10 Tips to Stay on Track over the Holidays

Posted on by Wes Wise.

As discussed in Episode 17 of the Wise Eats Podcast:

Here are some tips to help you stay on track with your fitness over the holidays. And in case any of you are wondering, I’ll be doing every single one of these tips this Thanksgiving. Not just whistling Dixie over here!

  1. Go for Walks – First thing in the morning and after meals. This is one of the easiest ways to combat overeating and put those extra calories to good use! Walking offers so many health benefits like promoting digestion and helping send a signal to your body that you’re done eating. It also gives you the opportunity to connect with loved ones and get some exercise in the process.
  2. Lift Weights – A good weight training session will ensure that your Thanksgiving calories are put to good use by increasing your strength and boosting your metabolism! I’ll be lifting intensely in the days and minutes leading up to Thanksgiving for sure! Before you decide to do a bunch of cardio to make up for your Thanksgiving celebration, I recommend that you lift some weights instead, which will put those calories to much better use!
  3. Get Good Sleep – Sleeping well the night before can help reduce cravings and keep your metabolism firing on all cylinders.
  4. Reduce Stress – Hopefully, the holidays are a time for fun and relaxation for you, but if they just leave you feeling stressed, I get it! Do some journaling, deep breathing, meditation to keep your emotions controlled and set your intentions for the day by focusing on gratitude and all the positive things about the holiday experience.
  5. Eat Breakfast – Starving yourself leading up to the big meal can lead to binging. Keep your energy levels stable by having a healthy breakfast and then portioning your Thanksgiving meal appropriately.
  6. Bring a Health Dish to Pass – This guarantees you will have healthy options at the dinner table to choose from.
  7. Pick Protein over Fats – Eat more lean meat and veggies and have less gravies, casseroles, snacks, and desserts.
  8. Eat Slowly & Thoughtfully – Enjoy your food, don’t just gobble it down. Take time to enjoy the people around you. Avoid the area where the food is after you’ve eaten so you’re less likely to overeat. Watch your portions and try to avoid going for seconds – I know, easier said than done! 8 in 10 Americans agree that they enjoy leftovers more than the actual meal itself.
  9. Stay Hydrated – One of the best tactics you can use to avoid overeating. I drink water with every meal to help bring on the feeling of fullness.
  10. Avoid Liquid Calories – Alcohol used to be a staple of every holiday for me, and I’m not alone. A survey of Americans found that 63% plan to drink wine with their Thanksgiving dinner, 19% plan to drink beer, and 10% plan to have mixed drinks. That means 92% of Americans will consume alcohol on Thanksgiving! I find that stat hard to believe, but maybe I’m living in a fantasy world. Alcohol, Egg Nog, Soda should be off limits! Stick with water and coffee! You’re far more likely to retain your calories as body fat when you’re throwing in alcohol on top of the food.

Here’s a bonus tip: Enjoy the holiday! – Don’t get too worked up about your fitness goals. It’s a special time, so enjoy it! Keep your goals in mind, but don’t obsess over them. Let loose and enjoy yourself.

Submit questions, comments, feedback to WiseEatsPodcast@gmail.com or to @weswisefitness on Instagram. Thanks for reading, Happy Thanksgiving, and make wise choices!

9 Tips to Stay Fit on Vacation

Posted on by Wes Wise.

As discussed on Episode 7 of the Wise Eats Podcast

Well aloha, mahalo, and welcome to another episode of Wise Eats. In today’s article, I want to share some diet and fitness tips that I took away from my recent trip to Maui that you can apply to your travels in life, not just for vacation, but in other areas of your life:

Tip #1: Food Prep

Prepare food to have in your carry-on bag. Cook meals where you’re staying, if possible. On this trip, my carry-on was loaded with protein bars, energy Bowl, cauliflower fried rice (recipe pending), sweet potato, and other healthy snacks. I had enough food for our 13-hour trip and then some. It was the same theme on the ride home. We cooked everything we had leftover and packed it to go on the plane, so we ended up with chicken, vegetables, energy bowl, potatoes, and rx bars. All we left behind food-wise was a couple extra cases of water.

