Being My Own Scientist
Trying to figure out what advice to take.
Telling people you are on a health journey is a double edged sword. On one hand, you now have accountability. On the other, you get a ton of unsolicited advice.
Lots of unsolicited advice.
Advice that contradicts other advice.
And it’s confusing to figure out who to listen to.
One of the best bits of advice I got early on in this journey is to become my own scientist. Because what works great for one person, might not work for me.
Keto? No thanks, I love carbs. Carnivore? See my previous answer.
I can tell you my body responds to cardio and cutting back on processed carbs (not cutting them completely out because part of this journey is learning how to have a healthy relationship with food). I’ve tested this by trying multiple different things one month at a time.
I can tell you when something doesn’t feel right with my exercise or diet. Maybe not what’s precisely wrong, just that something doesn’t feel on point.
Take my diet.
I needed to make a change at the beginning of the year. My weight was creeping back up and I was feeling sluggish. I switched out to a primarily plant based diet and all of a sudden, I was feeling better. The weight fell back off.
But I wasn’t gaining any muscle. I stopped progressing in the gym and even started regressing.
So I went back and looked at the data I collected. The data seemed pretty solid: I was getting enough calories, my macros looked good. Until I did a little more research. I was low on protein. I hadn’t paid enough attention to the fact I wanted to grow my muscles instead of maintaining.
Add plant based protein, and, all of a sudden, muscle progression!
Not making progress in obstacle class. Ask all of my friends what I’m doing wrong. Nothing seems to be wrong other than I need to put on more muscle and drop weight (the dreaded weight to muscle ratio I hate). Ask my coach because I’m freaking out. Get told to work on primarily grip strength obstacles and again, progress.
I climbed the rope because I could finally hold myself up while I brought my legs into position.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the advice you receive. When I’m testing something out, I usually do it for a month to see how it feels and to give my body a chance to adapt.
I won’t say the process is easy. It’s super frustrating at times. Some days it feels like one step forward and two steps back, but I need to remember that my relationship to my body becomes stronger for all of the setbacks because I have more data to go off of for the next attempt.
