Speaker 1: (00:00)
Hey everybody, what's going on? Doctor Chad Woolner here, and Dr Buddy Alan. And this is episode 21 of the health fundamentals podcast. And on today's episode we're going to be talking about the secret to accomplishing all of your health goals. So let's get started.

Speaker 2: (00:14)
You're listening to the health fundamentals podcast. I'm Dr Chad Woolner and I'm Dr Buddy Allen. And this show was about giving you the simple but powerful cutting edge tools you need to change your health and your life. So sit back and enjoy the show as we show you the path to your best life down to a science.

Speaker 1: (00:34)
So, hey, everybody, hope you guys are having an awesome day. Uh, I'm really excited about this episode because what we're going to be sharing here is really the secrets to accomplishing your health goals, all of them. Uh, and, and quite frankly, you can, you could literally take the same kind of formula and apply it into just about every aspect of your life, not just necessarily your physical health, but emotional health, uh, relationship, health, financial health, um, all of those areas in your life. Uh, this is a fairly, um, uh, fluid framework I guess in terms of being able to apply it to, uh, any of those aspects. But, um, you know what, let me preface this by saying that I think sometimes we have a tendency, at least I know I do have, when we hear something, maybe taking it a little bit for granted when we share what we share here, the, the punchline if we will.

Speaker 1: (01:30)
Um, we don't want that to be the case here with today's episode because this truly can, uh, have the ability to, to change your life if you'll take what we share here and, and implement and really take it and learn. Um, so he came across an article and it said this, it said for people with a strong life purpose, making healthier choices may take less effort. The University of Pennsylvania did a study and basically they said, why do some people easily meet their fitness goals and love eating healthy foods while others struggle to do either or, I should say neither, right? Ninth either a new research indicates that people with a strong sense of life purpose are more likely to respond positively to health messages and experience less activity in brain regions associated with conflict processing when exposed to these messages. So Buddy, you have the unique perspective of having four, five plus years full time been doing health coaching for people.

Speaker 1: (02:34)
Uh, maybe for those listening make sense of kind of what you hear he, uh, from what it says academically and then in the real world, kind of what you have seen, your experiences. Oh, absolutely. You know, academically, um, you know, I love what I actually, I love what it says, you know, cause most people or many people struggle their entire lives, um, with, with weight loss, with health management, with not liking maybe what they look like or how they feel or maybe, you know what I mean? It's like we're really very good at comparing ourselves to others, which is probably the first horrible thing for us to do. In fact, certainly one of the most horrible things we could do to ourselves, but more importantly, it's like that again, it's how we look at it. Like the people from the beginning, it's like there's a, there's something that's wrong with me.

Speaker 1: (03:24)
And again, that story is said in that little article there that, um, you know, it affects our stress hormones and our stress and you know, like the stress centers of our brain and that, that kind of is without telling you exactly right now that's kind of the key right there is the way we look at things, the way we're approaching it. You know, most people approach weight loss as I'm trying, it's a negative thing that I am a problem I am trying to solve. Right. All right. Rather than something that you're trying to create, right. It's right. It's like you're not thinking about the future as far as what that's going to allow you to do and the life that, that will allow you to lead the influence you may have. You know what I mean? Like we don't think about it in that positive sense.

Speaker 1: (04:08)
More of what can I, I got to get rid of this because I'm miserable where I'm at. Right? So basically, if we could kind of pair that down psychologically or mentally, it's, it's shifting from a state of running away from something, uh, to escape versus, uh, a more healthy or a more effective shift would be, uh, moving towards something greater than that. Right? It's that, it's that cycle. It's that little psychological shift that can be the kit that can make all the difference in the world. Right? And, and it's interesting that you say that because, um, uh, one thing that I read in the book, uh, and I know I've referenced it before, I'm in reference at all. I'll lot the willpower instinct. She talked about this, this whole idea of, uh, of moral licensing. Um, one aspect in which one way in which we self sabotage this, you'll be good for a period of time, quote unquote, you'll, you'll do really good on your diet.

Speaker 1: (05:03)
And then what you'll do is you'll, you'll indulge in something as, as, as a form of what we call more life, more a license. I've been good. So therefore I deserve this. And she said, uh, in the book, really what that indicates is an identity crisis. And that's really, I think at the core of what we're talking about here is this idea of, of what is your true sense of identity? How do you identify with yourself personally? And I would argue that for a lot of people, um, they have a very negative sense of identity, right? That, that they at their core, at their essence, are lazy. That they're somehow bad, that they're somehow not good enough, that they're somehow, uh, less than that they're lacking. And oftentimes what we do is we take those cues or those kind of social signals or reinforcements from we see on social media, you know, we compare everybody else's highlight reel to the struggles that we encounter.