Many people think you can’t bring snacks on a plane, which is not true. You can bring snacks, prepared food, just have to watch out for fresh produce and liquids.

Resist the urge to given into convenience and stay accountable by preparing your travel meals. Avoid airport food and in-flight snacks whenever possible. Stick to real food and wise choices.

Tip #2: Grocery Shop

Obviously, this doesn’t really work if you’re going on a cruise or all-inclusive. One of the reasons we chose Maui was because we enjoy going to a place where we have the freedom to prepare our own meals when we want. We rented a condo on the ocean stocked with a full kitchen, freezer, refrigerator, blender. There’s a Costco in town, along with a local farmer’s market and grocery store.

No matter what my circumstance, on vacation or in normal life, I need to have healthy options on hand. So, after we got off the plane, we went to Costco which was right around the corner from the airport. We stocked up on healthy options like chicken, rice, fresh and frozen produce, water, and other essentials. We even placed orders on Amazon and had them shipped directly to our room so it was waiting for us when we got to Maui.

Tip #3: Cook Your Own Meals

I know this probably sounds so boring. But I don’t care if I’m on getting on a plane to go across the world or driving across town to a family function, I always stay prepared when it comes to food. I have healthy meals as back up and plenty of filtered water. You need accountability for the things you’re putting in your body, so the more you can control that, the better off you’re going to be.

On this trip, we made breakfast every day: Scrambled eggs, gluten-free pancakes, fresh fruit, energy bowl, protein shakes with kale, and others. We often made lunch or dinner, as well. Of course, we ate out at times, but it was usually only one meal or so per day, not the entire time.

Vacation should involve a break from your normal routine, but it’s not a free pass to just eat crap for a week straight. Eat well as much as possible and save unhealthy meals for the moments where it will truly be memorable, like a nice dinner out or something you know you’ll really enjoy in the moment. A sub sandwich and bag of chips on a plane is not memorable or good for your body.

Tip #4: Control Your Portions

I fight myself with this all the time. Pick your poison, but try not to overindulge. Instead of eating half a pizza or a whole pizza, have a slice or two. Easier said than done, but the more you focus your mindset toward restriction, the better you’ll do in the long run. Portion control is something I struggled with for years, and still fail at from time to time, but has gotten much easier. I did overeat quite a bit on this trip, but it was usually healthy foods. Plus, who’s got time for calorie restriction on vacation? It’s time to enjoy yourself, of course! But you can do that while making wise choices in the process.

Tip #5: Not Every Meal is a Cheat Meal

Treat yourself, but get in as much home cooked, healthy prepared meals as possible to go along with it. If you completely binge the whole time like I used to, you’re going to come back needing a vacation from your vacation. We cooked many meals that we would normally have at home, but also enjoyed some local flavors and fresh produce. We actually enjoyed some sort of “bad” food every single day. We simply limited it to one meal and surrounded it with other healthy meals so we didn’t go too far overboard.

Our favorite dishes from this trip: Carrot cake (fresh made daily), fresh baked pie, tamales, pizza, shave ice, sushi, haupia

Tip #6: Get Moving

I’m not saying you have to sign up for a nearby gym for the week you’re on vacation, but if you can, it’s not a bad idea. In my previous trip to Maui, I focused too much on getting to the gym, but you have a built-in gym inside you. Take a break from your normal routine and just do some bodyweight exercises. Pushups, squats, lunges, jumping jacks, running, walking, stretching, playing. There are so many things you can do outside of a normal gym routine. Enjoy nature, get in the water, the sand. At a minimum, keep a mindset of movement.

