannot absorb nutrients, it won't really matter how healthy you eat.

So the take away is that once someone suffers from an autoimmune disorder you have to look at the internal body environment. Why is the body turning on itself? It is exactly like what I teach for Stop Chasing Pain. The site of your pain is not necessarily where your problem is. So part of my program is the deep tissue laser  therapy, but everyone also gets their saliva testing and stool sampling. Basically what we do is attack the body from the inside out, and the outside in!

The underlying take away is that there's always another way to look at the body. Of course you should continue to take any medications that your doctor prescribed. But you can always do more things to empower yourself to help your body function at optimum. Because feeling good is not about functioning at normal. Feeling good is about functioning at optimum. 

For if your body is too busy trying to survive, it will never allow you to look good, feel good, and thrive. For more information you can visit my website. Click the link below to learn more about the hormone system of your body and take back control of your life. Although many people may tell you there's nothing they can do to help you. 

I believe you can. It's your body! It's your life! And are in control!

Click here to learn more.....STOP CHASING PAIN!

The One Blog Post That Can Change Your Life!

Yes, this is a BOLD statement and I stand by it wholeheartedly. How can I? Cause it did for me...Read, absorb, think, and then do! And it will work for you too.

I read an exceptional book this week by Scott Ginsberg and there was a section in there that jut wrapped up everything I have strived to learn in my life. The way he said it was just perfect. So I wanted to share it with you in hopes that it will resonate with you too. Enjoy it and if it touches you, forward it to others in that they may feel the power of these words.

BE brilliant at the basics. Be the change you want to see in the world. Be the first one. Be the only one. Be unforgettable. Be interesting. Be a sleeper. Be the world's expert on yourself. Be better than yesterday, but not as good as tomorrow. Be confident enough to be humble. But be somebody who reminds everybody of nobody else in the world.


AND DON'T wish it was easier, wish yo were better. Don't sell, enable people to buy. Don't let jerks get you down. Don't be weary in well doing for in due season you will reap a great harvest if you faint not. And don't wait for the mainstream to validate your voice. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Don't be selfish with your knowledge. Don't complain if you haven't earned the right. And don't be different, be unique.


BECAUSE YOU are what you charge. You are what you believe. You are the books you've read and the people you've met. And you are an empty sheet of paper in the minds of every person you encounter.


AFTER ALL, the world cannot resist a person on a mission. The best swimmers are always in the pool. The sculpture is inside the stone. And the two greatest days in your life are the day you're born, and the day you realize WHY you were born.


AND if you are successful you will always have too much to do and too little time. If you aren't being criticized, you aren't doing much. And if everyone says you're out of your mind, you just might be onto something.


EVEN THOUGH, it's not easy being yourself. It's not who you know, it's who knows you. And it's not the years, it's the mileage.


SO WORK hard, work long and work smart. Work like you don't need the money. And work from technique, because you never know how you will feel.


AND DON"T FORGET THAT success leaves clues. That confidence is king. That credibility comes from specificity. That listening is not waiting to talk. And that a nice person who is mean to a waiter is not a nice person.


OR, TO tell the truth, to tell it all and tell it now. To give value first. To paint yourself into a good corner. To allow customers to participate in your brand. To do work once and benefit many times. To give yourself away. To respect people no's. To take massive action. And to act as if you already are the person you're trying to become.


THEREFORE, ALWAYS stand up, stand out or be counted out. Discover your Personal Mission. Learn to step outside your comfort zone. Greet each day with love in your heart. Show, don't tell. Make daily appointments with yourself. Never apologize for your art. Remember your Victory Dance. Work harder on yourself than  your job. Find your one big idea. And always validate your existence, be yourself and so something cool--every single day!

"Everybody is somebody's somebody!"

Thank all of you for following my work. I am truly honored.....ME!


www.stopchasingpain.com 

3-Hour Brain Rush with Joe Dowdell

This weekend I had the honor of attending my good friend Joe Dowdell's workshop at Peak Performance Gym in NYC on Program Design 101. Joe is the CEO and founder of Peak Performance Gym voted one of the Top 10 Gyms in the country by Men's health Magazine, so you know he know his stuff. And take it from me, HE DOES!

Click here to see my Stop Chasing Pain TV interview with Joe after the workshop.




Here are just a few of the 100's of take aways from the workshop. Keep an eye out for Joe's Internship Program coming soon.

Learn more at Joe's website:

Joe Dowdell Website

• The Goal of your client is the most important component to program design. It's not about you, it's about them!
• Targeting the GTO Golgi Tendon Organ is the key ingredient that makes foam rolling effective.
• CNS Activation Drills fire up the nervous system and are designed to improve the individual's timing and rhythm.
• In general he recommends changing the strength program every 3-6 weeks, but 4 weeks is a good rule of thumb.
• Core dominant exercises (in general) should be placed at the end of the strength training session.
• TEMPO matters!
• Two ways to look at intensity: load and effort!
• GPP General Physical Preparation is always where you start with a client. Helps develop tissue tolerance to begin to improve their work capacity.
• Block Method of Periodizaton is an idea that suggest the use and sequencing of specialized meso-cyle blocks, where highly concentrate training workloads are focused on a minimal number of motor and technical abilities.

This is just a sample of the enormous information he talked about for programming. There is an art to programming. Invest the time to learn the skill.

Thanks Joe for a great time! 

Chad Skrederstu, Joe Dowdell, Me