Speaker 1: (06:02)
And no wonder, no wonder that creates a, uh, a sense of, uh, frustration and self-loathing and sure things like that. So, so anyways, so basically, you know, okay, so now that we know this, how do we actually take that idea of kind of what we're calling a higher sense of, of life purpose? A stronger sense of life purpose. How does that translate into actionable steps? Well, what we've kind of done here is we've broken this down into what we would kind of give you as for very practical pragmatic steps that people can take to begin this process of helping them to make that shift, uh, both mentally, emotionally, and then also physically in terms of the tactics. So let's, let's break those down. So breaking things down. Basically to start out, we have to be really honest with ourselves. Okay? And not, and again, this isn't, this is looking at us, we're not comparing, we're not looking at someone else or anybody else for that matter.

Speaker 1: (06:59)
This is if we want to improve and we want to get better, there's some things we have to do. All right? And to start, you have to have a true, honest picture of where, where are you right now? Right? And not, not, again, this is just like if, if, if your goals are physical in nature and you want to lose weight and you want to be able to, and honestly with getting healthy, it shouldn't be just about a scale, a scale, a scale to me is worthless other than telling us that we're moving in a positive direction or a negative direction. We'll, and I think too, what we're talking about here, uh, this idea of, of getting objective data. We're not talking about emotionally filtering it, filtering anything. You know, because again, if you go back to what we talked about, I think it was episode one, this idea that if you were to look at a spectrum on one scale, on one side of the spectrum to the other, there are two extremes.

Speaker 1: (07:53)
There's either self-defeating attitudes and behaviors. And then on the other end of the spectrum, there's self deceiving. And we don't want to veer too far in either of those directions. And I think when you, what you're talking about there in terms of getting a, a very fair assessment of where you currently are, what's reality? Um, you don't want to color that too much either way. Like, Oh man, I'm pathetic. I'm a loser. Or Oh, it's not that bad. I'll, I've got to lose is 50 pounds, no big deal. You know, neither of those two extremes in terms of thought are going to really serve you. And so what it's got to be is it's got to be okay. This is currently where I'm at. Um, and that's useful because that gives us a starting point, right? Well, and it also gives us, uh, we, we've talked about this in business.

Speaker 1: (08:37)
There's a difference between, between being kind of coerced or pressured into doing something right as opposed to having tension to help you resolve something. All right. So the reason we find out where we are now, so it's, and we have to be clear with our goals. Vague goals are really easy not to accomplish. That's why people fail. A huge reason why people fail is because all they say is, I just want to lose weight. I want to get healthier, I want to look better. All right, those are all so vague. There's nothing to actually to show you progress. [inaudible] exactly. There's no meat there. There's nothing that's, that's powerful. So step one, just so we're clear, is get an accurate picture of where you are. You currently are at a, you, you even said, you know, using a scale can be useful, but look at something, look at multiple factors, not just weight.

Speaker 1: (09:27)
Um, you know, tournaments, measure pants, pair pants, and that's only physical too. I mean, look at where you're at. You could even use a juror. I would highly recommend getting a journal, right? That's, that's an important part. And, and marking down in terms of, you know, on a scale of zero to 10 in this, this may not seem as objective, but I think I would argue that you can turn seemingly subjective things into objective things if you, if you know how to look at it the right way. So, uh, where are you in terms of your relationships with your spouse or significant other with your kids? Um, on a scale of zero to 10, 10 being amazing, zero being you're completely failing, you know, where would you, where would you rate yourself in terms of that? And again, doing your best to not emotionally color those things, but just giving it an accurate, and you can look at things in terms of you've you need more objective data.

Speaker 1: (10:13)
Look at, well, on average, how, how many hours per week do I spend with my kids or my spouse? Do I go on dates with my spouse? Do I, you know, look at different objective, the things that you either do, meet benchmarks, whatever that might look like. So if you're talking about physical health, you know, looking at not only a scale but looking at measurements, you could look at your BMI, you could look at your body fat percentage. You could look at uh, your level of it. How many times a week do I exercise right now? How many times a week do I eat out fast food? Um, you know, get as much data I guess as you as you can and, or you want to to look at to really give you the most accurate picture possible. So that's, that's step number one, right? Measuring where you're at, getting a clear sense of, of your current state, what step number two, step number two is really fun and out.