Normally, I lift weights 5-6 days per week, so I usually try to have a gym nearby whenever I travel, but that was not an option on this trip. In preparation, I really pushed hard in the weeks leading up so I could feel good about taking time off for recovery. Instead of going to the gym, I moved as much as I could every single day. I walked in the airports, did bodyweight squats on the plane, stretched, bodyweight, ab routines. Instead of chest day, I did a push-up challenge. Instead of leg day, I did a bodyweight squat challenge. I also made it a requirement to jump in the ocean every single day: real hard, I know. The idea is to embrace the opportunity to take a break from your normal training routine and try some different things that make you feel good.

Tip #7: Stay Hydrated

Water, water, water. Drink it, a lot. Swim in it. Play in it. Live in it. Staying hydrated will help keep you from overeating and also feeling energized. Hydration is a very simple hack to optimize your health all the time, not just on vacation. We bought like 8 cases of water from Costco and it lasted our entire trip. We were never without fresh water and challenged one another to drink as much as possible every day.

Tip #8: Limit Alcohol Intake

Oh boy, this is the holy grail. Wes, what good is a vacation without alcohol? Trust me, I get it. I used to drink every day whether I was on vacation or not. Wes from 5 years ago doesn’t even know who I am today.

My vacations used to be centered around alcohol. Room was always fully stocked with bottles. Whether I was on vacation or headed to a sporting event or concert, I would travel with mini bottles full of vodka so I always had quick access to free booze.

These days, however, it’s a much different story. Out of our 12 nights in Hawaii, we only drank alcohol twice and never got drunk, just had a few drinks. I really just enjoyed myself more without the alcohol. I want my body feeling good and to enjoy my surroundings fully. I want to rest fully and wake up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to take on all of the amazing wonders Maui has to offer. I’m not saying I never drink, but it’s less and less all the time because my goals are so much bigger now, and alcohol is a poison that only detracts from those goals. If you want to drink and party all the time, that’s perfectly fine, and I won’t be mad at you because I’ve been there. But if your goal is longevity and vitality, you may want to rethink your priorities like I had to.

All that said, we enjoyed a few local beers while we were in Hawaii, so shout out to the Maui Brewing Company. Loved their nitro brewed coconut hiwa porter. Fantastic.

Tip #9: Enjoy yourself.

Eating healthy and exercising are great, but at the end of the day, it is vacation. I encourage you to make as many wise choices as you can, but at the end of the day, advise you to worry less, and relax more. Have some fun and don’t be so hard on yourself!

In closing, don’t use vacation as an excuse to just eat junk the whole time. A getaway is a chance to recharge your batteries and come back feeling better than you did when you left. It’s not a week long session of poisoning yourself and then spending a whole month just to get back to where you were before.

I might sound like a boring date to take on vacation, but trust me, I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum. From being focused on nothing but eating and drinking myself into oblivion to slowing down and enjoying myself in other ways beyond food and alcohol. I want to feel good on my vacation. I don’t want to be tired, lethargic, or hungover. I want to fully enjoy my surroundings and remember the great times I had.

That’s gonna do it for the lifestyle tips while on vacation. Shoot me an e-mail with any questions or comments you have over at WiseEatsPodcast@gmail.com. I turned my life around completely by focusing on health and fitness, and want to do whatever I can to help you do the same. I haven’t found some magic bullet or special diet or fancy supplement or a quick shortcut. What I did was make a conscious decision to change my lifestyle, then made small positive changes that grew into a permanent lifestyle over time. It’s all about developing a mindset that centers around movement, gratitude, hard work, and real food. So, thanks again for reading, please let me know how I can help, and until next time, aloha, mahalo, and make wise choices!

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Top 15 Home Gym Equipment Necessities

Posted on by Wes Wise.