Speaker 1: (11:00)
Not necessarily what you are trying to do, but who are you trying to become? That's it. Right? That's a good point. So, so you are where you are now and then it's where, what are the goal? What's the goal, Ryan? Again, the Golden, we need to set goals up correctly because by setting things up incorrectly it can, you know, basically be good or bad is writing us actually achieve it. So write again and the reason we say, you know, the what, what is not nearly as powerful is like who and why and that power, right? That's huge. All like your goals should mean something to you. They should, right? Like, you should be able to imagine how it's going to feel when I can look in the mirror wearing this pair of pants or this bathing suit and really love what I see, right? Or to be able to run and not be winded or to be able to, you know, there's a million different things that could be very meaningful to you and your goals need to be meaningful.

Speaker 1: (11:56)
Weight loss and just a number is not meaningful, even looking sexy and a bathing suit or good and that, that's not that meaningful. Right? It's not. And, and what you're talking about there is a really important concept. I first learned about this idea, really honed in on it, a really good book, uh, the, it's called atomic habits. And he talks about this, this concept or this idea of instead of starting with what you want, uh, start with who do you want to be, how do you want to identify with yourself? You know, and again, kind of going back to the original kind of point here, is that most people who don't have a strong sense of purpose typically have a a fair, I think it's safe to say a negative self identity, not the most ideal or optimal self identity. And so by starting with this idea of, or at least step number two, then saying, who do I want to become?

Speaker 1: (12:51)
What that does is that makes the rest of the process that makes the watts fall into place relatively easy. Perfect example, if you, if you self identify as a lazy Slob, then the one is going to be pretty straightforward. What do lazy slobs do? Nothing. They, they're couch potatoes, they watch lots of TV, they eat what they want when they want, you know what I mean? If that's how you self identify, I know that's overly simplistic, but it's true. But if all of a sudden you were to start to shift and truly internalize a new self identity, that I'm a healthy person, that I'm a runner or I'm a, uh, I'm somebody that loves fitness or whatever it is that you do, uh, or, or whoever it is, I should say that you want to become, all of a sudden the watts kinda fall naturally into place.

Speaker 1: (13:37)
Well, if I identify as a runner, what do runners do? They run, do runners eat crappy food? No. They fuel their bodies for their running. You know, this is one of the reasons why if you look at like movements like crossfit for instance, are so powerful is because people for the most part who do crossfit aren't just casual gym goers. They're not just random people. They identify as I am a crossfitter, right? It's like a lot of these, these, uh, new fitness movements, you know, you look at people who are marathoners. You look at people who are ultra marathoners. You look at people who are triathletes. You look at people who are, you know, you fill in the blank there. Um, these people, you know, I identify as being athletic. I'm an athletic person. I love playing soccer. I love playing basketball. You know, identify what, whatever you identify with.

Speaker 1: (14:25)
It largely somewhat, uh, takes a lot of the mental energy away from figuring out the what, because it's very natural in terms of the consequence, you know? So starting with, and this would really be, you know, this step number two, the same sort of idea of expanding your vision, your, your life purpose because there's been really help solve that as well. Well, if you need to lose 80 pounds and you're like, oh, I just want to lose 10 or 15, there is no meaning behind 10. Or I'll tell you what a piece of pizza tastes way better than 10 or 15 pounds of, right? However, if you're 80 pounds is going to allow you to, uh, go on a trip and go on a, a backpacking trip or go do something that you've dreamed of doing your whole life, guess what? Now there's net. Now that piece of pizza has almost no meaning because you're focused on something as much more important, right?

Speaker 1: (15:14)
So it does make a huge difference. And then really that next, that next step from number three, it's breaking it down. You know, you have very clear goals and outcomes that you're, that you're shooting after and aiming towards now as a result, as a result of the purpose and identity that you've established. And now you, you look at that distance between where you are now, where you want to be or who you want to be, you want to be. And, and then you start breaking it down into small little actionable pieces. All right? Because like we frequently say is getting healthy or being healthy as about it's about consistency. You Bet. Doing those small, simple and consistency is about simplicity. Exactly right. So, you know, just break it down. Don't just know that everything takes time. Uh, and there was one other, as you were talking earlier, there was something that, um, I think is also critically important and I've learned over the years of working with hundreds and hundreds of individuals who are losing weight is people have a tendency to isolate themselves.