Building a home gym made getting fit much more convenient and helped me stay consistent with my routine. You don’t have to waste gas, time, and precious motivation driving to the gym in order to execute a quality workout. Initially, I started with a few sets of dumbbells and P90X or UFC Fit. Now, I’ve built an entire home gym that I’m constantly adding to. Here is a list of items I have that I recommend for your home gym:

 

  1. Dumbbells
  2. Pull-Up Bar
  3. Adjustable Barbell Rack ($100 on Amazon)
  4. Barbell & Weight Plates
  5. Adjustable Bench
  6. EZ Curl Bar
  7. Jump Rope
  8. Workout Mat
  9. Kettlebells
  10. Foam Roller
  11. Heavy Bag & Boxing Gloves
  12. Ab Wheel
  13. Push-Up Bars
  14. Resistance Bands
  15. Workout Gloves

That is more than enough to get a complete workout and jump start the recovery process.

What’s in YOUR home gym? Comment below!

If you do prefer to work out at a gym, look for one that is close to home or work. Prepare meals and shaker bottles with protein and supplements in advance so you’re well fueled and not tempted to buy junk convenience foods. Pack a bag with everything you need in advance so you have no excuses not to show up.

Outside home and the gym, build movement into your routine no matter where you are. Go outside and get some sun. Go for a walk, ride a bike, or stop reading this article right now and do some push-ups or bodyweight squats. I am not afraid to do bodyweight squats right in the bathroom wherever I’m at if I need an energy boost or want to burn some calories. Bring some weights and a mat to work so you can exercise on your lunch break. Any time you’re feeling stressed, find a place to do some quick push-ups or pull-ups. You’ll work that anxiety out and be feeling like a new person in no time! Just because you don’t have 30-60 minutes to dedicate to a workout, doesn’t mean you have to do nothing. 1 minute of effort is all you need to get started. Make progress from there.

5 Biggest Game Changers for Physical Transformation

Posted on by Wes Wise.

I was recently asked for one specific thing that was a game changer for my health transformation. After taking a moment, I came up with healthy smoothies as my answer, but it really got me thinking about the other changes that have made the biggest impact on my level of health and fitness. It was impossible to keep it to just one, but I did limit it to a short list of absolute game changers that helped me lose 90lbs, achieve optimum health, and build a lean, muscular physique.

1) Changing Mindset from Weight Loss to Muscle Gain

Most people are focused solely on weight loss, just as I was, and it’s easy to fall into the outlook of eat less, exercise more. But actually, the reverse of this philosophy is true. Proper fueling and energy expenditure are what you should be focused on. How many calories do you need in a day to maintain your weight? How many do you need to gain muscle? Lose body fat? You can get estimates of these numbers using a calorie/macro nutrient calculator. If you haven’t done this, chances are you’re not eating enough calories, which can wreck your metabolism and promote the retention of body fat. Or, you’re eating too many calories, which will cause unnecessary weight gain. Find out your daily needs, figure out where you’re at, and you may be surprised at what you find. Instead of weight loss, focus on getting stronger so that your body becomes efficient at burning body fat. In order to achieve this, I recommend adopting a strength building routine involving lifting weights. Resistance training is far more effective at changing body composition than cardio. Instead of wasting away for hours on a treadmill, do some weight training with compound exercises like the squat, dead lift, bench press, and overhead press. You’ll be getting lean and strong in no time.

2) Making Smoothies

From day one, smoothies were a major aspect of my weight loss journey. Today, they’re simply a way of life. You can literally drink your way to better health. I will have generally 1-2 per day, but sometimes as many as four. I initially started with a $30 blender from Wal-Mart. Today, I use Blend-Tec, which ranges from $200-$300, but is worth every penny. Smoothies are a quick, easy, and delicious way to get vital nutrients into your diet. Here is a list of the smoothie ingredients we use frequently:

  • Purified Water, Ice
  • Almond Milk, Rice Milk, Coconut Water, Kefir
  • Berries (Raspberry, Blueberry, etc), Banana, Apples (Fresh or Frozen)
  • Mulberries
  • Spinach, Kale
  • Cucumber, Beets, Carrots
  • Oat Bran
  • Grass Fed Whey Isolate (Hormone/Antibiotic-Free, Naturally Sweetened)
  • Creatine (Weight Training Supplement)
  • Casein Protein
  • Cacao Nibs, Cacao Powder
  • Coconut Oil, MCT Oil
  • Flax Seed, Hemp Seed, Chia Seed
  • Avocado, Almonds, Cashews, Coconut
  • Spirulina Tablets
  • Green Superfood Powder Blend (Chlorella, Wheat Grass, Etc.)
  • Carob Powder, Camu Powder, Maca Powder, Moringa
  • Stevia, Xylitol (Natural Sweeteners)
  • Cinnamon

Mix and match based on this list of ingredients or come up with your own. A great place to start is the Wes Sider Smoothie for optimization or the Fully Charged Chocolate Smoothie for dessert. When it comes to produce, we generally buy organic. It’s usually cheaper to buy frozen over fresh, but we mix and match depending on what’s on sale or in season. I always switch up ingredients, but the smoothie recipes I have listed on Wise-Eats.com are a great place to start.

What are you putting in YOUR smoothies? Shoot us an e-mail or leave a comment down below.

3) Hydrating Properly

Adequate hydration increases energy, reduces appetite, promotes weight loss, and increases muscle strength, among countless other benefits. The first thing I do every day is drink a tall glass of high quality water and stay fully hydrated the entire day. Generally, 1-2 gallons per day total. If I’m running to the bathroom every hour to pee, I’m winning. Once you eliminate pop, milk, energy drinks, and other junk fluids, drinking water becomes natural, and your body instinctively craves it above all else.

It’s not only the amount of water you drink, but the quality of your water. Tap water and even some bottled waters expose you to the hazards of added chemicals and pollutants. Purchase a filter or buy water directly from a facility that does purification. In the past, I have used a Pur filter, but these commercial filters usually only mask the taste of poor quality water and do nothing to remove contaminants. After ditching the Pur, I began buying water from a reverse osmosis facility. Today, we use a Berkey filtration system in our home. For a more in-depth look at exactly how I drink water, check out the Wise Eats “Always Workin’” Water recipe video.

4) Being Able to Work Out Anywhere

Building a home gym made getting fit much more convenient and helped me stay consistent with my routine. You don’t have to waste gas, time, and precious motivation driving to the gym in order to execute a quality workout. Initially, I started with a few sets of dumbbells and P90X or UFC Fit. Now, I’ve built an entire home gym that I’m constantly adding to. Here is a list of items I have:

  • Dumbbells
  • Pull-Up Bar
  • Adjustable Barbell Rack ($100 on Amazon)
  • Barbell & Weight Plates
  • EZ Curl Bar
  • Jump Rope
  • Workout Mat
  • Kettlebells
  • Foam Roller

That is more than enough to get a complete workout and jumpstart the recovery process.

What’s in YOUR home gym? Comment below!

If you do prefer to work out at a gym, look for one that is close to home or work. Prepare meals and shaker bottles with protein and supplements in advance so you’re well fueled and not tempted to buy junk convenience foods. Pack a bag with everything you need in advance so you have no excuses not to show up.

Outside home and the gym, build movement into your routine no matter where you are. Go outside and get some sun. Go for a walk, ride a bike, or stop reading this article right now and do some push-ups or bodyweight squats. I am not afraid to do bodyweight squats right in the bathroom wherever I’m at if I need an energy boost or want to burn some calories. Bring some weights and a mat to work so you can exercise on your lunch break. Any time you’re feeling stressed, find a place to do some quick push-ups or pull-ups. You’ll work that anxiety out and be feeling like a new person in no time! Just because you don’t have 30-60 minutes to dedicate to a workout, doesn’t mean you have to do nothing. 1 minute of effort is all you need to get started. Make progress from there.