Speaker 1: (16:15)
When you, when you are not where you want to be or you, you think that your, you know, unhealthier, I've never been able to, you feel you, you put yourself in this category. Like I'm not pretty, I'm not healthy. I still feel very isolated. Yeah. You, you kind of distance yourself. And there are the, the truth behind that is, is we are all, even from the unhealthy to the very healthy, we are all more alike than we are different. And not only that, but I would also kind of, uh, say as well, uh, we as human beings, it, one of the, one of the most fundamental human needs that we have is connection, right? Think about it when, when, when babies are born, one of the things there, there is a, there's a term clinically that they use. It's called failure to thrive. And it comes from isolation.

Speaker 1: (17:02)
When babies are isolated, it's not just a, you know, you know, oh they're, they're going to be sad or they're going to cry no of their, they are not going to survive. Um, they need connection and that doesn't change as we get older. Nope. We need that same human interaction and that connection. And so I think the point that you were alluding to there is working with others and more specifically even looking for a mentor or a coach, which somebody that you have what we were going to call a yeah. Yeah. Part four of this whole, um, kind of way to start achieving your goals, especially with respect to your health is find someone to help you find someone to model after. Find someone who is doing it right. Right. And do what they do. That's, it really is as simple as that. Do what they do following proven steps and formulas.

Speaker 1: (17:47)
There's actually a tremendous amount of research out there that suggests you will become like the people you associate with. Absolutely. All right. And so, and that can be a scary thought, I think for some people. You know, cutting out cancerous relationships out of their life, but yet that's, it's such a necessary step for people to become the best version of themselves. And it doesn't have to be this, um, personal issue, you know, in that process. It's just you got to really make the decision of what's going to be best for you. And sometimes that does involve, um, you know, I, I think of, uh, something Tony Robbins said, he says there's only four ways to change your life and they are, do more of something, do less of something, start something or stop something. Right? That's it. Those are the only four ways to change your life.

Speaker 1: (18:34)
And so, uh, you know, in terms of this, the, the stopping something could be associating with negative people that could be draining you. You know? And so it really is, you want to surround yourself with people that lift you up and help you. And at the same token too, what you don't want is you don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of people who are going to allow you to be complacent. Oh, we're just gonna need to be held to a higher standards. That's the reason you need a coach. Yeah. I've known people and I've known friends who surround themselves with others who will kind of help themselves, soothe, coddle them, he coddled it, coddled them, and or just kind of celebrate with mediocrity, you know, together. And that doesn't help either. What you're looking for are people who will provide you with a love and understanding that at the same token, uh, not simply accept a mediocrity from you, but accept a higher standard and holds you to that higher standard and help give you that necessary, uh, structured tension, right?

Speaker 1: (19:31)
Structured tension to help you help, uh, pull you, uh, to ultimately the person that you want to become. So let's review real quick, kind of recap again, what are the steps? Steps one through four, if you want to improve anything in your life, there's a simple four step formula, right? And it's this idea overarching, all of it is to expand your life, a sense of your life purpose, right? What's a greater purpose? A greater vision, right? There's that verse in proverbs that a, when my, where people have no vision they parish in or when my people have no vision, they perish. We can kind of use that same sort of idea there. But so step number one is know where you're at right now. Know where you're at. And I had a true, you know, unemotional, like where am I at? Yeah. Step number two.

Speaker 1: (20:13)
Step number two is who and what and why do I want to change or what I, what's the vision? What is my goal? What's the goal? And a very meaningful goal and a very specific goal. Yeah. Number three is break it down into bite sized pieces, bite size pieces, make it actionable matchable and that you can do that. That is simple action about trackable, consistent with. Yup. And then lastly is just find someone to mentor you, to walk, to, to follow, to lead the way and a and surround yourself with people that are gonna that are going to support you in this journey. Absolutely. Um, so hopefully this has been helpful for you guys. Hopefully if nothing else, maybe this has given you a little bit of perhaps motivation and a little bit of uh, maybe spark sparked something within you to begin this process and maybe help bolster your courage a little bit cause it can be scary. Change is always scary for us, right? So always. Um, so anyways, hopefully this has been helpful for you guys and if you know others that could benefit from this message and other messages that we share on the podcast, share it with them and uh, we look forward to sharing more with you guys on upcoming episodes. We'll talk to you later.

Speaker 2: (21:21)
Thanks for listening to the health front of Middles podcast. Be sure to subscribe so that you stay in the loop. And in the note with all of the cutting edge health information that we share, if you knew other people that could benefit from this information, please share it with them as well. Also be sure to give us a review. These really help us to ultimately help more people. Last but not least. If you have questions that you want answered live on the show, or if you have ideas for topics that you would like us to cover, please shoot us an email and let us know at info@thehealthfundamentals.com.