5) Listening to Podcasts and Audiobooks

I credit much of the knowledge I’ve gained over the years to podcasting, which has changed my life for the better. Through this medium I’ve found many mentors including Mike Dolce, Shawn Stevenson, John Lee Dumas, Mike Matthews, Joe Rogan, Ben Greenfield, Brock Armstrong, Monica Reinagel, and many more. The subject matter is not limited to exercise and nutrition. You can find podcasts on news, business, sports, entertainment, virtually any subject you’re interested in. You can listen right off of your phone while driving, working around the house, or completing some otherwise mindless activity. Podcasting has been a true game changer for my life as a whole as well as helping me get fit. I’ll actually be launching the Wise Eats podcast later this year, so stay tuned for that!

Honorable Mentions
6) Finding a Coach

I’ve never used a personal trainer or nutrition coach, so my coach was Google. Through trial and error, I learned a ton about proper diet, exercise, recovery, and thriving lifestyle habits. If you have the means, seek a reputable coach who can help you assess your current physical condition, set some goals, and help you get started. If I had a one-on-one coach years ago, I could have achieved my physical transformation much more quickly. Having someone with knowledge and experience that you look up to for motivation is critical. If you don’t have that person yet, find them.

7) Using Intermittent Fasting & Fasted Cardio

Intermittent fasting is a fat loss tactic I’ve adopted recently to help aid in calorie restriction. There is research supporting the idea that restricting your hours of eating can have some great health benefits resulting in fat loss and increased energy. In the first few hours of the morning, I feel more alert and focused when I don’t eat right away. Fasting for a little while at the beginning of the day helps keep my thoughts clear and burn stored fat. While I enjoy walking any time of the day, I especially love going for a brisk walk in a fasted state first thing in the morning. It’s highly effective for fat loss and one of my favorite forms of low-intensity cardio.

8) Focusing on Sleep

Some say physical fitness is 80% exercise and 20% diet. Others say it’s 20% diet and 80% exercise. I say it’s equal parts diet, exercise, and rest. Once I finally made sleep a priority in my life, my fitness results and overall health improved dramatically. The higher your quality and duration of sleep, the more mental, physical, and emotional energy you’ll have to perform at your best. At a bare minimum, I shoot for 6 hours a night, but operate best at 7-9 hours. Here are a few of the strategies I implement to improve sleep quality. There’s good science behind many of them, although I won’t bore you with the details. Inspiration for this section, in part, came from Shawn Stevenson’s book “Sleep Smarter”:

  • Exercise earlier in the day – Too close to bedtime can inhibit sleep
  • No caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime
  • Sleep in a very dark room (We use blackout curtains)
  • Rise and fall with the sun to take advantage of your natural circadian rhythms
  • Avoid alcohol
  • Avoid junk food
  • Get as much natural sunlight exposure as you can
  • Supplement with magnesium and vitamin D (or multivitamin)
  • Drink hot tea (Helps with food cravings, too)
  • Go to bed around the same time every night – Even on weekends
  • No large meals just before bed – Light, nutritious snacking only
  • Foam rolling or massage just before bed
  • Remove all electronics from the bedroom, including TVs and cell phones
  • Avoid using blue light emitting devices (TV, cell phone, etc.) at least an hour before bed
  • Read a book until your eyes won’t stay open anymore
  • Physical touch with another human being before sleep
  • Meditation or deep breathing just before sleep and/or just after waking

These are most of the strategies I use to get the deepest, longest sleep possible. The more you sleep, the faster you recover, the more you can work out, the better you will feel and perform, the more you’ll be able to work out and feel great and look great. You get the idea.

Are there any techniques YOU utilize to improve the quality of your sleep? We’d love to read them! Post in the comments below.

These factors have been absolute game changers in helping me lose 90lbs, build muscle, and improve quality of life overall. I hope you’re already incorporating one or more of them into your own life. If you’re not, it’s time to wise up!!! Thanks for reading.

For more health and fitness tips, stay tuned to Wise-Eats.com. And if you’re not a member of Wise Choice Nation, sign up now free!